Thursday, March 31, 2011

Comic book review round-up: Warlord of Mars #5

Warlord of Mars, the new comic book series adaptation by Dynamite Entertainment of beloved pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fantastical science fiction novel A Princess of Mars (1917), continues to generate interest among both comic and ERB fans, although not without criticism. Here are some snippets from various reviews of the latest issue, Warlord of Mars #5 (Feb 2011), which was written by Arvid Nelson with interior artwork by Lui Antonio and variant covers by artists Patrick Berkenkotter, Joe Jusko, Lucio Parrillo, and Stephen Sadowski:


1) JCOM Reader: “So after five issues, I feel the series has hit its stride pretty well. It's doing a good job portraying the world of Barsoom and while I know there are some who have issues—some don't like the Tharks and how Dejah is drawn—their sticking to Burroughs, which as a fan is something I appreciate.”

2) Weekly Comic Book Review: “Conclusion: Definitely a buy. Go get it and the first four issues, and get ready to fall in love with Barsoom again or for the first time. Grade: A-”

3) The Nerdiest Kids: “The more I read this title the more I like it. John Carter’s struggle to fit into Martian society, making new friends and enemies, and saying things that apparently aren’t appropriate is just plain entertaining. Arvid Nelson is doing a superb job writing this title and Lui Antonio’s art translates it all perfectly, if not voluptuously. An alien man on an alien world who’s just trying to fit in is one of the oldest ideas in fiction, but everything is better if there are Martians involved!”

4) Invest Comics: “Lui Antonio does a top-notch job on the art. It takes a truly talented artist to draw a human, a hot princess, muscle-bound multi-armed aliens, horse-lizards, and…whatever a Woola is, and make it all work. Antonio does this all and then some. 4 out of 5 Stars.”

5) Comics And… Other Imaginary Tales: “Dejah Thoris is suppose to be the most beautiful woman ever, the artist apparently thinks that means huge boobs and a skinny waist. The art on this book is tragic and this series demands a stronger artist in ability to draw more on the realistic side as the work tends toward the cartoon side of things. The actual story is a nice expansion of ERB’s original work, but is a little too slow in its pace.”

6) Looking to the Stars: “The Final Verdict: A good book, but I think I'll be picking it up in TP format from now on. Amazingly, I have the patience to wait for a complete book but not for the next month's issue given the leisurely pacing from chapter to chapter.”

Also, check out this fantastic Savage Barsoom interview with artist Joe Jusko, who created the beautiful Rockwellian cover art pictured above!
 

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