Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Writer: Mark Rahner
Artist: Jethro Morales
Release Date: 25th June 2014

The imagined world of Mars and its inhabitants was not something known to me until I saw the move “John Carter” but I was drawn into that world quickly. The story of a man from Earth who stumbles upon an artifact that can take him to another planet where he has abilities beyond his scope of understanding, and chooses to use them to save that planet really is an intriguing concept. To take that story into comics and explore the characters further is a winning formula, at least in my book.

The focus of this series is solely on Dejah, the princess of Helium and wife of the Earthman John Carter. John has gone missing and is being hunted by the royal guard for the theft of a precious, important artifact of as-yet unknown origin. Dejah is getting no information on why he is being hunted and has set out on her own, against orders, to find her husband and what has transpired. This issue finds her interrogating with extreme prejudice and getting that much closer to finding out where John is and what he has done.

Mark Rahner does a wonderful job bringing these characters to life on the page. The dialogue is straightforward and engaging and the pace that is set keeps you turning pages and anticipating what will happen next. He has taken the strong female character that Dejah already had and added so much more to her, with her ferocity and tenacity in trying to find her husband, and how – much like John – she will stop at nothing to save what she loves.

The art duties are being handled by Jethro Morales and are exquisite. The characters are very distinct from one another and the detail is there especially in the facial expressions. You really get the feel of what the characters are thinking and the tones they are using by just the facial expressions alone. There’s not much in each panel as far as backgrounds go but in this case less is more, what you need to see that is important to the story telling is there and it keeps your eyes racing from panel to panel.

Rating: 4/5.

The writer of this piece was: Shane Hoffman (aka “Hoff”)
You can also find Hoff on Twitter.