Review: Dejah Thoris Fairy Tales One Shot

In the modern era of multi-versal shenanigans it seems that every publisher is giving readers an alternative versions of their favourite heroes or heroines. This time around Dynamite are taking something of a less is more approach by keeping the main. themes of the heroine, in this case Dejah Thoris, intact whilst pairing down some of the drama, essentially giving the book a fairy tale feel.

Once upon a time, there lived a princess of Royal blood by the name of Dejah Thoris. When Dejah’s father took a new wife, hatred rather than loved filled the house as the evil step would not share her husbands love with another, especially the younger princess. So a plan was hatched to kill the princess. But all plans of mice and evil step-mothers oft go awry and instead of being martyred, Dejah is marooned to the wild of Barsoom!

Ron Marz, a comic veteran of many a book, takes the story and focuses it through a fairy tale lens. Now Marz, may be known for a raft of heroes, so taking a kind of simpler approach isn’t something that you would think would work. However, Marz takes the princess elements and goes all Disney. It’s a great effort, revitalising a familiar story with a certain charm that works. The dialogue screams Disney; the language used and the motives are basic, are all comic books so easy to break down to fairy tale elements? Is Batman really about an angry orphan and a scary clown? Is Peter Parker and his spider bite, just Jack and his magic beans?

Juxtaposed with the writing is the cheesecake art of Andres Labrada, which given that this is Dejah Thoris book, gets full work out in the skimpiest of outfits. Certain body parts move in some sort separate accordance with the rest of her body. This, of course, is part of the reason why this character and her world is so popular. Regardless of your view of cheesecake art; I for one enjoy it; you cannot knock Labrada’s consistency and dedication to the cause. Labrada’s easy lines match the tone of the writing, is coupled with manga stylings. Ellie Wright’s colors work well, not overcooked in the slightest. The scheme is a tad different than you may expect from Barsoom, but thats the vibe of this book in the first place! Letters are supplied by Jeff Eckleberry who uses a spacious font. A quick mention goes to cover artist Soo Lee who drops a gorgeous Alex Raymond homage.

A surprise book from the outset, that impresses a cynic like me with its “it is what it is” honesty, in an easy going, charming and fun read.

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 4 Stars

Coloes – 4 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Ron Marz
Art; Andres Labrada
Colors by; Ellie Wright
Letters by; Jeff Eckleberry
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network