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Dejah Thoris #2
Pirate Queen of Mars
Greater and Lesser Helium are united behind Dejah Thoris. But just when things seem to be getting back to normal, Helium''s precious supply of water begins running dry. Dejah heads to the Antarctic ice caps to investigate, only to find herself pulled into the deadly mysteries of the forbidden south. A swashbuckling adventure of sky pirates, renegade princesses, lost treasure, and ancient curses abound in Dejah Thoris: Pirate Queen of Mars Collecting issues #6-10 of the ongoing series, along with a complete cover gallery and bonus material.
128 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
24 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Arvid Nelson
323 books20 followersArvid has worked on everything from film to video games, but he’s best known for his original comics title, Rex Mundi, published by Dark Horse Comics. The Band of the Crow has occupied his creative memory banks ever since Rex Mundi ended.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 2, 2018
A slight step back.
I'm not gonna get into the nipple armor debate cause I've been clear in my last review so let's just do this!!
World: The art is rather meh, the poses for Dejah are ridiculous but that's just this genre. The sense of action and the scope and the colors could use a bit of work. The world building is interesting cause this book calls back on all the lore from the Burroughs books and it makes me happy. I didn't expect them to do Black Martians so soon but okay.
Story: The story is a basic adventure once again. I like that it continues the story from the last arc and the story is much more focused on Dejah and her being a leader and a stronger lead for this book. I didn't expect the turn this book would take with the pirates but hey that's fine. I did find the story to be a bit choppy in the middle portion but overall it was par for the course.
Characters: I did like that this time around we had more Dejah and her doing her own thing and being a leader, we needed that. The new characters were basic and falls into the archetypes for the genre.
It was aight.
Onward to the next book!
I'm not gonna get into the nipple armor debate cause I've been clear in my last review so let's just do this!!
World: The art is rather meh, the poses for Dejah are ridiculous but that's just this genre. The sense of action and the scope and the colors could use a bit of work. The world building is interesting cause this book calls back on all the lore from the Burroughs books and it makes me happy. I didn't expect them to do Black Martians so soon but okay.
Story: The story is a basic adventure once again. I like that it continues the story from the last arc and the story is much more focused on Dejah and her being a leader and a stronger lead for this book. I didn't expect the turn this book would take with the pirates but hey that's fine. I did find the story to be a bit choppy in the middle portion but overall it was par for the course.
Characters: I did like that this time around we had more Dejah and her doing her own thing and being a leader, we needed that. The new characters were basic and falls into the archetypes for the genre.
It was aight.
Onward to the next book!
March 29, 2021
Ah, Dejah Thoris.
Depois do volume um, houve a unificação das cidades de Hellium Grande e Hellium Pequena, mas começou a faltar água, então Dejah Thoris e um destacamento de soldados vão para o Pólo Sul de Marte investigar o que aconteceu.
Como vocês podem imaginar, o Pólo Sul é coberto de neve e gelo e deve ser frio pra cacete, mas quem tem um coração quente como Dejah Thoris pode continuar de biquíni dourado, é só colocar uma capinha por cima e tá feio negócio.
Claro, acontece um monte de coisa, e Dejah Thoris encontra os piratas espaciais de uma das luas de Marte e o que eles querem?
Eles querem comer Dejah Thoris.
Eles são canibais, para de pensar besteira.
Bom, Dejah Thoris acaba se envolvendo numa disputa entre a ex-rainha pirata e o novo rei pirata, e o pau come em várias pequenas e inverossímeis reviravoltas que incluem minhocas gigantes que também querem comer, melhor, devorar nossa heroína. Eu gostei bem mais desse volume do que do anterior, achei a história mais fluída, com um foco maior na Dejah Thoris como líder e heroína do que como uma vítima dos vilões. Ainda assim muita coisa é meio forçada, mas funciona naquele esquema filme de baixo orçamento dos anos 80 com a Kim Cattrall do Loucademia de Polícia no papel da Dejah Thoris de biquíni correndo por aí, enquanto coleciona micose no dedão do pé.
A arte, obviamente, é o que se espera, a todo momento há uma bunda arrebitada, ou um peito empinada, ou uma boca orgásmica, ou uma combinação dos três; o que acaba deixando tudo meio engraçado, tem cenas que todos os personagens tão ali de boa e só Dejah Thoris tá fazendo poses sensuais a troco de nada.
Depois do volume um, houve a unificação das cidades de Hellium Grande e Hellium Pequena, mas começou a faltar água, então Dejah Thoris e um destacamento de soldados vão para o Pólo Sul de Marte investigar o que aconteceu.
