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John Carter: The Gods of Mars
After 12 years entombed, Virginia Confed Captain John Carter journals fights on return to Mars 'Barsoom' by high leaps, fist, sword, and scout-ship flyers. In 'Paradise' Valley of Dor, mortals feign divinity, enslave pilgrims. In once-yearly opening Chamber of the Sun, blue 'Goddess' Issus will soon sacrifice John's wife Queen Dejah Thoris.
Old allies rescue new - green tusked Tars and Sola Tarka, Helium red-skins Kantos Kan, Navy chief, freed grown son Cathoris (original Carthoris), white Princess Phaidor, black pirate Captain Xodar, pretty Thuvia.
Collecting JOHN CARTER: THE GODS OF MARS #1-5.
Old allies rescue new - green tusked Tars and Sola Tarka, Helium red-skins Kantos Kan, Navy chief, freed grown son Cathoris (original Carthoris), white Princess Phaidor, black pirate Captain Xodar, pretty Thuvia.
Collecting JOHN CARTER: THE GODS OF MARS #1-5.
99 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 13, 2019
Καθόλου κακό και ξεφεύγει από το πρωτότυπο in all the wright places.
August 2, 2021
Re-reading this classic from my childhood was a blast. Still great adventures!
January 30, 2013
Another proof that Ramon Perez is AMAZING! The double-page spreads in this book are so dynamic, the compositions are just beautiful.
January 22, 2017
I am not much of serial reader so, whilst I had a reasonable amount of enjoyment of a Princess of Mars (and decidedy mixed feelings on the recet Disney film), I didn't really feel like picking up the next installment. However, this was avaialable in my library I thought it would be an easy abridged way of reading some more space adventures. This also benefits from gorgeous artwork from Perez that makes it thoroughly enjoyable. The adventure is pretty brainless pulp stuff with long narrative passages and I was disappointed by the first book's titular Dejah Thoris, probably my favourite character, is missing for most of the story. But a pretty, fun and easy follow-up.
October 31, 2025
Good adaptation of the second book of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter/Barsoom series. I enjoyed revisiting the story in graphic novel form. I actually like "Gods" more than the first in the series, "A Princess of Mars." For one reason, our hero from Virginia, John Carter, shows that the religion of Barsoom ( Mars) is nothing but a sham! As with the first book and the rest of the books in the series, there's plenty of action, especially as the Martian ladies continually need saving!
May 9, 2020
I’m a huge John Carter fan, and the creative team here is very talented. That said, the combination of strangely proportioned figures and murky colors, and the way-too colloquial, anachronistic dialogue, don’t work. I guess the intent was to distance Marvel’s product from Dynamite’s concurrent work. The results are unfortunate.
December 20, 2024
Very much liked this - Ramon Perez's at is dynamic and expressive and everything you want for a tale like this, especially the impressive double page spreads.
Who knew that a long-distance relationship, like that between Carter & Thoris, would be so hard...?!?
Who knew that a long-distance relationship, like that between Carter & Thoris, would be so hard...?!?
August 12, 2025
The second and final volume of the Marvel adaptation of the Barsoom saga in paralell with the John Carter film. Great art to continue the adventure of Carter of Virginia to reunite with his wife Dejah Thoris
July 7, 2017
Will John Carter ever stop bouncing back and forth
March 16, 2020
Great pictures. Lots of action.
April 5, 2022
Save princess, lose prince five minutes later, fight the hoards of Mars, save princess. Wash rinse repeat
March 12, 2014
"With me, to think is to act" p 23, 37, repeats. "Zrak Zrakow! .. Hah! .. I felt no fear" p 22. "Cripes" p 68 is family rating (unless count sell-out "you damned our people to slavery" p 82). Phrases "if honor were leather, you couldn't saddle a flea" p 67 remind me of Louis L'Amour plain-speaking heroes https://www.goodreads.com/series/4212....
"I am Carthoris, son of John Carter" p 46 only spelt right first time as in Burroughs, elsewhere mispelt Cathoris. Conversation, ending, different than original https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Honor rules. Like L'Amour's Sackett family loyalty, John's pals return in nick of time, as do foes. Betrayal comes in blows from behind. Best kind of Barsoom tribute, inspires anticipation for original.
Regular mail brings Chicago author journal from Virginia Confederate Captain John Carter, entombed 12 years before. Only one who calls Mars 'Barsoom', narrator wakes to attack by blue tentacles and teeth, rescue by tall green tusked Thark friend, Tars Tark. Easier to use skin colors here than twist tongue on race designations. They seek John's wife, Helium Queen Dejah Thoris, in Valley of Dor (d'or = of gold, en Français).
