Warriors of Mars (lets discuss it here)

[Ralok]

First off, I love this comic, I love the new barsoomian written language (it will take me a while to decode though) I love the interpretation of these things

there are a few things I cant get over though, near the beginning one of the red martians doesnt understand what a country is . . . there are many nations on barsoom, I dont see why this would confuse him?

okay onto the list of differences, here the hithers are a red race, they are normal human sized, and heru is haths daughter, the hithers in gullivar of mars did not have children of their own and heru was some sort of . . . . excort to hath to my knowledge . . . .the caste of slave women is missing . . . the sea has been replaced with a canal . . . overall though I think these work for the hithers if you are going to translate them into a barsoomian context

there are a few things not explained, gullivar speaking the language for example! I suppose that could be a part of the carpets mystical influence though!

there is alot here that deviates from the original gullivar of mars, and not to any sort of detriment . . . because lets be honest . . . gullivar on mars kinda sucked


Now the thither people I think are the real highlight here, they are a blood red four armed people . . . there is a barsoomian feel to them, they are darker than the reddest red man

in the original gullivar of mars, they are referred to as ape-men constantly, and as you know apes on barsoom are four armed giants related to the green men. . . so this is a great extrapolation of that idea. Hybrids of this type green/red are only known in the lands of the therns, slaves in the labyrinths . .. and possibly in the valley of lost souls, a tundra region that is fairly fertile outside the valley door but still in the arctic . . . . in the original gullivar of mars, the thithers are from a tundra region that is semi-fertile with many sorts of pine trees and alot of barren land . . . not to disimiliar to what the valley of lost souls should be like

and to further cement this idea . . . the thither calls Gullivar a "ghost" now, I cant name many places on barsoom with white martians . . . but the therns who live in mountains high above the valley of the lost souls overlooking these individuals here . . . I might just be inclined to think that the thithers believe therns are ghosts!

now here is where it gets better, gullivar in the book traveled the river of death and that is how he reached the thither lands . . . the only path to the valley of lost souls is the river iss or airship above!!!!!!

now the only problem with this comic that I find, is that the thither refers to the red men . . . as red men . . . and they themselves are red, I would think they owuld have a pet name for the red men . . . like . . . ummmmm . . . "pale" men since they are so much redder

so in short, dynamite has created what the thithers should be in barsoomian context

warriors of mars is not gullivar of mars, it is gullivar of barsoom

it is the gullivar of edgar rice burroughs universe, traveling to edgar rice burroughs mars, this is a perfect fusion!

also, lack of airships with the red men, someone did their homework because this comic takes place 1400 years before John Carters arrival, that is 500 years before the invention of airships by the red martians (rediscovery of airships to be more accurate)


this comic is savagely faithful to barsoom, it does sacrifice faithfullness to gullivar of mars . . . but only too its benifit!

[Ralok]

and before anyways asks, no I have not added any fanon information I have simply speculated on how these things fit together using information exclusively from the barsoom series (gods of mars to be exact public domain read it if you have the chance) and the original gullivar of mars!

[Ralok]

when the heck is the next issue XD

the paaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn XD

[Ralok]

OLH LORD

the connection to the valley of the lost souls and the river iss just gets deeper

In gullivar of mars, the original book there is a carnivorous plant . . . there are two primary places that carnivorous plants live on barsoom, kaol . . . . and the valley dor

the valley dor, within spitting distance of the valley of lost souls, heck it might even be proper to change this carnivorous plant to a plant-man in warriors of mars!

[Ralok]

OH, and they fed a small APE too the carnivorous plant . . . . .

mother of god the similarities are just piling up

[Ralok]

GULLIVAR JUST PARTICIPATED IN A BARSOOMIAN TRADITION DEAR GOD WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN THIS BOOK

not exactly, buut to pay the woodman for his help . . . Gullivsr traded one of the brass buttons of his coat, which the woodman threaded and hung about his neck

this is ridiculously similar to the barsoomian tradition of exchanging ornaments

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THIS BOOK D:

[JohnCarter]

I only hope they don't imply that Gullivar is Dejah's real father because that would be too much. I hate when they do that sort of thing. But overall I like the series and the connection with Dejah's past is interesting.

[Ralok]

I only hope they don't imply that Gullivar is Dejah's real father because that would be too much. I hate when they do that sort of thing. But overall I like the series and the connection with Dejah's past is interesting.

i think that would be blatantly offensive to burroughs work, I do not think they are going to do that though

because that would make dejah thoris over 1300 years old and it would break the continuity of their series in an extreme way

[Ralok]

WARRIORS OF MARS ISSUE #3 IS FINAAAALLLYYYYY HERE

GREAT ISSUE, I love that dynamite didnt resort to the typical crossover cliche of the two heroes fighting

And next issue they finally enter the valley of the lost souls

[ChastMastr]

WOOT! Warriors of Mars #5 is out this week, according to Previews' website!! At last!! :) :) :)

[Ralok]

DARN RIGHT

I just read it . . . and I think that this series . . . NEEDS A FOLLOWUP

I think that this last issue is a perfect launching point for a "war of the warlord" with gulliver eventually recovering his carpet, so he may travel back in time to defeat the HG wells martians before they invade earth . . . thus causing the earth invasion of barsoom.

[ChastMastr]

Ack! I haven't read it yet, but Well's Martians are involved somehow? What the heck?

[Ralok]

Ack! I haven't read it yet, but Well's Martians are involved somehow? What the heck?

OH NO NO NO NO NO

that is just what I WANT

I havent read the whole thing yet either, I just skimmed throught it - _ -

but I would love if the human invasion of mars was provoked by H.G. Wells Martians

thus time-travelling gullivar will have to travel through time and stop them! BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME XD

[ChastMastr]

Ah, I see. Well, if it showed him averting the negative aspects of that future, I would like that. (I don't care for the idea of the WoM stuff leading up to a dystopia...)

