In DEJAH THORIS (VOL. 3) #12, available from Dynamite Comics on April 14th, 2021, Dejah, Llana, and Jefferson battle for control of Barsoom against Kurz Kurtos and the witch-queen of Zodanga, Sabal Than.
The Details
- Written By: Dan Abnett
- Art By: Lee Ferguson, Marc Deering, Alessandro Miracolo
- Colors By: Dearbhla Kelly
- Letters By: Simon Bowland
- Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: April 14, 2021
Was It Good?
It was okay. The general story wraps up well enough with a surprise ending we won’t spoil here that spells bigger things for the next series. That said, there are some flaws that take away the enjoyment of the story.
The art is not inconsistent. You can see from the Details section above there’s a small team of artists and the hand-off is obvious from page to page. When the story shifts into the epilogue, the art looks significantly different (and better) than earlier parts of the book.
The writing is good overall, but Sabal Than’s cutsie, Bettie Boop-style dialog during the big magic battle drains all intensity out of the scene. When you can’t take the main villain seriously during a desperate fight to the death, it doesn’t work… at all.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
We pick up in mid-battle from the end of issue #11 (read our DEJAH THORIS (VOL. 3) #12 review to get caught up). Kurz Kurtos cowers off to the side of his throne room while Dejah, Llana, and Jackson engage Sabal Than’s two remaining jeweled assassins.
Dejah can’t handle the assassins on her own, so Llana jumps in to start tossing bodies with her super-strength. Llanas intervention works until Sabal Than zaps Llana unconscious with a magic blast.
Dejah tends to Llana while Jackson jumps in to engage his former assassin colleagues. Again, Sabal uses a magic blast. This time attacking Jackson. Before the magic takes its full effect, Dejah uses a magic trinket of her own to push Sabal Than back.
Now, the battle becomes a test of wills, and Sabal Than is the far more powerful and experienced magic wielder. The big down here is the dialog from Sabal Than. Llana (Dejah’s granddaughter) is down, Jackson jumps in but is barely holding his own, the battle is tilting towards defeat. This should be the darkest and most serious moment in the book, and that’s when Sabal Than morphs into a bad knockoff of Harley Quinn and delivers lines such as:
AAH! OWWIE! That’s not the way it works! She’s cheating, Kurzy!
It may seem like an aggressive nitpick, but Sabal’s dialog turns the entire finale into a bit of a joke.
During the fight, Sabal’s attentions are distracted and weakened enough to revive Llana and release Jackson enough so they can double-team the two assassins. However, it’s not enough for Dejah to hold her own in a magic battle and she slowly loses ground, until one of the assassins is unmasked and the tide turns.
How Does It End?
Sabal Than and Kurz Kurtos are reunited. Jackson Clyde is shown he’s not immortal. And an old friend makes an appearance, but he doesn’t know it.
Final Thoughts
DEJAH THORIS (VOL. 3) #12, available from Dynamite Comics on April 14th, is the action-filled finale to the current story arc. All the threads wrap up nicely, and new ones are started to lead into the next series. Despite the inconsistent art and off-putting dialog, this is a well-rounded conclusion.
Score: 6.5/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com