Queen of Mars Book 3: The Mettle of Mars is a comic written and penciled by Mick Beyers with inks and tones by Jeff Foulsham. Phaidor commands a group of troops as they search for Isdar in the city of Zalah. This is a sci-fi fantasy tale with fleshed out characters in an intriguing world with its share of secrets. The main lady for this story is Phaidor, the new Queen of Therns who is attempting to solidify her kingdom. Accompanying her are two Thark(creatures with four arms, two torsos and fangs) women named Sola and Sarkoja, Sola being the former companion of Kahr Kagut. Kahr Kagut is a warrior who has been with Phaidor since before she obtained her throne. The story here is straightforward; this group is just trying to find Isdar. They’ll meet a wide array of new creatures and reveal things about themselves that’ll add an extra layer of depth to these characters. While the last issue was more politics-focused and dealt with a power struggle I’d say the theme for this one is a mix of honor, fear, and respect. The action scenes are bloody and gory. This is a slow-paced story that almost seems crossed with a novel as some pages can contain a large amount of words while others feature only a few bubbles. The intensity is high throughout most of this story and you’ll be able to feel the stress of the characters. The dialogue is full of words created for this world so you will have to do some rereading and double-checking just so you can be sure you’re on the right track. The characters speak using older English so it gives off that 70’s and 80’s fantasy feel. This is an exciting and revealing third issue that’ll have you on the edge of your seat for some moments and deep in thought for others.
This is a black-and-white comic that spares no expense when it comes to details. From wide shots of the landscape covered in wreckage to the grand interiors of these buildings these environments help tell the story. There are only two main locations: The ruins of a Zalah and a grand palatial building. A good amount of panels have lively backgrounds(when applicable) that keep you focused on the scene. The expression level here is high as nearly every character has a different every panel. The range here is vast as we’ll see true terror and deep disgust along with disbelief and determination. The faces here are drawn well enough to where it easy to distinguish between the different humans. The Tharks look a bit too similar in the face so you’ll have to have all your context clues in order to know who is who. The weapons of choice here are guns and very long swords. The action scenes here are lengthy and feature blood, dismemberment, and can get very physical. You might get a bit lost in the violence as there is a lot going on. Now there are two versions of this comic; Barsoomian, which has everyone stark naked, and Jasoomian, which has everyone clothed. Even without clothes none of the characters are sexualized, it’s as if no one even notices.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like sci-fi fantasy tales taking place on Mars starring a woman and a Thark and dealing with a contested throne and missing friends and featuring lots of combat and deep quotable this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Nudity(if Barsoomisan version), blood, gore.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“No matter. Living or dead, I must look upon her.”
Kickstarter Link(late pledges available): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hmyc/a-queen-of-mars-1-3/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 38
Violent Pages: 16, for 42% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 2, for 5% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 3
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 5
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 4
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1 if Jasoomian, 3 if Barsoomian
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