[Ralok]

it didnt show that :/

in fact at the end he is stranded in the future, I certainly hope there is a followup.

[positronic]

Another big disappointment after an extended wait (along with Green Hornet Strikes! #10) from Dynamite for me this week. The story itself was fine, as opening chapters of a new story arc go. But it would have made more sense to end Warriors of Mars with the previous issue, since (a) John Carter wasn't in this story, and (b) why start a new story arc, and leave us with questions and dangling plot threads to an unresolved story in the last issue?

Nothing in there made me think they had any intention of tying the story into H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds martians, either.

[positronic]

thus time-travelling gullivar will have to travel through time and stop them! BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME XD

Might be a little too similar to Marvel's Killraven, Warrior of the Worlds though (which I wish they'd bring back) -- despite the lack of a time-travel element to that one.

[ChastMastr]

Yes, now that I've finished it... I honestly found it disappointing as well. :( Well, I can treat it as an out-of-Warlord-of-Mars-continuity tale or something (I would be surprised if the Thither people and such showed up in the main series), like a What If or Elseworlds for WoM, I suppose.

[Ralok]

overal lthis ending was a bit "meh"

it kinda makes me think warriors of mars was supposed to be longer

although this story does fairly fit in with burroughs larger continuity involving the moon maid

[ChastMastr]

it kinda makes me think warriors of mars was supposed to be longer

Yes, it feels like there was supposed to be another issue wrapping up the "future" stuff. Weird.

[DavidA]

I lost interest in this title through the long wait between issues. Reading it through at last, it's not bad at all.

I'd like to see a follow up.

[ChastMastr]

I also don't care for the idea that Mars' (and Earth's) future leads to this nasty dystopia. I'd prefer an unwritten future to a nasty one.

[Ralok]

I also don't care for the idea that Mars' (and Earth's) future leads to this nasty dystopia. I'd prefer an unwritten future to a nasty one.

then you are going to have to blame burroughs for that, read "the moon maid" for perspective.

[positronic]

then you are going to have to blame burroughs for that, read "the moon maid" for perspective.

Different dystopia, though. Warriors of Mars is DE's own original conception that has nothing to do with Burroughs' alternate future. In Burroughs' Moon trilogy, there is a war that lasts from 1917 to 1967, ending in total unilateral disarmament. By 2025, contact has been established with Barsoom, and knowledge of the Barsoomian 8th ray allows Earth to build its first space ship, "The Barsoom". It isn't destined to reach Mars, however. Forced down on the Moon, the crew of "The Barsoom" discovers the Moon has an interior world (like Pellucidar), the native Moon Men race of warlike Kalkars become aware of Earth, and in short order (by 2050) the Kalkars invade and conquer the now-disarmed Earth, where they hold sway for nearly 400 years, having forced humanity back into a pre-technological tribal state. A revolution is begun against the Kalkars around 2120 that will take over 300 years to complete. Up until the final victory of humanity in 2430, humans commonly believe the Earth to be flat.

[Ralok]

Different dystopia, though. Warriors of Mars is DE's own original conception that has nothing to do with Burroughs' alternate future. In Burroughs' Moon trilogy, there is a war that lasts from 1917 to 1967, ending in total unilateral disarmament. By 2025, contact has been established with Barsoom, and knowledge of the Barsoomian 8th ray allows Earth to build its first space ship, "The Barsoom". It isn't destined to reach Mars, however. Forced down on the Moon, the crew of "The Barsoom" discovers the Moon has an interior world (like Pellucidar), the native Moon Men race of warlike Kalkars become aware of Earth, and in short order (by 2050) the Kalkars invade and conquer the now-disarmed Earth, where they hold sway for nearly 400 years, having forced humanity back into a pre-technological tribal state. A revolution is begun against the Kalkars around 2120 that will take over 300 years to complete. Up until the final victory of humanity in 2430, humans commonly believe the Earth to be flat.

this takes place long after the year 2430 and humanity has recovered . . . at least thati s what I thought :/

that is why they go that whole lost era idea isnt it?

[positronic]

this takes place long after the year 2430 and humanity has recovered . . . at least thati s what I thought :/

that is why they go that whole lost era idea isnt it?
Well, it's "1000 years after the time of John Carter", so I guess that puts it about 500 years after humans throw off the yoke of Kalkar oppression on Earth. Still, I didn't see any veiled references to ERB's Moon trilogy, so it's doubtful the writer had that in mind or was taking it into account. No real reason is given for Earth declaring war on Barsoom. Nothing about the story made a lot of sense, although as I stated, it seemed like a typical opening chapter of a much longer (4-5 issue) story arc. Presumably the answers to these mysteries might have been forthcoming had the title not been unceremoniously cancelled.

I liked the cover a lot, though. It made the story look like something completely different -- an old movie serial.

[positronic]

Come to think of it, the Moon Maid/Moon Men/Red Hawk trilogy is public domain, so a much better story might be constructed, something in the vein of "Warlord of Mars vs. the Moon Men". A while back, Dark Horse did a Tarzan vs. the Moon Men story that was actually pretty good.

[Ralok]

Come to think of it, the Moon Maid/Moon Men/Red Hawk trilogy is public domain, so a much better story might be constructed, something in the vein of "Warlord of Mars vs. the Moon Men". A while back, Dark Horse did a Tarzan vs. the Moon Men story that was actually pretty good.

damned good, it also included some some great references to barsoom . . . including the appearance of a white ape.

I am not a fan of the latter two books in the moon trilogy, they certainly could undergo significant renovations to the story to make them a lot better