Dynamite Entertainment 2019
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Vasco Georgiev
Coloured by Dearbhla Kelly
Lettered by Simon Bowland
“Barsoom has always been a dying world. Closer to death these days, perhaps.” An all-new vision of the Princess Of Mars! Dejah has been many things: Wife, mother, royalty. But now, she is a determined scientist, dedicated to discovering why her world is freezing, and which political factions know the secret of this global catastrophe? Experience glittering palace intrigue and visceral adventure in the new ongoing adventures of DEJAH THORIS!
Now I am a late comer to Dejah and her life. As such what I have seen of her has been rather impressive to me. More than a woman in a bikini wielding weapons and fighting by her consorts side. While I miss the girl she was I appreciate the woman she's become and while I have no idea where John is, and it's really that important, I suspect that his human lifespan has ended. What Dan does here with this first issue is really simple and it's brilliantly simple at that. We meet the players, see the circumstances that surround them and then the beginning of a catalyst that should rock Barsoom to it's core.
This is beautifully crafted and how we see the sequence of events unfold and how we learn information in the story & plot development that is so well done. With the character development here we get a little information about a lot of characters giving us something of a base to start with. I like that Dejah is still very much established and she's everything we know and yet more at the same time. The way that Dan leaves room for the growth and evolution of the characters is perfectly done. With the pacing here we see such a great ebb & flow through the twists, turns and revelations that come to light. The overall way that the book is structured is marvellous and it generates and maintains the interest and intrigue factors that keep us coming back.
Rebel, outcast, scientist and matriarch in a world where diplomacy has lost it's meaning and they find themselves targets in another's war. All this and more is happening within these pages and once you start reading this you get swept up in it and there's no turning back as the drama and the action will keep you coming back.
I am thoroughly impressed with the level and quality of the interior artwork here. The linework is sensational and the way the varying weights are being utilised to bring out this attention to detail is done spectacularly. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a marvellous eye for storytelling. I like the composition I see inside the panels and how we see depth perception, scale and how backgrounds are utilised to bring a sense of size and scope to the story. The colour work is beautiful s we see the various hues and tones within the colours create the shading, highlights and shadows.
I am super intrigued by what Dejah sees and what the possibilities there might lie within her work. How her daughter and granddaughter are getting along as they try to bring the family all to one place. Finally how the plans for war on shall we say three fronts progress. There are some fabulous layers to the story going on here and when they all manage to converge the proverbial shit is going to hit the fan in ways that should be more spectacular than the fourth of July fireworks.