BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR: WARRIORS OF ZANDAR #2 – Review

In BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR: WARRIORS OF ZANDAR #2, available from American Mythology on October 6th, 2021, Victory Harben makes her way to the Keelar Palace to rescue the Ki-vaas young from a fate worse than death.

The Details

• Written By: Mike Wolfer
• Art By: Alessandro Ranaldi
• Colors By: Arthur Hesli
• Letters By: Natalie Jane
• Cover Art By: Alessandro Ranaldi, Bruna Costa
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: October 6, 2021

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Was It Good?

The latest entry in the Warriors of Zandar series is an entertaining mix of action, tragedy, and surprises.

You could make the case for calling this the Easter Egg issue as there are direct callbacks in this canonical comic to Edgar Rice Burroughs’s original stories from the same series. It’s one thing to continue stories as “inspired by” or ” in the same universe” as the classic ERB stories, but it gives the story more credibility when the latest adventure directly references what’s come before.

While there’s plenty of action to keep the readers engaged, Victory has to rely on her guile to fake her way through a squad of Keelars to find out what’s going on. It’s a classic example of showing how capable a hero can be when forced to rely on brains instead of just brawn (or a blaster). Victory’s undercover skills show just how adaptable and capable she can be, and it makes you appreciate the character more.

That’s not to say there isn’t much action. On the contrary, there’s plenty — from underwater battles with sea monsters to deadly brawls with armed aliens and even a nail-biting bridge jump. Ranaldi’s art is especially great at using blurring techniques to capture speed and momentum in all the action sequences.

In all, this is the kind of pulp/space/action/adventure comic you forgot you were missing all your life.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Catch up on Victory’s arrival on the mysterious planet of Zandar by first reading our BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR: WARRIORS OF ZANDAR #1 review.

We catch up with Victory Harben and Tii-laa as they race through the Zandarian jungle, chaing the savage group of Keelars who stole the tadpole young of the Ki-vaas. The Keelar’s leader is interrogating one of the Ki-vaas captives about the mysterious stranger who killed his soldiers with a strange weapon that spews deadly fire. The captive has no information to give, but the ruler of the Keelar’s knows trouble is coming.

When Victory and Tii-laa break from the jungle, they see the only path to the palace is a bridge that breaks in the middle to prevent unwanted guests from crossing. Victory pauses to consider how to make it across while Victory chooses to act first and think later by diving into the river. Eventually, Tii-Laa makes it across but not before having to fight her way free from a giant starfish. Victory takes the direct route with a heart-pumping ride on Hucklebuck.

Victory makes it to the palace first. The Keelars see she carries the weapon the survivors told everyone about, and they ask if she is “One From Above”. Sensing an opportunity to get more information, Victory plays along as another sky visitor who originally brought the Keelars the life extractor as a “gift”. The Keelars take Victory to the “gift” so they can prove they’ve kept it in good working order, and Victory is horrified when given a demonstration.

Refusing to allow any more Ki-vaas hostages to be used in the life extractor, Victory pulls out her weapon to destroy the machine and anyone who gets in her way. We conclude the issue with Victory facing overwhelming numbers, the hint that (classic ERB character) Tangor has a significant role in this story, and Tii-laa arriving to prove she’s dangerously more than a pretty face.

Final Thoughts

BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR: WARRIORS OF ZANDAR #2 is an entertaining mix of brains, brawn, and pulpy sci-fi action. The writing hits a perfect sweet spot for classic serial adventure lovers. The callbacks to classic Edgar Rice Burroughs stories organically fit the material and even builds on them. And the art is chock full of imaginative creature designs and fast, powerful action.

Score: 9/10