Comic Review: Warlord of Mars #21

Let's just jump in shall we?

As John Carter is still working to find a way into the Temple of the Sun to rescue his beloved princess, he receives word that the sneaky First Born Thurid has been slipping away at night from the Walled City of his people. Carter follows him with the ever faithful Woola and discovers that Thurid knows a way into the Temple-and has struck a deal with the vengeance seeking Thern ruler Matai Shang. Carter gets in and has to fend for himself from the Therns and man eating Banths as his enemies escape with Dejah Thoris and Thuvia of Ptarth. At the end he vows to continue his search...

Kicking off their adaptation of The Warlord of Mars, Arvid Nelson and artist Vincent Cifuentes does a great job following the novel. From the River Iss to the Banths, it sticks close to the novel with its cliffhanger setups while keeping the characters pretty close. Woola remains loyal, Matai Shang evil-and non shape shifting, Phaidor still remains in love with Carter. For fans of the books that's a good thing, even though it looks like this storyline will only run five issues (maybe not surprising considering how short the novel is).

The artwork here by Cifuentes (who did the last issue) is pretty good, capturing most of the characters well, even if there is some bizarre design choices. Thurid has Wolverine's hair; Carter runs around in a loin cloth, looking like Tarzan's well groomed cousin; and Woola has gotten redesigned and now resembles the movie version. Oh well. On the plus side Cifuentes draws an attractive Dejah, so I can't complain.

So once again, another excellent start and a big A plus for keeping true to the books and characters. John Carter of Mars fans should be pleased.