'John Carter: The End' by Brian Wood and Alex Cox with art by Hayden Sherman is about an aged John Carter, but the story and art are equally a bit of a mess.

Centuries have passed (apparently John Carter has surpassed human aging), and John is living with Dejah Thoris on a moon. They mourn the loss of their son, but John has a secret: he's still alive. This exiled son has started an uprising on Mars and John and Dejah are called to quell it. Can these two aged warriors possibly save Mars?

The story is kind of hard to follow and relies more on narrative than action. The art is frenetic and chaotic, but that seems in keeping with the story. The rough nature makes it a bit hard at time to distinguish characters. I like the idea of this graphic novel better than the execution.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I’ve been well aware of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character John Carter for decades but never got around to reading one of the many books with the character until about 10 years ago. That first book was a treat but I’ve never gotten around to reading the rest. The movie, one I found enjoyable but that died at the box office, help keep my interest in the character going. So when I saw this title I was interested to see where it went.

The book takes up years after Carter has left Mars, his second home. Things have drastically changed. A new ruler in one city has determined to wipe out the inhabitants of the rest and set things in motion to make it happen. Unfortunately the rest includes Carter’s friend including Tars Tarkas. With Carter back on planet he looks to find out what happens.

In his quest he is reunited with the love of his life Dejah Thoris and we learn that for some reason the two had parted ways, involving the death of their son. But the new ruler has ties to Dejah who visits him to learn what they are. That revelation sets into motion a battle between this new ruler and Cater. But is this ruler who he claims or merely the puppet of a mastermind behind it all? All is revealed by the books end.

The storytelling here is solid and straightforward wasting no time or space to move from point A to point Z. Instead it draws the reader in and keeps hold of them. The artwork isn’t the standard seen in most comics but uses a rather jagged pencil stroke to form both scenery and characters. It works here as these are not smooth characters to involve in the story but hard men and aliens seeking to prevent the destruction of all they know.

In the end the book was an interesting one to read and observe. Does it end as the title suggest? I’ll let you decide rather than spoil anything. The same for the questions left hanging in the balance as you move through the book, the reuniting of Carter and Dejah, the fate of his child and that of Tars Tarkas. On the whole if you are a fan this is one to pick up.

A great revisiting to the world of John Carter and Barsoom. It was great to see old faces one again and for it to get right to the point and dive straight in to the good stuff!.

I found this book very obtuse. I'm acquainted with the John Carter stories, but have not read all of the stories. The book is set hundreds of years in John Carter's future, yet most of the characters from the original books are still alive? Whaaat? The entire book seems to consist of a bunch of posturing about war but with very little actual conflict. The book blows its wad in about 2 pages of battle and then it's over. I found myself often confused. There was one page that took place in World War I. I don't know what the hell it was doing there. It feels like Brian Wood phoned this one in to cover some gambling debts or something.

The art was reminiscent of Walt Simonson if you removed any curves from his art and he only drew straight lines. Everyone looked the same. I couldn't tell them apart besides, "Oh, that's an alien." or "That's a girl, it must be the queen."

John carter was my favourite novel. Reading this with colourful illustration is fun.......

It was decent. The artwork was jarring, and made it difficult to follow who was who, as did the story.

First, those who loved the Edgar Rice Burroughs pulp classic will appreciate that this sequel stays faithful to the universe. Characters from books ranging from Mastermind of Mars to Synthetic Men of Mars make appearances and retain Burroughs' traits. But on the other hand, it could be argued that the series came of age in the 1970s in the era of lush Frank Frazetta inspired artwork - and although the art is solid here, it feels incongruous with pulp escaptionist fantasy.

Story: John Carter and his wife Deja Thoris have retreated to Titan to live in seclusion after the death of their son. But Mars is in need of its queen and warlord: reds are battling greens and genocide is the final solution With the help of former allies, both John and Deja will have to deal with some hard truths about the life they left behind - and the lie that will break them apart.

Storywise, this does feel rushed. It's fairly short and oddly skips over most of the action in favor of big reveals and introductions of series characters. The story does nicely follow from Burroughs' originals and makes sense as a progression after a long period of time. But it also skips randomly and can be very confusing despite being fairly straightforward. Cohesion just wasn't there and this felt like a series of stitched-together vignettes rather than a tightly plotted story. The ending especially was highly anticlimactic.

I think the real let down was the choice of art talent. The art is professionally done - but perhaps better suited for a different series. In the afterwards, it was noted that Frank Frazetta physiques were used but the angular and highly shadowed art was more reminiscent of Sin City to me. Imagine Sin City's Marv as an aged John Carter and you get the idea. I don't know that I buy an old man built like Tarzan after living in seclusion for decades, to be honest. Deja Thoris fared worse - a large block of a woman with ill defined features. That lack of detail was a problem throughout since it became hard to tell one character from another. Is that Tars or a random warrior? Good luck figuring it out.

Perhaps because I grew up in the era of lush Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta fantasy artists in the 1970s rather than Frank Miller blockiness or Brothers Hildebrandt giant feet in the 1980s that this book felt off to me. As well, the writing is far too conscious of itself (with heavy genocide morals) in a bad Urshurak shallowness sort of way rather than the fun pulp of 1970s that gave Burroughs and Norman's Gor series a huge resurgence of popularity. The fun is missing here and John Carter isn't coming back for a last grand adventure so much as a dreary endless battle.

