Comic Review: Lords of Mars #1

I'll just jump in with the latest take on the classic "what if" scenario: the meeting of Lord Greystoke and the Warlord of Barsoom.

Having settled into his role as lord, Tarzan finds himself trying to adjust to civilized life with Jane. When the two are invited on a hunt by a Lord Marchman, Tarzan finds himself the butt of their jokes about his inability with fire arms and then running for his life with Jane when he steps in to save a poacher being hunted by Marchman and his men, leading to a cave with possible secrets.

Meanwhile on Barsoom, John Carter and Kantos Kan are leading a raid on Korad to eliminate white apes until they receive a surprise visit from the Therns, who request their new leader have audience with Carter to stop the hunt. Kantos suspects they're up to something but Carter reassures him that the  fleet of Helium will be ready. 

The idea of bringing Tarzan and John Carter together has been explored before so I was curious where Dynamite and writer Arvid Nelson would take the story. This issue is mostly setup, showing Tarzan and Jane at home and the suspicious hunt that leads to their current adventure while setting up John Carter and the Therns' involvement in the tale. While I would have liked a more fast opening Nelson does a good job setting up the story and doing what all first issues do, entice the reader to come back. 

Handling the artwork is Roberto Castro, who previously did the work for Lord of the Jungle and some of the Warlord of Mars comics. His work is excellent, capturing the characters and the diverse settings of England and Mars well. Throw in some nice bright coloring by Alex Guimares and you have a bright vibrant look for this issue. I hope the next issue is just as good.

First issues are always tricky. Here Nelson and Castro pull off a good job that hopefully well go through the entire Lords of Mars run.