Dynamite Entertainment 2021
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Alessandro Miracolo
Coloured by Dearbhla Kelly
Lettered by Simon Bowland
The epic continues! Dejah takes a calculated risk, and trusts someone that could aid in defending against the dreaded Longborn. Little did she anticipate the arrival of THE BLACK PIRATES!
I was never much a fan of this franchise until I started picking up the comics from Dynamite. They managed to create such a great aesthetic for the franchise and came out with such strong, interesting stories that it is easy to see the kind of fascination in him that Burroughs managed to create all those years ago. The more of these arcs that I read the more I have come to appreciate just how far ahead of its time these stories were. This one at least shows me that regardless of their differences and time spent apart Dehah and John share a love for the ages and one that regardless of time or circumstances will never die and that alone is phenomenal. The more we see of Barsoom and those that inhabit the red planet the more intrigued I become and the more I want to see who else is lurking in the shadows just waiting for that opportunity to step out into the light.
I am loving 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 that we see through 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 fleshing them out more like people we know. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, introducing more characters and exploring this world we’re drawn into this like moths to a flame.
I greatly appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The characterisation, plot twists and how we see the events play themselves out all work within the layers here to 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 achieved exceedingly well.
The interiors here are fantastic! The creativity and imagination is clearly evident right off the bat here when we see Rotak Gall’s pets as it were. They are as fearsome as can be and their ingenuity is off the charts. The linework is strong, clean and crisp and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the attention to detail throughout the book is magnificently rendered. Personally I'd like to see more backgrounds being utilised but as it stands how we see the composition within the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is marvellous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show an extremely talented eye for how colour works.
What a delightfully deceptive issue this is and it is not so much a refreshing change of pace but it certainly falls in line with how some still see the Jeddara. Rotak Gall is a great character and one that I sincerely hope will be around to plague Dejah for many years to come. With some impressive writing and stunning characterisation wrapped up in these dynamite interiors this is how Dejah continues to grow and impress readers.