Warlord of Mars #4

This comic is proof (if any were needed) that I must be a geezer.

Let me explain. Sometime in the early-to-mid-1960s, at the age of about 10 (and maybe a little younger) I saw an issue of Playboy. I was at a friend's house, and he and his brother had discovered a issue of the magazine their dad had hidden in his bedroom.

With great delight we stared at the centerfold, which featured a beautiful (and naked) woman laying on a bear skin rug.

And she was more covered up than Dejah Thoris is on the cover of this issue of Warlord of Mars.

And if that's not enough, the gal on the cover is also more modest than the drawings inside this issue, wherein Dejah wears just the tiniest pasties and a skimpy thong.

Don't think I'm complaining - but with a feature film in the near future, you'd think the creators of this comic would give her at least a little more cover, if just in the interest of appealing to a wider audience.

This issue continues the adaptation of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and it brings us to the point - finally - where John Carter of Earth meets Dejah Thoris.

But the path of true love is never smooth (or something like that), and there are a few hundred angry Martians John will have to deal with first.

Writer Arvid Nelson and illustrator Lui Antonio turn in strong work here, with some impressive creative touches such as the unique design for the Martian air ships.

The story is unfolding slowly, but so far, it's been true to the original story (which has long been one of my favorites), even if the costuming is a bit more daring.

Grade: B+

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