JOHN CARTER OF MARS #2, from Dynamite Comics on May 18th, 2022, escalates the mysterious disappearances all across Earth when a Thernian plot for conquest is revealed to have a few kinks.
The Details
- Written By: Chuck Brown
- Art By: George Kambadais
- Colors By: George Kambadais
- Letters By: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover Art By: Dave Acosta (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: May 18, 2022
Was It Good?
JOHN CARTER OF MARS #2 is baffling. Not baffling in the way a high concept masterpiece forces you to reassess your view of the world from a perspective you hadn’t previously considered. Baffling in the way you look at a 1950s B&W horror film made in 3 days and a $500 dollar budget and wonder, “why did somebody make this, and what did they hope to get out of it?” The probable answer to that hypothetical scenario and this comic is unsurprisingly the same – because it was fast and cheap.
Picking up from the first issue, we find out inhabitants of Mars and Earth are randomly, involuntarily trading planets through some type of wormhole, and that the swap was a prelude to a Thern invasion plan. Now, we get more insight into the plan, who’s behind it, and their intentions. In effect, the plan went sideways, and most of what’s going on is an “accident.”
You might think a villain’s plan that doesn’t work out and creates a mess is a novel idea, and it is, but the execution of that idea is patently silly. In this single issue, there are 5 threads going on for readers to keep track of. The threads range from Dejah Thoris battling white apes to government leaders making alliances with Jasoomians. There’s no focus because the threads appear to have nothing to do with each other except in very cursory ways. Worse yet, John Carter barely has a presence in this issue. The title character only shows up in 5 pages of his own series. Put another way, there’s too much going on without a cohesive main plot. There are interesting ideas underneath the chaos, but it never comes together.
The writing is poor. There’s no way around it, but the art is on a different level. By his own admission, Kambadais acknowledges his art style is cartoonish. We have no choice but to agree. However, a cartoonish art style is no excuse for the oddly, bizarre action choreography going on in this issue. As the planet swaps occur, a Model-T with two children in the back is suddenly accosted by a white ape. Suddenly, the ape is roaring at a woman in a red dress. Then the children are outside the car on the ground. And then… never mind. We can’t make sense of these action scenes, and there’s no point in trying. You could say the art is as loosely defined as the writing, so that’s something at least.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
If you don’t recall how John Carter wound up on Earth, first read our JOHN CARTER OF MARS #1 review.
We begin with a stream of debris flying through space between Earth and Mars. The debris is composed of people and vehicles. One vehicle, a Model-T, is shown with two children cowering in the backseat. Suddenly, a terrified boy is shown punding on the car window when a large hand reaches down and scoops the boy up by his head. Bloody mayhem ensues.
Later, we see John Carter and the soldiers who came looking for his journal in a battle against green Martians. John leaps up to a Martian airship (there’s no explanation as to where the ship came from), and the soldiers decide to look for a knife made of 9th metal. Why? It’s never explained.
Elsewhere, a group of green Martians and Jasoomian tribe leaders meet with Earth military leaders to form an alliance to combat what’s happening to their respective peoples. Suddenly, the Thern responsible for the invasion plot walks in, shapeshifts into a giant, tentacled monster, and kills everyone present. Where did he come from, and how did he know the meeting was taking place? It’s never explained.
We conclude the issue with John Carter in a battle that makes no sense in its choreography, a knife that inexplicably does more than cut, and an introduction.
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Final Thoughts
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There’s no clean way to look at JOHN CARTER OF MARS #2. The writing and the art contribute an equal share to the mess. If you’re a die-hard John Carter fan, you may be happy to take what you can get. For everyone else, we can’t recommend this comic.
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