Pilgrims to Valley of Death, 'Heaven', are enslaved by mortals pretending divinity. Enemies, white Therns holy race and black Omean pirates, both claim to be holy race 'Chosen Ones' by 'Goddess of Death' Issus, blue crone. John confronts weak cowardly leaders head-on, so honorable follow him instead. He frees fellow prisoners into more allies - his grown son Carthoris, white Princess Phaidor, black (ex-)Captain Xodar. Thuvia looks unusually soft smooth and gorgeous for a year jailed after pilgrimage "at the end of my life" p 19.
From red-skins in Helium, another old friend Kantos Kan, now Navy Commander, finds John and team. Old enemies Zat Arras and Zodagans pretend to commute capital sentence, traditional when blasphemers leave 'Paradise'. Green Sola Tarkas brings message. Issus will kill Dejah in two days. Zat throws John's team in dungeons, breaks public promise John and Carthoris will lead rescue expedition.
Outside reflects John inside. Rigid lines of face and curves of hair draw attention to classic (more than) square jaw, lightly bristled. Fierce eyes under angry brows are usually larger than lipless mouth. If his skin is blue or green, he is in the dark or dreaming. Dreams, not in original, are majorly annoying, tedious, slow, distract, interfere.
His costume always flatters his Adonis physique. Instead of arriving naked, this time a large brown cloth covers his bottom, swaddles into loose diaper. Rag binds wound over bulge of arm muscle. Between capture and facing Helium court, regalia appears. Gold chest pectoral necklace and armbands adorn those muscles, short skirt and tall boots show off lithe long legs.
Focus closes in tight - bloodshot eye, razor talon, drooling incisor - sharpens enemy menace. (1913 black Issus only has two fangs, obese, big belly.) Dialogue is fast modern Yankee slang. Banter at reunions is cross between manly poseur and girly Valley pubescent.
"sight for sore eyes .. apple pie .. so long, suckers" p 13, "soft in your old age" p 15. "Freeze!" p 17 "pulled a fast one" p 19. "Let's quit stallin' and put a knot in their tails .. Charge!! .. fly this bird .. All aboard!" p 21. "Just desserts" p 34 "hogwash" p 37. "Kathoom! Bulls-eye!" p 47. "Any landing you can walk away from .. This place went to heck .. good to see your ugly mug" p 54.
"Isn't he just the worst? .. trial is a sham" p 57. "Zat, if honor were leather, you couldn't saddle a flea" p 67. "Just in time to save my bacon!" p 73. "You swing a heck of a sword, sister!" p 75. "Yeeeee-haaaaw!" p 93. "Cat got your tongue ..? hornswagglers! I'm calling the shots" p 107.
Xodar to Issus "your scabby heart has revealed its sores to the world" p 107 is pirate Thurid to Xodar in original.
Typos
p 20 moutains is mountains
p 50,55,57,65,79,105,109 Cathoris is Carthoris p 46 first time right, as in Burroughs original
p 56 "Zat Arras" is "Arrras" in original
"I am Carthoris, son of John Carter" p 46 only spelt right first time as in Burroughs, elsewhere mispelt Cathoris. Conversation, ending, different than original https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Honor rules. Like L'Amour's Sackett family loyalty, John's pals return in nick of time, as do foes. Betrayal comes in blows from behind. Best kind of Barsoom tribute, inspires anticipation for original.
Regular mail brings Chicago author journal from Virginia Confederate Captain John Carter, entombed 12 years before. Only one who calls Mars 'Barsoom', narrator wakes to attack by blue tentacles and teeth, rescue by tall green tusked Thark friend, Tars Tark. Easier to use skin colors here than twist tongue on race designations. They seek John's wife, Helium Queen Dejah Thoris, in Valley of Dor (d'or = of gold, en Français).
Pilgrims to Valley of Death, 'Heaven', are enslaved by mortals pretending divinity. Enemies, white Therns holy race and black Omean pirates, both claim to be holy race 'Chosen Ones' by 'Goddess of Death' Issus, blue crone. John confronts weak cowardly leaders head-on, so honorable follow him instead. He frees fellow prisoners into more allies - his grown son Carthoris, white Princess Phaidor, black (ex-)Captain Xodar. Thuvia looks unusually soft smooth and gorgeous for a year jailed after pilgrimage "at the end of my life" p 19.
From red-skins in Helium, another old friend Kantos Kan, now Navy Commander, finds John and team. Old enemies Zat Arras and Zodagans pretend to commute capital sentence, traditional when blasphemers leave 'Paradise'. Green Sola Tarkas brings message. Issus will kill Dejah in two days. Zat throws John's team in dungeons, breaks public promise John and Carthoris will lead rescue expedition.
