Publisher: Dynamite
Writers: Ron Marz and Ian Edgington
Artist: Ariel Medel
Editor: Joe Rybradt
Release date: 28 October 2015
Price: $3.99

In John Carter Warlord of Mars #12 the story so far: Dejah and John have crash landed in the lost city of the White Martians where they encounter some bad guys led by Pallias, intent on looting the city’s treasure chamber only to inadvertently wake up Aron the last Orovar after his five hundred millennia nap – no wonder he’s cranky!

Now read on. Dejah comes over all feminist when John tries to intercede on her behalf when she’s dealing with Aron the Orovar which is not easy to do when all you’re wearing are two saucepan lids a half a yard of gauze. Anyway, it prompts Aron to reveal his secret weapon, a terrestrial transformer once used to alter the atmosphere on Mars, allowing the Orovar could colonise it and they had similar plans for Earth.

Like any mad despot, Aron wants to re-create his long dead race and revitalise their colonisation plans. Needless to say, this does not sit well with our displaced hero and a big fight ensues. Given the build-up in John Carter Warlord of Mars #12, ending felt lame, its resolution dependant on the cosmic equivalent of a leaky battery. And will someone please get Carter a pair of trousers, the loincloth look is just too Spartacus for a technologically advanced society.

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker