American Mythology Productions 2021
Written by Mike Wolfer
Illustrated by Alessandro Ranaldi
Coloured by Arthur Hesli
Lettered by Natalie Jane
Prepare to be transported across the galaxy to a world of incredible sci-fi adventure that lies Beyond the Farthest Star! In this canonical continuation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel, new ERB heroine Victory Harben finds herself stranded on the strange and savage world of Zandar, and thrust into a dispute between two bizarre, alien tribes. Born at the Earth's core in the world of Pellucidar, Victory knows quite a bit about primitive cultures, but when she and native Tii-laa track the marauding Keelar warriors to their island outpost city, they will find a most unsettling reason for the Keelar raids upon Tii-laa's people, and uncover a vile, sinister presence that could spell doom for the entire planet.
Edgar Rice Burroughs was a writer best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction and fantasy genres. So with all the franchises that American Mythology has of his at the moment it is nice to see them expanding from the known and creating new adventures based off of his characters. The spirit of the man carries on through the way Mike writes this and it has that sense of innocence mixed with hardened adventurers to create something rather extraordinary.
I am enthralled by the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in introducing us to their personalities. The baseline personality anyway because with each encounter and new meeting they will grow and change. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, introducing the characters and this world they inhabit it’s like stepping back in time and experiencing the wonders of the genre for the very first time.
I am impressed with the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow as well as how they add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.
The interiors here are completely and utterly gorgeous to see. The linework is clean, crisp and strong and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the attention to detail throughout is marvellous. The creativity and imagination that’s on display is phenomenal to see as well and whether it’s the alien races or the way we see the gun fire everything has this mood, tone and feel that’s just bloody brilliant. That we see backgrounds being utilised as we do to enhance and expand the moments is incredibly well rendered. How they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is wonderfully done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works and how to maximise their effects.
Victory and Tii-Laa are two great characters and it’s nice to see them meet, fight and then become friends in such a traditional manner. What this issue does, aside from introducing the series, is it reminds us that once upon a time there was innocence in storytelling that could go hand-in-hand with action & adventure. This is a lighthearted yet serious story that doesn't need to be dark and angst ridden to be enjoyable. Of course that this is spectacularly well written with genuinely beautiful characterisation all brought to life by these stunning interiors doesn’t hurt either.