A pale imitation of Burroughs.
What They Say:
John Carter’s going north – to the Martian north pole, that is, in hopes of finding clues that will lead him to the murderer stalking his palace. From the moment he arrives, Carter finds himself embroiled in the conspiracies and intrigues of the Martian north, where the only thing more bitter than the cold is the politics. How many asses is our hero gonna have to kick to get to the truth? A whole lot, trust us – this is Mars! Warlord of Mars #27: White Lies and Alibis!
Creators:
Writer: Arvid Nelson
Artist: Leandro Oliveira
Colorist: Thiago Ribeiro
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
The Review:
Murder and intrigue stalk John Carter’s palace and all signs point to it originating in the North. Travelling with his old friend Tars Tarkas, Carter finds himself embroiled in racial tensions between the yellow and green Martians and courtly intrigue.
Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series, this comic continues the story of John Carter—a former Civil War soldier transplanted to the Red Planet where his strength and courage lead him to be a great hero and warrior. It continues to be a popular series despite its age and is considered to be one of the classic pulp adventures. The books are great fun to read: full of adventure, amazing landscapes, and a fanciful history and culture behind Mars; however, they seem to suffer when translated. While I enjoyed the Disney movie well enough, I can’t pretend that it was anything great. The same goes for this issue. I picked it up out of curiosity and a desire to return to Barsoom, but what I found was a rather bland, solidly middle-of-the-road adventure.
The entire issue suffers from what I can only call a lack of charisma. John Carter and Tars Tarkas are easily recognizable, but they aren’t particularly memorable. They are more or less cardboard characters with little to distinguish them from each other or the other characters. One could make the point that the characters in the source material were little better, but there is a charm to Burroughs’ writing in the language that he used and the voice he gave to Carter that’s lacking here.
Things might have been different had the art been a bit more daring or experimental, but overall the panel placement, character designs, and overall acting were rather standard. Oliveira does a well enough job, but there’s no sense of play or invention. It’s all rather standard.
One aspect I do find amusing, though, is the use of cheesecake and the manner in which the characters are dressed. The cover for the issue I read features who I assume to be Dejah Thoris hiding in a rocky crag, practically nude for all intents and purposes, holding a bloody dagger while a green Martian walks by, obviously looking for her. However, she is not present in the story and there is no scene like this in the issue. Comics have done this for ages, but I can’t help but imagine that boys buying this issue based solely on the cover will be disappointed. The majority of the cheesecake in the issue is male, which is fine, but given that the story takes place in the North during winter, seeing John Carter and the others dressed in fur loincloths and little else is a bit silly.
In Summary:
Warlord of Mars 27 is a solidly “meh” title. There’s nothing particularly bad about it, but there’s also nothing that makes it stand out or make it more than a somewhat enjoyable distraction. I decided to try this because I enjoy Burrough’s Barsoom series, but this issue lacks the spark of invention and the overall charm of the original stories. Not recommended.
Grade: C-
