JOHN CARTER OF MARS #1, from Dynamite Comics on April 20th, 2022, follows the titular adventurer as he returns to Earth to find an invasion plot is underway… and not going as planned.
The Details
- Written By: Chuck Brown
- Art By: George Kambadias
- Colors By: George Kambadias
- Letters By: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover Art By: Jung-Geun Yoon (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: April 20, 2022
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Was It Good?
There’s no positive spin you can put on this comic. It’s not good. To call the execution of JOHN CARTER OF MARS #1 a disappointment is a serious understatement.
The general premise (more details in the next section with some spoilers) surrounds John Carter involuntarily returning to Earth. He finds humans are disappearing in droves and the disappearances are connected to a Thern plot to invade Earth. It sounds simple enough, and in fairness, the plot comes across relatively well.
Where the writing stumbles is in the stiff, stilted dialog (particular from the main character) and the clunky, amateurish plot progression. Chuck Brown is no stranger to comics, so it’s unclear what happened here. The scenes do not transition gracefully. The setup of the supporting characters is rushed and occasionally doesn’t make sense (why would somebody have the job of being a Civil War historian while the Civil War is still going on? Is the Civil War still going on? If not, why are the soldiers all wearing Union uniforms? What year is this?). And, the Thern plan revolves around a magical artifact that comes out of nowhere with no setup or explanation as to how it works.
To set expectations, you have to have a strong working knowledge of the John Carter mythology to understand this comic. There are no crawls or prelude pages to help a new reader along, so if you’re unfamiliar with John Carter, you’ll be completely lost. In other words, this comic is written for John Carter fans and John Carter fans only.
Switching to the art, Kambadias’s style is going to be an acquired taste and doesn’t help to cover for the writing. It’s not bad art but it doesn’t match the material. Kambadias uses broad pain strokes for action lines and exaggerated anatomy curves to create a mid-century cartoon style that seems geared toward a children’s cartoon ala The Powerpuff Girls or Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Again, it’s not bad art on its own, but this material is classic sci-fi/adventure pulp and the tone feels completely off for the material.
We’re big fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, so to see Dynamite return to the character in this state, after releasing such fantastic work with their Dejah Thoris titles, is a profound letdown.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with John Carter spending some quality time with his wife, Dejah Thoris, and their son on mars. Suddenly, he’s ripped away from the scene and deposited back in his body on Earth, years after he was reported missing.
Meanwhile, Union soldiers discuss a sting of reported disappearances around the world. All witnesses report a strange, blue light at the scene of each disappearance, and one of the soldiers believes there’s a connection to the legend of John Carter based on the description of blue lights in John Carter’s diary. Lt. Hines decides to go AWOL and search the old Carter residence because his sister is one of the missing.
As John Carter catches up on the news (what year is it, again?) in his family home, a small group of Green Martians breaks in to kill him. We conclude the issue with new allies, aliens appearing as humans disappear, a mysterious artifact that acts with a mind of its own, and Thern infiltration.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
JOHN CARTER OF MARS #1 is a disappointment. The writing is clunky, the dialog is stiff, and the scene transitions and overall plot flow read more like choppy rapids than a graceful stream. Combined with cartoonish art that doesn’t suit the material at all, this first issue is a letdown.
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