Outside reflects John inside. Rigid lines of face and curves of hair draw attention to classic (more than) square jaw, lightly bristled. Fierce eyes under angry brows are usually larger than lipless mouth. If his skin is blue or green, he is in the dark or dreaming. Dreams, not in original, are majorly annoying, tedious, slow, distract, interfere.
His costume always flatters his Adonis physique. Instead of arriving naked, this time a large brown cloth covers his bottom, swaddles into loose diaper. Rag binds wound over bulge of arm muscle. Between capture and facing Helium court, regalia appears. Gold chest pectoral necklace and armbands adorn those muscles, short skirt and tall boots show off lithe long legs.
Focus closes in tight - bloodshot eye, razor talon, drooling incisor - sharpens enemy menace. (1913 black Issus only has two fangs, obese, big belly.) Dialogue is fast modern Yankee slang. Banter at reunions is cross between manly poseur and girly Valley pubescent.
"sight for sore eyes .. apple pie .. so long, suckers" p 13, "soft in your old age" p 15. "Freeze!" p 17 "pulled a fast one" p 19. "Let's quit stallin' and put a knot in their tails .. Charge!! .. fly this bird .. All aboard!" p 21. "Just desserts" p 34 "hogwash" p 37. "Kathoom! Bulls-eye!" p 47. "Any landing you can walk away from .. This place went to heck .. good to see your ugly mug" p 54.
"Isn't he just the worst? .. trial is a sham" p 57. "Zat, if honor were leather, you couldn't saddle a flea" p 67. "Just in time to save my bacon!" p 73. "You swing a heck of a sword, sister!" p 75. "Yeeeee-haaaaw!" p 93. "Cat got your tongue ..? hornswagglers! I'm calling the shots" p 107.
Xodar to Issus "your scabby heart has revealed its sores to the world" p 107 is pirate Thurid to Xodar in original.
Typos
p 20 moutains is mountains
p 50,55,57,65,79,105,109 Cathoris is Carthoris p 46 first time right, as in Burroughs original
p 56 "Zat Arras" is "Arrras" in original
October 5, 2012
This is a positively gorgeous adaptation of Gods of Mars. Between Perez's lines and the team that's apparently doing the coloring, I haven't picked up a prettier comic that makes a better use of color in a long time. The scenes are tinted to match the atmosphere and done consistently, that they produce an emotional effect that makes up for the dry and didactic writing. For example scenes where expositive conversations are happening are tinted with blues and purple and when the scene shifts into action and battle the colors shift toward reds and yellows. This book would not be nearly as nice to look at without the color work. But in the end, Humphries' adaptation is too stiff and it really lacks depth. Characters tell one another what's going on and characters routinely disappear from the scene entirely once they've delivered their line. This is a very pretty book and does a great job of portraying Barsoom's sights and sounds it really falls short in the stiff dialog and the narrative that tells more than it shows.
September 10, 2014
The pacing struck me as exceptionally weak - JC is up against a challenge and, oh, no, wait, someone just pledged their sword to him. Someone showed up on a flyer. Someone that hadn't been foreshadowed saved him at the last moment. Nevermind jumping, if this was my first exposure to JC, I'd assume his superpower was deus ex machina.
The two page spreads - with sequences panning back and forth - were a dynamic touch. Not sure if it was the poses or narrow palette or what, but much of the art felt stale by the time I was getting to the last book in the collection.
The two page spreads - with sequences panning back and forth - were a dynamic touch. Not sure if it was the poses or narrow palette or what, but much of the art felt stale by the time I was getting to the last book in the collection.
November 8, 2012
Really great art here. I'm really looking forward to seeing more comics work from Ramon Perez in the future. (I'm thinking of buying his Eisner Award winning adaptation, Tale of Sand but the high price tag is stopping me right now. Maybe for Christmas...)
August 9, 2016
This one was better than the previous volume from Marvel; at least the art was decipherable this time around. The dialogue was still too flip for this reader.
It is nice that this volume as was the first one is an all-ages read.
It is nice that this volume as was the first one is an all-ages read.
July 9, 2014
Absolutely fantastic, great story, parallels some societal ridiculousness. Really this entire series is amazing but this is my favorite.
September 6, 2014
Short but sweet adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel. Fast moving and engaging with sometimes eye-popping art. Great job on the colors as well. A fun quick read for any fan of the novels.
October 18, 2014
LOOOVE IT !!! The dialogue wasn't much, but then the art was just gorgeous ! I wish there was more of the story, it's so interesting - just like the books ! :)
September 26, 2016
Some very good artwork.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews