Review: Warlord of Mars #4

Writer:  Arvid Nelson

Artist:  Liu Antonio

Colorist:  Adriano Lucas

Have I already gushed about how great this series is?  Yes I have – and I’ll continue to gush this time.

My hat is off to writer Arvid Nelson.  Not since the Marvel series of the 1970’s has a writer so closely channeled ERB in bringing the Mars of John Carter to such vivid life.  This prequel to ERB’s, A Princess of Mars, has been outstanding thus far and has been a great introduction to the world of Mars for those who have never read the novels.

The prequel threads are tied up this issue as Nelson adapts the storyline of A Princess of Mars that he began last issue.  Antonio’s art is good as is Lucas’ colors – but the real star of this comic is the writing.  You’d swear Burrough’s himself had written this book.

The other major star of this book has been the cover art.  Each issue has featured multiple variant covers by some incredibly skilled artists.  It’s breaking me to have to buy multiple issues to collect all the covers – but the covers are just too good to pass up.  I’ve included a couple to accompany this article just to drive my point home.

John Carter and Dejah Thoris are two icons of heroic high-fantasy.  Their stories still hold up incredibly well even after nearly 100 years in print.  Buy this book!  It deserves a good long life in print.

Comic Rating:  4.5 Stars