New Series And One Great Crossover: Warlord Of Mars Attacks From Dynamite
by Olly MacNamee
I’m one of the few people I know that actually likes Disney’s John Carter film from 2012, and as a result threw myself into the original novel from Edgar Rice Burroughs. So, I’m quite excited at the prospect of him taking on those despicable Martians from another successful franchise; Topps’ Mars Attacks (which was another great film adaption). Dynamite Entertainment brings these two together in a rather fun sounding crossover you never knew you wanted until now in their new mini-series Warlord of Mars Attacks.
Who can best defend against a Martian invasion? A fearless human hero adopted by the red planet, the one and only John Carter! After a lander disturbs the Martian surface, everyone’s favorite big-headed sadistic aliens lead a brutal invasion force toward Earth. Meanwhile on Earth, a man from 1868 Virgina comes out of stasis.
Written by Jeff Parker (Batman ’66, James Bond Origin, Future Quest) with art from Dean Kotz (Dungeons & Dragons, Krampus), colours by Omi Remalante Jr. (Red Sonja, Agent 47: Hitman) and letters by Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou (Red Sonja, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) the first issue is out this June with a brace of variant covers by Dave Johnson (Batman, Deadpool, 100 Bullets), Marco D’Alfonso (I Am Groot, Vision), Ramon Villalobos (America, Nighthawk) and retro trading card inspired ones by Ben Caldwell (Red Sonja, Wonder Woman, Prez)
Writer Jeff Parker sounds absolutely thrilled to be onboard this dream gig:
John Carter meeting the Mars Attacks! Martians may sound insane, but I assure you it works, because Dean Kotz is drawing the hell out of it. It’s easily the most bizarre sci-fi concept I’ve been able to do yet, and the wildest mashup yet. And if you’re a Burroughs fan, you’ll appreciate some deep cuts that we put in.
As for artist, Kotz, here’s his take on this sci-fi and working with Parker and editor, Nate Cosby:
Working on my favorite Burroughs character with Jeff and Nate is a dream come true. Jeff seamlessly drops the original sci-fi swashbuckler smack dab in the middle of a retro alien invasion that spans two planets and hundreds of years. The blockbuster-scale story features so many interesting locales and characters. I never know what Jeff’s gonna throw at me next. And, thanks to those nasty Mars Attack! invaders, I get to draw A LOT of fun property damage.
As for Cosby’s take on the birth of this fun sounding book, I’ll leave him with the last word:
True story, Jeff, Dean, Omi & Hassan came to my house and tied me up and said if I don’t let them make a comic where John Carter beats the holy hell out of the green dudes from Mars Attacks, they were gonna keep me tied up and kick my shins and not let me have cereal. I love cereal, and I don’t like my shins kicked, so I said OK. They let me go, and the comic is fever-dreamingly awesome. So everything worked out in the end.
Look out for Warlord of Mars Attacks #1 this June from Dynamite.
