Comic Review: Dejah Thoris #6

I know this week's been quiet on here. I guess chalk it up to lack of movie news and being busy. But now we return to the incomparable Princess of Helium's adventures as she goes up against the "Pirate Queen of Mars!"

Following the devastation left by the Colossus and the Jeddak of Yorn, Tardors Mors has been crowned Jeddak of both Greater and Lesser Helium and the people are attempting to rebuild their kingdom. But things seem to go from bad to worse when they discover that Helium's canals are drying up and attempts to communicate with the Southern Pumping Station have yielded no results. Dejah and a group of soldiers immediately fly off to investigate, unaware they have a stowaway on board. Once they arrive at the station in snowy regions of Barsoom, they find the station abandoned and a mysterious coin. Eventually they find the workers have been forced into a room and left to die with no reason given for the assault. Before Dejah can investigate a fire on her ship brings her out and she discovers the saboteur-a Moon Pirate who immediately knocks her out. When she awakes she finds herself captive of Phondari, the female pirate captain of the Jedessa's Revenge who has plans for the princess herself....

I don't know how those who weren't thrilled with the previous "Colossus of Mars" storyline will react to this one. But I have to admit at least this opening chapter has got my attention. This time the storyline by writer Arvid Nelson taps into one of the major themes of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels-the dwindling resources of Barsoom and the struggle to survive. In fact Dejah's mission here is similar to the mission she was on in A Princess of Mars-to save her people and the planet. I also like the idea of introducing the Moon Pirates and helping build up the rumors of their existence that was mentioned in The Gods of Mars. Again it's hard to tell how this well turn out and judging a storyline on one issue can be perilous but so far so good.

The artwork on the other hand by Carlos Rafael is again a knockout-but there are some things that will cause some head scratching. First the good-Dejah (even though I would think she would be freezing in the southern pole just wearing her skimpy coverings) is again a stunner. But she might have some competition in that department from Phundari. On the flip side we don't get a good look at the Jedessa's Revenge and there isn't any big action sequences to grab the eye. Also-and I'm sure this will cause some questions-the Pirates aren't black. Instead they're colored almost a bluish gray. Now I don't know if these pirates are supposed to be a different species or color from the Black Pirates of Barsoom but I'm sure some will be wondering about the color choice. (Even though this isn't the first time they were blue-DC's Weird Worlds version also had them a Smurf blue.) I guess we'll see how the story goes.

So in the end it's a toss-up. If you didn't like the previous storyline I suggest you take a look at the first few pages before you buy to see if you like it. If you enjoyed the last arc, then it's a no-brainer-snap it up and have fun.