Review: John Carter-Adventures on Another World

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy but I do have some reviews coming up. For now I thought I would take a look back at what little merchandise Disney did release from John Carter. I know some of you may ask why if I was mixed on this movie would I? Well despite a century in the public eye there has been little John Carter of Mars memorabilia to buy compared to say Tarzan. So yeah I've bought some of this stuff to satisfy the completest part of me. So with that out of the way...

With its promise of "Stickers, Codes, Puzzles, Mazes" Adventures on Another World was one of three children's activity books that Disney released through Golden Books and the least expensive (2.99). And well it delivers what it promises: Two pages of color stickers; some word scramble codes to be solved; puzzles that reveal secret clues and mazes that among other things reveals Sab Than's evil scheme and what Dotar Sojat means (in Stantonian terms). There's also some blank pages to practice up drawing Tharks, weapons and your very own tattoos.

Now I admit some nostalgia for old coloring books (heck I still have an uncolored Empire Strikes Back book from 1980) so I can see how this book might have some appeal, even though in this day of video games, IPads and other distractions I don't know if kids have the patience to solve puzzles. As for the adult fan what is there to interest them in this book? There is some nice black and white images from the movie, some of which I don't think I've seen released online, including some shots of Carter and Dejah exploring the Thark temple, more shots of the other characters and Lynn Collins showing some leg in her wedding dress.

It's not going to win a spot on any fan's list of prized possessions but given the lackluster work Disney did in this area, fans might want to snatch it up. Next time I'll be back with this week's Barsoomian comic book review and hopefully more news.