Como vocês podem imaginar, o Pólo Sul é coberto de neve e gelo e deve ser frio pra cacete, mas quem tem um coração quente como Dejah Thoris pode continuar de biquíni dourado, é só colocar uma capinha por cima e tá feio negócio.
Claro, acontece um monte de coisa, e Dejah Thoris encontra os piratas espaciais de uma das luas de Marte e o que eles querem?
Eles querem comer Dejah Thoris.
Eles são canibais, para de pensar besteira.
Bom, Dejah Thoris acaba se envolvendo numa disputa entre a ex-rainha pirata e o novo rei pirata, e o pau come em várias pequenas e inverossímeis reviravoltas que incluem minhocas gigantes que também querem comer, melhor, devorar nossa heroína. Eu gostei bem mais desse volume do que do anterior, achei a história mais fluída, com um foco maior na Dejah Thoris como líder e heroína do que como uma vítima dos vilões. Ainda assim muita coisa é meio forçada, mas funciona naquele esquema filme de baixo orçamento dos anos 80 com a Kim Cattrall do Loucademia de Polícia no papel da Dejah Thoris de biquíni correndo por aí, enquanto coleciona micose no dedão do pé.
A arte, obviamente, é o que se espera, a todo momento há uma bunda arrebitada, ou um peito empinada, ou uma boca orgásmica, ou uma combinação dos três; o que acaba deixando tudo meio engraçado, tem cenas que todos os personagens tão ali de boa e só Dejah Thoris tá fazendo poses sensuais a troco de nada.
November 1, 2017
The twin cities of Helium are united, but the rebuilding is slow and expensive. Worse, the canals stopped flowing and there is only a fortnight's worth of clean water left. Dejah mounts an expedition to the south to fix the issue. The crew of the southern pumping station was locked in a room, but unharmed. The greater issue is the saboteur who sets fire to Dejah's ship, then captures Dejah herself. He is part of a pirate gang led by Phondari the Pirate Queen whose ship is Jeddessa's Revenge.
February 12, 2018
This story has lots of action and adventure with wonderful art work. Is the story perfect? No. The bickering between Dejah and Phondari seems forced and unnecessary at times. Then again they agreed to work together really easily after Phondari attacked Dejah. Unrealistic? Yes.
The art work is beautiful, and is designed to showcase Dejah and Phondari's breasts and butts. Even the men are shaped like Greek gods. This is fine by me, because this comic book is not a political statement, but going to ice caves with only cloaks on over their skimpy outfits is just silly.
So, why did I give this book five stars? It is an enjoyable and exciting read with great art work.
The art work is beautiful, and is designed to showcase Dejah and Phondari's breasts and butts. Even the men are shaped like Greek gods. This is fine by me, because this comic book is not a political statement, but going to ice caves with only cloaks on over their skimpy outfits is just silly.
So, why did I give this book five stars? It is an enjoyable and exciting read with great art work.
December 27, 2020
This installment is really hurt by its insistence on constantly living up to its "mature" rating. I mean, what could be sillier than seeing Dejah draping a winter coat around her shoulders while still insisting on wearing a thong and pasties? The girls in this story look exactly the same except for their skin color, and I'm definitely not a fan of the gruesome depictions of cannibalism that pop up in this series from time to time. Ultra-sexy and ultra-horrific don't pair together well, in my opinion.
June 29, 2012
Shadowhawk reviews the first two volumes of Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris, Colossus of Mars (collecting issues #1-5) and Pirate Queen of Mars (collecting issues #6-10), published by Dynamite Entertainment.
“Colossus of Mars and Pirate Queen of Mars are exhilarating, rollicking rides through Barsoom that are more than worth reading. They are great sword & planet adventures!” ~The Founding Fields
My only previous exposure to the characters and world created by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the recent movie, John Carter, which I highly enjoyed and even reviewed a few weeks back for the 24FPS movie review blog. The entire setting of Barsoom, as Burroughs calls Mars, is really intriguing, whether its the people, the culture, the technology, the mythology, the creatures, the world itself or what have you. I came across Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris Volume 1 on NetGalley which is a great resource for reviewers (you have to at least check it out!). Reading and finishing it in one sitting, I just had to get the second volume too, because the comics are just that good.
The Dejah Thoris comics are set centuries before John Carter ever arrived on Barsoom and they feature the scantily-clad Princess as the main protagonist as she fights, schemes and fights for the future of Lesser Helium (Helium at this point in time is divided into two warring states). I have to say that the whole notion is quite an interesting one, it sets up a lot of intriguing possibilities with regard to the storylines. And since the people of Barsoom are long-lived, effectively immortal, that just adds more possibilities to the mix.
