Graphic Novel Review: A Princess Of Mars - A Graphic Novel

"John Carter, a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War, goes prospecting in Arizona immediately after the war's end. Having struck a rich vein of gold, he runs afoul of the Apaches. While attempting to evade pursuit by hiding in a sacred cave, he is mysteriously transported to Mars, called "Barsoom" by its inhabitants. Carter finds that he has great strength and superhuman agility in this new environment as a result of its lesser gravity. He soon falls in with a nomadic tribe of Green Martians, or Tharks, as the planet's warlike, six-limbed, green-skinned inhabitants are known. Thanks to his strength and martial prowess, Carter rises to a high position in the tribe and earns the respect and eventually the friendship of Tars Tarkas, one of the Thark chiefs."

Now, I am very familiar with the original story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, having read the book (a couple of times) in the run up to the recent John Carter movie adaptation directed by Andrew Stanton, as well as the Dynamite comic book series, Warlord Of Mars. I was looking forward to this adaptation by Ian Edginton and illustrated by INJ Culbard, and I wasn't disappointed. 

The artwork is of the same standard of the previous graphic novels I've read by INJ Culbard; HP Lovecraft's At The Mountains Of Madness and The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward as well as Conan Doyle's The Hound Of The Baskervilles, so I knew what to expect. By the way, I would recommend those books as well. I thought the artwork fit the story well.

The story, adapted by Ian Edginton, unlike the recent John Carter film, sticks very faithfully to the original book. It did feel like it was edited down a bit though, kind of like a two hour movie condensed into a half hour edit, as I breezed through the pages, but it never detracted from the story and was still an enjoyable read.

If you loved John Carter the movie, then I would recommend picking this up to experience a pretty good adaptation of the original story, equally, I would recommend it to those who have read and enjoyed the original A Princess Of Mars novel too for exactly the same reason.

***1/2 out 5