Review: The Art of Dejah Thoris and the Worlds of Mars Vol 2 (H/C)

There are few iconic characters in comics that once you say their name, you pretty much know what you are going to get.  With Batman it’s cowl, cape darkness and “I am the night”; Spider-Man is all webs, power and responsibility and Wonder Woman is all Amazonian, bracelets and lasso of truth.  Taking things away from the Big Two, when it comes to Dejah Thoris, you should expect the red skies and sands of Mars, long dark hair and the wispy almost there (and sometimes it’s not) alien bikini ensemble.

This book may serve a double purpose; on the the first hand is it centered squarely at the fans of Dejah, encompassing the heroine in all her curvy glory.  Secondly, its an art book with no pesky dialogue or context to worry about.  With a character that is so ensconced in the visual appeal, an art book is s great way to keep the character in the public eye without the need to try yet another re-hash.  By utilising some of the best covers from a number of series, Dynamite are allowing the beauty of the art to carry the weight of the book.

By setting it’s stall in a couple of aspects of the comic medium, pencils and colors, Dynamite have relied on a bevy of strong artistic talent including J. Scott Campbell, Joe Jusko, Frank Cho, Lucio Parillo, Tula Lotay and Mike McKone to name but a few.  The volume is broken down into three chapters, “On Her Own”, “True Love” and “Crossing Over”; the titles of which should give some indication of what to expect, at least when it comes to the vibe of each chapter.

This book may not win fans from the “women are objectified” crowd that exists within comics commentary.  Now I am not saying that is an invalid argument at all, but do not let one world view deter you.  Regardless of what you may think of the quality of the various Dejah books from the past few years, you cannot escape the fact that the cover art is fantastic, displaying a variety of  form, style and general creativity, that accentuates the best of the visual side of comic books.

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Art by; J. Scott Campbell, Joe Jusko, Frank Cho, Lucio Parillo, Tula Lotay, Mike McKone and various
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment