Dejah Thoris, a spinoff of Warlord of Mars, has been going strong over at Dynamite for a number of years now with some stories fairly good and some fairly weak.  This particular story is one of the better ones to come out from the line, painting a portrait of Dejah as a strong leader and one who is determined to see her task through to the end no matter the cost.  The story itself has been split into three books of which this is the second and it continues the chronicle of Dejah’s struggle to find the maniac Thark, Voro and to not only bring him to justice for what he did to her, but to many others as well.  The story will see her navigate many perils both personally, professionally and physically and prove why she is one of the better characters in the Dynamite library.

The book ends up featuring a good mix of action, mystery and intrigue within its pages to keep things interesting for the reader and thanks to writer Mark Rahner, for setting the pace as quickly as he does, it is quite easy to breeze through the book in no time at all.  Sometimes having a book paced as fast as this one does can hurt rather than help, but here the end result was a good one as the tale holds your attention and you cannot help but want to see what happens next.  The book is not an overly complicated one either, with the story being a straight-up mystery containing twists and turns that eventually lead the reader, and Dejah to the object of her investigation.

One of the best things about the story overall is that Rahner does seem to have a good grasp of the Burroughs’s landscape and he proves it to the reader upon every page of the book.  The political ramifications between those of Red and Green are explored, as well as Tars Tarkas’ rise to power and the banishment of the old ways, namely the eating of the Red Martians.  The thought of political instability as well as the thought of a new war between their peoples is always on Dejah’s mind and as such, she wants to take care of the situation with Voro as quickly as possible.  Having a madman like him wanting to perpetuate those old ways again, with Dejah nearly being one of the victims, is not a good thing.  Rahner’s ability to mix these various elements, not to mention the many personalities of the characters involved, makes the book all the more compelling.

One of the worst things about the book, which is not superbly terrible in its own right, is the way John Carter is kept on the sidelines.  It may not be his book, but as he is in the story, Rahner could have used him in a meaningful manner instead of just basically sitting it out while Dejah does her thing.  On the other hand, Rahner does manage to add little bits to the book that make it much more fun in many instances such as the fantastic character of Kenda Than, the Murder Master.  While Kenda Than is not long for this world, he is quite interesting, being somewhat of a police detective on Mars.  Also of note is just how well Rahner handles Dejah throughout the course of the story.  From one situation to the next, she handles it thoroughly and completely and as well as she can in most instances, even managing to talk her way out of a battle.  Having Dejah portrayed as a strong leading character instead of a damsel in distress helps to prove why her title should exist.

On the artistic front the book features pencils from Lui Antonio which seems quite strange and a little cartoony at first, but as you read it and become acclimated to it, it actually starts to grow on you.  Where it seems out of place at first glance, you find that it is a perfect fit for the book later on.  Being different is a good thing in the marketplace and helps you to stand out from the crowd and Antonio has done that successfully.  The collected edition of the book also features the many variant covers that were produced for the single issues including the risqué ones by various artists like Walter Geovani, Jay Anacleto, Wagner Reis, Ale Garza and more.  On their own, they are beautiful pieces of art for the most part, but as a whole, they do not really have anything to do with the story other than featuring Dejah Thoris.  Needed or unneeded is simply a judgement call on the reader’s part.

As a whole, the book works quite well though it would have been much more appreciated to have the whole story in one volume much like an omnibus.  Reading it all at once would definitely be far more preferable than having it split into three volumes.  Thankfully, at the end of both volume one and two, it leaves off on a satisfactory ending that, even though wanting more, you are able to wait until the next one comes along.  Dejah Thoris and the Green Men of Mars may not be an absolute masterpiece, but it is quite good and very entertaining and will keep you entranced and wanting more.

4 out of 5