The start of the real war.
Creative Staff:
Story: Dan Abnett
Art: Lee Ferguson, Marc Deering
Colors: Dearbhla Kelly
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
A final chapter. A decision for a princess. And a return…of a lost love? By DAN ABNETT (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Justice League Odyssey) and SEBASTIAN PIRIZ (Disaster INC)!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With this issue wrapping up this storyline, Dan Abnett puts us in a really engaging place where I’m thankful there is another series coming after this – and one that brings back John Carter into it. As much as I enjoy Dejah Thoris, I want to see some of him as well and the last few years have been slim on that count. This issue keeps with the recent art team with Ferguson and Deering along with the always reliable and talented Dearbhla Kelly and the result is a solid action piece that handles the dialogue well while showing off a lot of fun sequences. Especially in the magic use as Kelly’s able to work some welcome color design to it that feels a little different than the usual color design for such things.
With this being set up in the previous issue, it’s basically the final battle in the main hall and it’s just a lot of back and forth. Which works well as the sides are set up right and there’s plenty to be invested in with it. Dejah’s largely set against Sabal Than and using the magic that she’s been shown how to use, is doing her best to take down a far more experienced user. It’s not an easy one-on-one kind of event and I like that it doesn’t lean into her being fantastically gifted for a newbie. Instead, we see her barely holding her own, more often than not, and needing the help of Llana and Clyde to provide cover since Sabal is using the other killers against her as well. It’s a solid full-court press from Sabal and that’s definitely how it should be. But even that has Kurz sneaking away in fear of a potential loss, which leads to his demise in the way that it should be done.
The back and forth fight definitely delivers what I wanted to see and I was surprised how invested I became in Clyde as he stepped up to do what was necessary to help Dejah achieve her goal. Llana is largely operating in the same way, fighting to protect her grandmother so Dejah can carry the fight, and it works well. But as everything falls apart for Sabal and her loss becomes clear, the reveals are fascinating and have me hopeful for the next series. Discovering that the other two killers under her control are not only John Carter himself but their son was quite the surprise as I was expecting them to be similar to Clyde. That their memories are basically wiped so as to be controlled easier is less of a surprise as it gives the next run another subplot for Dejah to focus on while facing off against the Longborn.
In Summary:
This series of Dejah Thoris has been fantastic as it’s explored a lot of different aspects of the character, her legacy, and that of Barsoom itself. The utilization of interesting things like the Longborn and advancing the larger storyline ahead as much as it did so she has adult grandchildren really creates a different yet familiar experience, making it feel fresh and exciting. With a solid group of artists working the storyline over the whole run, right through the finish here, it’s look great and has delivered what should make for a great experience for anyone discovering it in the years to come. This series has completely reinvigorated my interest in all things Barsoom.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 14th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
