John Carter: The End

I can't recommend this to fans of the character as Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote him, and as simply a stand alone comic book, I didn't like either the art or the story.Save tour money and read the actual books.

First, those who loved the Edgar Rice Burroughs pulp classic will appreciate that this sequel stays faithful to the universe. Characters from books ranging from Mastermind of Mars to Synthetic Men of Mars make appearances and retain Burroughs' traits. But on the other hand, it could be argued that the series came of age in the 1970s in the era of lush Frank Frazetta inspired artwork - and although the art is solid here, it feels incongruous with pulp escaptionist fantasy.Story: John Carter and his wife Deja Thoris have retreated to Titan to live in seclusion after the death of their son. But Mars is in need of its queen and warlord: reds are battling greens and genocide is the final solution With the help of former allies, both John and Deja will have to deal with some hard truths about the life they left behind - and the lie that will break them apart.Storywise, this does feel rushed. It's fairly short and oddly skips over most of the action in favor of big reveals and introductions of series characters. The story does nicely follow from Burroughs' originals and makes sense as a progression after a long period of time. But it also skips randomly and can be very confusing despite being fairly straightforward. Cohesion just wasn't there and this felt like a series of stitched-together vignettes rather than a tightly plotted story. The ending especially was highly anticlimactic.I think the real let down was the choice of art talent. The art is professionally done - but perhaps better suited for a different series. In the afterwards, it was noted that Frank Frazetta physiques were used but the angular and highly shadowed art was more reminiscent of Sin City to me. Imagine Sin City's Marv as an aged John Carter and you get the idea. I don't know that I buy an old man built like Tarzan after living in seclusion for decades, to be honest. Deja Thoris fared worse - a large block of a woman with ill defined features. That lack of detail was a problem throughout since it became hard to tell one character from another. Is that Tars or a random warrior? Good luck figuring it out.Perhaps because I grew up in the era of lush Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta fantasy artists in the 1970s rather than Frank Miller blockiness or Brothers Hildebrandt giant feet in the 1980s that this book felt off to me. As well, the writing is far too conscious of itself (with heavy genocide morals) in a bad Urshurak shallowness sort of way rather than the fun pulp of 1970s that gave Burroughs and Norman's Gor series a huge resurgence of popularity. The fun is missing here and John Carter isn't coming back for a last grand adventure so much as a dreary endless battle.All said, John Carter: The End is leagues better than the travesty that was the Deja Thoris series of a few years ago. The creators knew the subject well and stayed faithful to the lore and characters. But in exection, the story is choppy and lacking the unbridled joy of action and adventure, favoring instead to give us melancholy and introspection. That seems a waste of a good pulp story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

'John Carter: The End' by Brian Wood and Alex Cox with art by Hayden Sherman is about an aged John Carter, but the story and art are equally a bit of a mess.Centuries have passed (apparently John Carter has surpassed human aging), and John is living with Dejah Thoris on a moon. They mourn the loss of their son, but John has a secret: he's still alive. This exiled son has started an uprising on Mars and John and Dejah are called to quell it. Can these two aged warriors possibly save Mars?The story is kind of hard to follow and relies more on narrative than action. The art is frenetic and chaotic, but that seems in keeping with the story. The rough nature makes it a bit hard at time to distinguish characters. I like the idea of this graphic novel better than the execution.I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

John Carter’s son (technically grandson) is alive. Could it be true? On Mars, anything can happen. The kid seems to leading a war against the green Martians. Dejah Thoris is understandably cheesed off with John for leading her to believe that he had buried Den Thorkar. Maybe she should be cheesed off at Den for waging a race war.John and Dejah have been living in self-imposed exile on Titan, but they return to Barsoom to find that Den has declared himself Emperor. Like all authoritarians, Den Thorkar is vain and easily manipulated. But wait … is there more to Den than meets his mother’s eye?As you might expect from Brian Wood, social injustices that parallel injustices on Earth are at the center of the plot. Den Thorkar has created “peace” by separating the green Martians from the red Martians and imposing authoritarian rule on Barsoom. He has also developed a toxin that only kills green Martians. Red supremacists are enforcing order in Helium, but the resistance is growing outside Helium, red and green working together like ebony and ivory on Earth, joined by the ultimate Warlord of Mars, John Carter.The story brings Ulysses Paxton to Mars, reprising the Edgar Rice Burroughs tale of the character told in The Master Mind of Mars, giving old John Carter a temporary ally (in addition to all those red and green guys). A mad scientist from that novel, Ras Thavas, also plays a key role.In the end, this is a story about the end of tyranny. Life on Mars might be coming to an end, but it should not be in the grip of a tyrant when that happens. The story really does bring a saga to an end, with a not-quite-stirring battle but, more importantly, a set of personal stories about John Carter and Dejah Thoris that underlie and overshadow the battle. This is an older and wearier John Carter. His relationship with Dejah has been dead for years. He’s lost a step, but he’s still a warrior, and that’s what matters.The art is a bit blocky for my taste, but I have to say that it grew on me.

As a long time reader of Burrough's John Carter, I liked this comic a lot and I enjoyed going back to Mars. The illustrations are in my opinion the right one to convey the sense of oppression and sadness that is there and the dialogues, so short, perfect.Come lettrice di lunga data della saga di John Carter di E.R.Burroughs, questo fumetto mi é piaciuto tanto e sono stata contenta di tornare su Marte per un po'. Le tavole sono ben disegnate e perfette per riflettere il senso di oppressione e tristezza che attraversa la storia, cosí come i dialoghi scarni ed essenziali.

An ok Story but I just didn't see much of the ERB world here. Too much backstory missing.

Top item wel een heel vreemt verhaal als van John carter houd en de verhalen Kent maar toch goed te lezen