Pirate Queen of Mars, collecting issues 6 through 10, follows on fairly immediately from the events of Volume 1 as the people of Helium, which is now a single city, begins to suffer the aftermath of the war against Senneth Dor and his Colossus. Disease, property damage, lack of water and so on. The evils of the war are finally beginning to settle in and Dejah and her advisors have to move quickly to keep things together. Matters quickly turn for the worse when the polar water-refineries stop supplying water to Helium. So here begins another adventure for Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium as she sets off to the polar regions. Without bothering with cold gear of course!
This was a much better storyline than Colossus, to be honest. It is far more realistic, barring the clothing choice for the heroine, and it also delved a fair bit into the history of Barsoom as well. Not to mention that we meet the Moon Pirates for the first time as well, a race of blue-skinned (extreme) humanoids who live on the moons of Barsoom as I understand it.
What really made me like this story was the fact that it takes place aboard the Barsoomian ships, whether it is Dejah’s skiff, Phondari’s pirate vessel Jeddessa’s Revenge or Xen Brega’s massive warship. It was a really good change of location from Colossus of Mars. As a contrast, a fair bit of the action takes place in the ice caverns beneath the southern polar region as well. So together, it was a complete experience of highs and lows. Just about perfect!
In terms of the characters, Dejah didn’t do much for me this time because very little changes in her characterisation from the previous volume. There definitely was room to make her really grow but the comic doesn’t quite get there. On the other hand, Phondari was excellent. She is a complete opposite to the Princess: irreverent, Moon Pirate, ship captain, and thief. As such, she was my favourite character in Pirate Queen of Mars, and I’m sure that titles suits her too. Xen Brega, the big bad guy of the storyline, was suitably charismatic (in an evil way), ruthless, and domineering. Again, he is a typical bad guy but I don’t hold it against him. What the Dejah Thoris comics are good at is using typical characters and then showing them off as atypical, to a degree. That can sound a little confusing I know, so what I’m trying to get at is that they are all still well-written.
The pacing of Pirate Queen is also far better than Colossus because of a simple reason: the story doesn’t involve winding the clock forwards to convey that sense of war as the story isn’t about war but hunting for treasure and personal vengeance. This focus meant that the narrative was tighter and there wasn’t any confusion about where the action takes place or what have you.
The one thing that still grated at me however, was the clothing used by the Barsoomians. Even when Dejah, Phondari and their companions are inside the ice caverns, their only concession to the cold is a simple (fur?) robe. It really takes away from the realism of things. Again, I don’t know if this is all explained in the Burroughs novels, and it definitely isn’t even touched upon in the comic either, so it makes for a jarring experience.
Other than that though, I really enjoyed Pirate Queen of Mars. Same as with Colossus of Mars, the artists have done a great job and the various illustrations and the panels themselves are really good. There is distinctiveness in each character, whether it be in terms of their physicality or in their expressions or what have you.
Rating: 9.5/10
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/05/...
“Colossus of Mars and Pirate Queen of Mars are exhilarating, rollicking rides through Barsoom that are more than worth reading. They are great sword & planet adventures!” ~The Founding Fields
My only previous exposure to the characters and world created by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the recent movie, John Carter, which I highly enjoyed and even reviewed a few weeks back for the 24FPS movie review blog. The entire setting of Barsoom, as Burroughs calls Mars, is really intriguing, whether its the people, the culture, the technology, the mythology, the creatures, the world itself or what have you. I came across Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris Volume 1 on NetGalley which is a great resource for reviewers (you have to at least check it out!). Reading and finishing it in one sitting, I just had to get the second volume too, because the comics are just that good.
The Dejah Thoris comics are set centuries before John Carter ever arrived on Barsoom and they feature the scantily-clad Princess as the main protagonist as she fights, schemes and fights for the future of Lesser Helium (Helium at this point in time is divided into two warring states). I have to say that the whole notion is quite an interesting one, it sets up a lot of intriguing possibilities with regard to the storylines. And since the people of Barsoom are long-lived, effectively immortal, that just adds more possibilities to the mix.
Pirate Queen of Mars, collecting issues 6 through 10, follows on fairly immediately from the events of Volume 1 as the people of Helium, which is now a single city, begins to suffer the aftermath of the war against Senneth Dor and his Colossus. Disease, property damage, lack of water and so on. The evils of the war are finally beginning to settle in and Dejah and her advisors have to move quickly to keep things together. Matters quickly turn for the worse when the polar water-refineries stop supplying water to Helium. So here begins another adventure for Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium as she sets off to the polar regions. Without bothering with cold gear of course!