All said, John Carter: The End is lFirst, those who loved the Edgar Rice Burroughs pulp classic will appreciate that this sequel stays faithful to the universe. Characters from books ranging from Mastermind of Mars to Synthetic Men of Mars make appearances and retain Burroughs' traits. But on the other hand, it could be argued that the series came of age in the 1970s in the era of lush Frank Frazetta inspired artwork - and although the art is solid here, it feels incongruous with pulp escaptionist fantasy.

Story: John Carter and his wife Deja Thoris have retreated to Titan to live in seclusion after the death of their son. But Mars is in need of its queen and warlord: reds are battling greens and genocide is the final solution With the help of former allies, both John and Deja will have to deal with some hard truths about the life they left behind - and the lie that will break them apart.

Storywise, this does feel rushed. It's fairly short and oddly skips over most of the action in favor of big reveals and introductions of series characters. The story does nicely follow from Burroughs' originals and makes sense as a progression after a long period of time. But it also skips randomly and can be very confusing despite being fairly straightforward. Cohesion just wasn't there and this felt like a series of stitched-together vignettes rather than a tightly plotted story. The ending especially was highly anticlimactic.

I think the real let down was the choice of art talent. The art is professionally done - but perhaps better suited for a different series. In the afterwards, it was noted that Frank Frazetta physiques were used but the angular and highly shadowed art was more reminiscent of Sin City to me. Imagine Sin City's Marv as an aged John Carter and you get the idea. I don't know that I buy an old man built like Tarzan after living in seclusion for decades, to be honest. Deja Thoris fared worse - a large block of a woman with ill defined features. That lack of detail was a problem throughout since it became hard to tell one character from another. Is that Tars or a random warrior? Good luck figuring it out.

Perhaps because I grew up in the era of lush Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta fantasy artists in the 1970s rather than Frank Miller blockiness or Brothers Hildebrandt giant feet in the 1980s that this book felt off to me. As well, the writing is far too conscious of itself (with heavy genocide morals) in a bad Urshurak shallowness sort of way rather than the fun pulp of 1970s that gave Burroughs and Norman's Gor series a huge resurgence of popularity. The fun is missing here and John Carter isn't coming back for a last grand adventure so much as a dreary endless battle.

All said, John Carter: The End is leagues better than the travesty that was the Deja Thoris series of a few years ago. The creators knew the subject well and stayed faithful to the lore and characters. But in execution, the story is choppy and lacking the unbridled joy of action and adventure, favoring instead to give us melancholy and introspection. That seems a waste of a good pulp story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.eagues better than the travesty that was the Deja Thoris series of a few years ago. The creators knew the subject well and stayed faithful to the lore and characters. But in execution, the story is choppy and lacking the unbridled joy of action and adventure, favoring instead to give us melancholy and introspection. That seems a waste of a good pulp story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I like a good science-fiction adventure with aliens on another planet, so this graphic novel had all the right ingredients for me.

We reviewed this comics on our podcast here: http://www.krayzcomix.solitairerose.com/?p=1190 One host gave it is a "borrow" recommendation, the other gave it an "ignore". Both discussed how the art did not fit the story and that it was for John Carter fans only, and did not work for readers unfamiliar with the character and his world.

Reading copy provided by Netgalley.

As a fan of the original ERB John Carter of Mars series and the Dynamite graphic novel series of Dejah Thoris, you may safely categorize me as a Mars fan. I welcome a new John Carter story.

The joy of the Martian books, whether by ERB or Dynamite is that they are unpretentious. There is a great story line, understandable characters and lots of fun. That being said, the stories generally hang together well and have great internal sense.

As a graphic novel, "John Carter: The End" must be judged on two levels. One, on the story telling and a second, on the art.

I very much enjoyed the art of "The End" although at times it remained a bit of a challenge to determine what or which character was depicted in the frame. Still, the drawing was clean and sharp and the coloring good. In contrast to, say, the Dejah Thoris series, where the figures are rendered quite realistically, there is a more abstract quality to the rendering here, but still quite representational.

If there is a problem it is with the story line. There are some unexpected jumps that leave one scratching one's head wondering how we got here. To go into detail on this would require that I insert some spoilers, so I will spare the detail and the spoilers. Overall, the discontinuities, while a bit of an irritation, do not grossly upset the direction of the book, although they do leave a certain uneasiness that events were brought to a conclusion that was all too convenient given the twists in the plot.

Despite these reservations, still a fun read in the classic John Carter tradition. While "John Carter: The End" will never be a leading light in the series, any excuse to get back to Mars is often welcome and this is not a half bad excuse.

John Carter: The End brings the hero created by Edgar Rice Boroughs to life in comic format. But did we need this tale?
John and his wife are hiding out on one of Mar's moon away from the trials and tribulations of the people of Mars. But they are found when the current ruler of Mars has started a genocide, and, sadly, that ruler has a connect to John Carter.
Disclaimer: I haven't read all the books in the series so maybe I've missed something. The comic is only five issues so everything happens rapidly with out a lot of emotional investment. The twist in the story is pretty typical in the sci-fi genre so I wasn't very wowed or surprised. Also, there were a few places were I didn't understand what was going on. Overall, I thought the story uninspiring and I didn't understand why the author decided this was a story that needed to be told.

I loved the feel of this book. The tone the gritty illustrations throughout the graphic novel beautifully convey. A bit haunting, melancholic and decisive. A fitting conclusion. Well worth the read regardless whether this world is new to you or not.

If you are familiar with the John Carter stories then you may well enjoy this. I can't say I enjoyed either the story or the artwork. It was just not for me.

Copy provided by Diamond Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.