Warlord of Mars #23 Review


Warlord of Mars #23 finds John Carter lost at the North Pole. And wouldn’t you know it, he forgot his shoes. And shirt. And pants. This book has varied quite a bit over the last year. The writing oscillates between good and ridiculous, and the rotating gallery of artists means each issue will offer something different. Here’s the official description of Warlord of Mars #23 from Dynamite Entertainment:

 John Carter slams face-first into the forbidden terrors of the Martian North Pole – literally! Not a single person to have crossed into the frozen northern wastes has ever returned to tell the tale, and Carter’s going to find out why. What he discovers will shock him to his very core, but when the life of his princess, Dejah Thoris, is at stake, no risk is too great. Warlord of Mars #23 – The Carrion Caves!

Arvid Nelson’s writing for this issue is fine, from a distance. The plot flows smoothly and the pacing was excellent. But when I looked at it up close, several smaller things had me wanting to rip my hair out. I’ll allow the part where John Carter walks around the North Pole in a loin cloth. He’s supposed to be sexy, and sexy people aren’t allowed to get cold (See Kate Upton in Antarctica on the cover of Sports Illustrated earlier this month.) But then John talks about behavior befitting a “Virginia gentleman.” I know he’s from Virginia, but the context in which he brings it up is weird, especially considering his own behavior isn’t exactly up to antebellum standard (again, the loin cloth).

Someone (I don’t recall who) once said that a novel should never introduce more than one made-up word. While I don’t agree with the one word limit, there comes a point where a story has too much gobbledygook.  Here’s an actual line from this issue:

“I am Marik, a nobleman of Marentina. My Jeddak, Talu, is at war with Salensus Oll”

Yes, all of those non-words are proper nouns, but some pages are full of them and made my eyes roll up inside my head.

Leandro Oliveira’s art, with Thiago Ribeiro’s colors, is very strong. The layouts are mostly traditional, but are tweaked occasionally to spice things up. I love some of the action shots, particularly when Carter is hacking at some polar bear centaur horse things (they’re called “apts,” so I assume they’re really good at whatever they do). Oliveira sometimes plays things a bit safe, and I wish both his inks and Ribeiro’s colors could offer a bit more contrast. Still, the art is well-balanced overall.

If, like me, you’re one of those people who sometimes allows small mistakes to ruin their whole experience, Warlord of Mars#23 may not be for you. If you’re not that kind of person, however, you might give it a try, especially if you’re mostly into comics for the art.

3/5

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