Writer – Ron Marz, Ian Edginton
Artist – Ariel Medel
Colours – Nanjan Jamberi
Letters – Rob Steen

The final issue of John Carter’s second series at Dynamite ends with more of a whimper than a bang and it is a bit of a letdown as the series started out quite well with a big storyline and a new villain and then continued with an epic quest to save the planet by trying to renew its natural resources. Sadly, as the issues went on, and more towards the end, it felt rushed more than anything. It was as if Ron Marz and Ian Edginton were told the series would be wrapping up and whatever it was that they did have in mind had to be thrown out in favour of ending it satisfyingly for the readers. That was accomplished because it finishes with John Carter and Dejah Thoris finally returning home to Helium, but doing so empty-handed. The book sees the return of an enemy they thought they had defeated before and overall, the story was decent, but for a finale, the story that was chosen to end the series with could have used a lot more excitement and perhaps a little more action or mystery or anything to get readers to feel something before it ended and sadly, it did not. It is disappointing that Dynamite had to cancel the book, especially for those that were invested in it. For the most part, it was pretty good, and while this story was lacking, it was one of Dynamite’s better titles. On the horizon is a new Dejah Thoris book and that is a good thing, but it would have been nice to have two titles instead of just one. What was nice to see in the book over its short run was the fact that Marz and Edginton tried to make Carter’s world bigger, introducing new characters and concepts along the way, making it a more interesting read instead of just relying on the same old tried and true characters and situations. There is nothing wrong with doing so, but sometimes something new is a good thing, it is just a shame that it was not enough to save the book. Still, John Carter: Warlord of Mars was a good title when all was said and done, it just would have been better to have a send-off that was a little stronger and more worthy of the man.

3 out of 5