Comic Review: Dejah Thoris #1

The incomparable Princess of Mars begins her new series as she goes on the run. Spoilers ahead!

Things for once seem peaceful in Helium until Mors Kojak disappears, forcing Dejah to accept the throne as Jed. But before that happens she's accused of his disappearnce and thrown in the dungeons. There's also the discovery of documents indicating that Dejah might have been adopted. With a mysterious stranger named Valoris opposing her Dejah manages to avoid an assassin and escape, leaving Helium and John Carter as she attempts to unravel the truth to her past.

In short it's The Fugitive, Barsoom style!

It's also somewhat predictable, despite the best efforts of writer Frank Barbiere to keep it interesting. Maybe it's just that this type of story has been told so many times before-from proving one's innocence to questions of their past-but here it just doesn't add much to the mythology. Also John Carter does nothing here. So much for his Warlord of Mars title. On the plus side Dejah is developed well as a strong, resourceful character that helps overcome the bland plot and supporting cast. Hopefully things will pick up now that the setup is out of the way.

Art duties here fall to Francesco Manna and he does a good job, even though some might not like the design work. Personally I only found Carter lacking and that's because Manna seems to have based his look on the dreaded Taylor Kitsch costume (even though thankfully he ditched the grunge hair). Again things might pick up and we'll get to see Manna stretch his muscles but for now it's OK.

So there you have it. A decent, not spectacular first issue but still readable. Until next time folks.