This was a much better storyline than Colossus, to be honest. It is far more realistic, barring the clothing choice for the heroine, and it also delved a fair bit into the history of Barsoom as well. Not to mention that we meet the Moon Pirates for the first time as well, a race of blue-skinned (extreme) humanoids who live on the moons of Barsoom as I understand it.
What really made me like this story was the fact that it takes place aboard the Barsoomian ships, whether it is Dejah’s skiff, Phondari’s pirate vessel Jeddessa’s Revenge or Xen Brega’s massive warship. It was a really good change of location from Colossus of Mars. As a contrast, a fair bit of the action takes place in the ice caverns beneath the southern polar region as well. So together, it was a complete experience of highs and lows. Just about perfect!
In terms of the characters, Dejah didn’t do much for me this time because very little changes in her characterisation from the previous volume. There definitely was room to make her really grow but the comic doesn’t quite get there. On the other hand, Phondari was excellent. She is a complete opposite to the Princess: irreverent, Moon Pirate, ship captain, and thief. As such, she was my favourite character in Pirate Queen of Mars, and I’m sure that titles suits her too. Xen Brega, the big bad guy of the storyline, was suitably charismatic (in an evil way), ruthless, and domineering. Again, he is a typical bad guy but I don’t hold it against him. What the Dejah Thoris comics are good at is using typical characters and then showing them off as atypical, to a degree. That can sound a little confusing I know, so what I’m trying to get at is that they are all still well-written.
The pacing of Pirate Queen is also far better than Colossus because of a simple reason: the story doesn’t involve winding the clock forwards to convey that sense of war as the story isn’t about war but hunting for treasure and personal vengeance. This focus meant that the narrative was tighter and there wasn’t any confusion about where the action takes place or what have you.
The one thing that still grated at me however, was the clothing used by the Barsoomians. Even when Dejah, Phondari and their companions are inside the ice caverns, their only concession to the cold is a simple (fur?) robe. It really takes away from the realism of things. Again, I don’t know if this is all explained in the Burroughs novels, and it definitely isn’t even touched upon in the comic either, so it makes for a jarring experience.
Other than that though, I really enjoyed Pirate Queen of Mars. Same as with Colossus of Mars, the artists have done a great job and the various illustrations and the panels themselves are really good. There is distinctiveness in each character, whether it be in terms of their physicality or in their expressions or what have you.
Rating: 9.5/10
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/05/...
December 25, 2019
Fun!
Arvid brings us another fun venture with Dejah Thoris. This time when heliums water supply is cut off, she leads an expedition south to discover why and runs into all kinds of trouble!
Arvid brings us another fun venture with Dejah Thoris. This time when heliums water supply is cut off, she leads an expedition south to discover why and runs into all kinds of trouble!
June 3, 2018
The story gets better and better.
November 30, 2018
The covers of this title remain just hilarious.
September 29, 2025
Arvid has a new original comic book, Band of the Crow. Check out the trailer https://youtu.be/Z16wRyYKl2A?si=gEEFy...
June 25, 2012
Dynamite's second volume in the Dejah Thoris spin-off lives up to the comic's entertaining debut. Dejah Thoris finds herself tangled up with Barsoom's black-skinned Moon Pirates, in search of a legendary treasure while attempting to avoid a cannibalistic rival pirate. Dejah Thoris gets to reuse the nifty tools she received in the previous adventure, and the pirate queen Phondari turns out to be an interesting "frenemy"-style character. Definitely a worthwhile read for planetary romance fans.
March 26, 2013
I really liked the way the Black Martians were handled, which showed me that it could be delivered in other formats without appearing racist.
At one point Dejah's wings are taken. My only question is, where was she keeping them because it's not like she has pockets or a backpack to keep them in!
At one point Dejah's wings are taken. My only question is, where was she keeping them because it's not like she has pockets or a backpack to keep them in!
June 9, 2012
I thought it was another good entry into this series. The art is stunning, to me at least, who grew up on much older comics. Story is the key for me, and I thought it was solid.
June 19, 2012
Not too bad and well illustrated. The story was lite and entertaining but some how not as engaging as volume 1.
Recommended to any fans of either John Carter or the Sword and Planet genre.
Recommended to any fans of either John Carter or the Sword and Planet genre.
July 21, 2012
Pretty dull story. Not much to recommend the book unless you like looking at the scantily clad Dejah Thoris throughout.
April 12, 2014
Arvid Nelson plays with Edgar Rice Burroughs' action figures, and it is booooooring.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews