A princess discovers.
Creative Staff:
Story: Amy Chu
Art: Pasquale Qualano
Colors: Valentina Pinto
Letterer: Thomas Napolitano
What They Say:
All things come to head as the royal fleet is attacked by the Tharks and Dejah Thoris is willing to sacrifice herself for the good of Helium.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Dejah Thoris series, the fourth one in fact, comes to a close with this installment and it’s frustrating as I’m left wanting more. Amy Chu had a solid start with it and really found her way with this arc which just adds to the frustration, especially since we got such great artwork from Pasquale Qualano. This installment keeps to that with lots of great visuals from the various races that we get and the kind of intense sexuality that Dejah presents at times with her commanding nature. All of it works beautifully, particularly with Valentina Pinto’s color design that binds it all together. This is a solid end to the series, particularly as it serves as a bridge to the Princess of Mars novel.
For Dejah, the whole journey has come down to this moment where it feels like everything is lost. With the ship slowly falling apart, the Navy under attack and retreating as it can to stave off losses, the time spent on the ship with her grandfather and Dekana has her wanting to lash out yet she remains controlled. What helps to shift the narrative is having Sajad show up, as the wily old man knows how to make an entrance, and he offers something of a short lifeline. Not all can be saved and not quickly, resulting in the Jeddak being rescued while Dejah faces off against Dekana. It’s not a completely clean kind of moment as she comes to understand that Dekana does love her grandfather but it wasn’t something that would stop her from her betrayals, the alliance with the first born, and so on. In fact, all of that serves to push Dejah harder.
It’s a solid fight that unfolds here as the two face off against each other and Qualano gives it a smooth and almost flowy approach, one that gets a little interference along the way to help even things out a bit. For Dejah, there’s that sense that she knows she must live but her primary goal is to take her down. For me, it’s that fascinating moment after the fact as we see how she now moves into this new phase of her life, realizing her privilege and how little she knows of the world, much like her grandfather, and accepts what will come. That may not be an easy existence since the Tharks now have her but it’s one that leads us into the arrival of John Carter himself, which alters the nature and fate of Barsoom on many levels. This event was one that was needed to help shape Dejah into who she needed to become for herself, which will give him a lot of challenges in the time to come.
In Summary:
I really like Dejah Thoris as a character and I enjoy the tales of John Carter as well, which makes their publication schedule and shifts all the more frustrating. But it always feels like there’s almost just enough of a market to bear it but not quite, making for the stops and starts. This Dejah Thoris series is definitely a big favorite of mine as Amy Chu captured a lot of good things about the character and I adore Pasquale Qualano’s artwork on it. It’s all good with what they did with this arc and it’s a fun and exciting way to close it all out as it sets up for Dejah’s future. I’m curious to see what’s next for this property and hope that everyone involved will return to this world again.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 21st, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
