Frustrated confederate veteran John Carter struggles to find his destiny in the wake of the civil war while his future alien allies thwart corruption on Mars.
The Good
This is another classy Dynamite title that infuses classic heroes with dignity while still embracing their less-than-savory traits. In this case, it's John Carter's trigger happy nature - - that is, an indomitable will that has no place in post-war society, but will surely prove to be supremely necessary in the extraterrestrial adventures to follow. Given how often these older tales can be bowdlerized or otherwise softened, I was glad that this issue didn't shy away from any brutality.
The Bad
I suspect this might've benefited from taking a little more creative license from the source material. The design of the green martians and the pace of the plot is likely quite faithful to the books, but the former looks unavoidably dated to modern tastes and the later leaves us with a rather slowly paced first issue that doesn't end with that strong of a cliffhanger.
The Verdict - 3.5/5
Shamed as I am to admit, I've never actually gotten the chance to read the classic Edgard Rice Burroughs stories that this is adapting. My exposure to the character and his mythos is limited to martian war that started off the second volume of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I'm sure this wi'll be just as strong as the Lone Ranger and Green Hornets books have been - - I just wished they'd cut to the chase a little sooner.
I had the same problem with the first issue of The Last Phantom. It felt like too much setup and not enough Phantom-ness. The second issue was quite better. It seems to be the trend on these Dynamite books.
I'll probably check this out once a few more issues come out. Solid review.
Also, I haven't been reading The Lone Ranger. Is that seriously pretty good?
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