Should we ever meddle with technology that delves into things bigger than us?  Is this comic even smart enough to tackle that subject?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Recently discovered ancient Martian technology accidentally hurls Dejah Thoris forward in time to a dark future. As invaders plunder her homeworld, Dejah becomes embroiled in a civil war that could alter not only her past, but the history of Mars itself!

After an interesting but unfortunate series of events, our heroine in thrust onto a stage that could affect the evolution of Barsoom itself.  It’s a game she doesn’t fully understand but one that this creative team takes absolute advantage of from the first page to the final panel.

Robert Place Napton helms the ship and he delivers what feels like an appropriate extension of what we know .  He handles the dialogue well , even as some corny bits get thrown about in a fray that embraces a zany prediction of a destructive destiny. What makes the odyssey of John Carter and his cohorts accessible is the fact that there is a certain amount of distance between the past and present versions of our own world.  With that gone the whole of the odyssey feels inescapably off, but to the scribe’s credit he births enough interesting scenarios to engage and carry this outing toward a solid foundation.

The art, handled by Carlos Rafael, nails the nuances required of the alien landscape while employing familiar techniques that offer a clean but crisp visual style.  He builds up the characters in a way that’s sure to instantly attract an audience, but there were quite a bit of poses in this book that came off as more exploitative than organic.  Despite the fact that there were times where I felt the talent lost a sense of kinetic energy, the whole of the illustrations still remained expertly realized.  In short: the pictures were pretty.

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #31 continues to explore its heroine but there’s still lingering issues within its pages.  Even so it still earns a light recommendation from me.

3/5