Reviews,
commentary, general reactions, and random notes on the Dynamite
Entertainment comics that were released during July that I received
at the beginning of August.
The
conclusion of Dynamite's adaptation of Tarzan
of the Apes,
with a somewhat expanded telling of the American epilogue, the one
part that was totally excluded from Joe Kubert's masterful adaptation
for DC Comics back in the 1970s. This is, however, overall probably
Dynamite's closest to the original of any issue thus far. It tells
the story of the Wisconsin fire that Tarzan arrives just in time to
save Jane's life from, only to have her tell him that she is promised
to William Clayton – just before a telegram catches up to Tarzan
from D'Arnot, conveying the news that fingerprint analysis confirms
that he is, indeed, the lost Clayton baby, and therefore the rightful
heir to the title of Greystoke. It ends with the same famous words,
“My mother was an ape. I never knew who my father was.”
My
major quibble with this issue is that the way it is played here,
Jane's ultimate choice for Clayton really comes off badly here,
making her look really weak and superficial. Once again, Esmeralda's
intelligence is highlighted in that she was the only one of the
Clayton party who was taking news of the impending forest fire
seriously.
Overall,
I must say that this has been a solid adaptation/updating of the
century-old story, with its own strengths and weaknesses that I hope
I've taken due notice of along the way. In retrospect, the most
glaring omission I believe to be the death of Kala, presumably to
satisfy the politically-correct crowd, along with the transformation
of the cannibalistic black African tribesmen of the book into a tribe
of man-apes totally unknown to the original story, for the same
reason. On balance, however, I've enjoyed it and look forward to
future issues, both telling “original” stories and, presumably,
continuing into an adaptation of The
Return of Tarzan.
A
few days after the end of Gods
of Mars,
John Carter is still stunned as his allies continue cleaning up the
Firstborn. He is roused from his apathy when it is necessary that he
and Carthoris intervene and mandate humane treatment of the Firstborn
women. In return, one Linea reveals a plot to destroy the Barsoomian
atmosphere and pledges to lead them in an attempt to avert that. It
turns out that she is the daughter of the perpetrator, the high
priest of Issus, and the granddaughter of Issus herself. The high
priest poisons himself after activating the “anti-Atmosphere
Plant,” and dies without revealing how to stop it.
This
seems to be another decent expansion on the canon as established by
ERB, interpolating a story between the existing books. A couple of
his tropes are duplicated – that of the haughty, resistant
princess, resistant to the instant attraction that is apparent
between herself and Carthoris. Of course, we know that ultimately
Carthoris will end up with Thuvia … which brings her back to mind
and how grossly her character has been mishandled so far. I mean,
after we've heard how she wants Carthoris' father to do dirty things
to her – which he heard too, although he has yet to actually meet
her – doesn't their union seem quasi-Oedipal? That's beyond the
canonical fact that he's the consolation prize.
I
really find these sideways covers a bit annoying.
Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris
#13
[no
title that I can find, so: “The Boora Witch, Part 3”]
[ previous
issue ]
And
the third part of the third story arc continues, with the possessed
Dejah Thoris acting so out of character that her grandfather and
father grow concerned. Good thing grandpa doesn't know what “she”
was up to in his bed! “She” therefore manipulates the situation
to make them
appear treacherous, denounces them, and conspires with Than Kosis –
not Sab Than as last issue – of Zodanga. Only Kantos Kan suspects
that something happened on the island in the Toonolian Marshes. He
goes there and discovers the preserved bodies of women from various
Barsoomian races.
Please
let this story be over soon! It's awful. Edgar Rice Burroughs did not write "sword and sorcery."
Dejah Thoris and the White Apes
of Mars #4 of 4
As
a conclusion, this is not bad. It's biggest asset is that it is
the
conclusion and I don't have the prospect of yet another issue to
come. Actually, to be fair … nah, I'm not even interested in being
fair. I did not like this miniseries. This is a more interesting
final issue, though, although it really feels rushed – which in this case
is a good thing.
Dejah
Thoris is suddenly rescued by Carthoris and company, but also
demonstrates some kind of dominance over the white apes. She
realizes that someone had interfered with her flight to keep her from
investigating the Battle of the Face of Barsoom, so she insists on
pressing onward, taking along with her all the hatchlings whom she's
just told their mothers were pretty much torn apart and eaten alive
by the white apes. She excavates evidence of a massacre of green
Martians – specifically called Tharks, but isn't that just one
tribe of greens? – maybe their accoutrements identified them
specifically, but whatever – rather than the remains of a glorious
battle. Then she gets a message from the pilot of her first flier,
who confesses that he had pretended to be having mechanical
difficulties as an excuse to land them short of their goal in a city
which he did not know was invested with apes (although doesn't A
Princess of Mars,
and maybe elsewhere, establish that the abandoned old cities are
typically
teeming with apes?), in order to hide his father's shame for being
part of such a treacherous act. But his own treachery, and its
horrific consequences, cause him to land himself in that same city
and commit suicide by white ape. In the last scene, Dejah Thoris
finds that Tardos Mors had been part of that massacre, although not
in the cover-up. “I was but a young warrior, myself,
granddaughter.... … I knew it was wrong but I followed orders. …
I helped bury them, not cover them up. I simply never spoke of it.”
Yeah, a lie by omission when the legend of a great victory that you
shared in was being propagated is so much better.
Thank
God this story is over.
 |
| Viking's picture from 1976 |
Incidentally, yes, the Face of Barsoom is the
Face on Mars, a landform first photographed by Viking
back in 1976 which does, in that image taken from orbit, resemble a
face. Later, higher resolution, photographs have revealed
that to be nothing more than an illusion, but for a long time it
was popularly taken to be an alien artifact.
The in-story
explanation, however, is that it is the burial mound of the Thark massacre
that over time subsided in places to form “a scream from the dead.”
Except neither in the photographs nor in the one good image that we
get here does it look like a scream.... Whatever.
Oh,
I just thought of one redeeming facet of this story (I'm
really digging for something good to say), that it does turn on Dejah
Thoris' scholarly/scientific curiosity, which is often overlooked in
A Princess of Mars
but emphasized as an essential plot point in the movie, John
Carter [of Mars].
Review
– from someone who liked the series. I'm not so bold as to suggest
I'm who he's referring to when
he says, “I know some didn't like it but that sometimes happens.”
This blog is on his blogroll at right (wow! – I'm on someone
else's blogroll!), so it's conceivable. But as he rightly observes,
“if everyone liked everything it would be a boring world.”
Another way to put it is that everything is going to have its fans
and detractors, often without any real reference to its intrinsic
value. And the
fact is that I may well hate something that someone else loves, and
in the end I'm no more right than they are as to whether it's “good”
or “bad.” I'm just throwing my opinion out there, half-baked
though it might be at times. And, my word!, this has turned into a
long intro for the alternative viewpoint review! … Which is here:
http://jcomreader.blogspot.com/2012/07/comic-review-dejah-thoris-white-apes-4.html
Cheers!
– and Thanks for Reading!
