Graphic Novel Review: "A Princess of Mars"

Last night I made a visit to my local bookstore, and the cover of this book immediately caught my attention. I think it was the color scheme (being an art lover and all, I'm drawn to nice-looking books). But did I ever learn to not judge a book by it's cover. I read this book in about an hour last night. Before this point, I was not familiar with the story of John Carter. I know, right? GASP! I mean...I'd heard the name and that, I suppose, was my only saving grace. I quick Google search revealed the correlation I suspected in my head: "Hey...this WAS adapted for the movie screen by Disney". Ah-ha! I am ashamed to admit that I've never read "Under the Moons of Mars", but this graphic novel has seriously gotten me interested! I think it's a good intro for people like me who are a little on the Science Fictionally Challenged side (I just made up that condition. You owe me a quarter every time you use it. My paypal account is....nevermind.). In all seriousness, it was great for the purpose of introducing the concept of John Carter's journey...science fiction in general...etc. But that's about where the greatness stops. Except the art. I can't forget the art. That's for later, though.


My main problems with this graphic novel was that it moved REALLY fast. I felt like a lot of plot was desperate to be crammed into what...less than a hundred and fifty pages? Sometimes I found myself going back and rereading with a "What...? Where did that guy come from?" mindset. This then pushed me farther away from the main idea. I believe that any reader like myself (who wants to know EVERYTHING and not miss ANY detail) would struggle with this graphic novel. I know what you're thinking. "Ashleigh...what's wrong with you. This is considered an Illustrated Classic...you know...those books for kids who don't want to read the REAL thing. It doesn't get any easier than that". Wrong. I think that actually hurt this book's impact. I feel like more time should have been spent on telling more of the back story and the details during major plot events. Even if it had to be spread into a few books, I feel that a graphic novel adaptation of such a classic could hold its own if done properly. Now... I'm going on the assumption that the 1911 version of this story (you know...the REAL thing...) is long, somewhat difficult, and spends a lot of time delving into the actual scientific aspects of the story (as is typical Sci-Fi). I may be wrong. I probably am. Regardless, I think this retelling of a classic was approached wrongly. If this graphic novel is meant for kids, and that's it's excuse, then how do you explain there NOT BEING A STITCH OF CLOTHING ON THE WHOLE PLANET?!? :P Not kid appropriate!

Now that I've made you think "A Princess of Mars" is a terrible book, I feel like I owe it an apology. I'm sorry, book. There. In reality, there are a few good things about it! The book itself is of GREAT quality. The pages are thick, and top to bottom and corner to corner are covered in bright, gorgeous ink. The artwork and coloring are GREAT. There's not necessarily a whole lot of shading or details, but it works together to not only entertain your eye but get the point across. The book smelled great (I guess it's all that ink and heavy paper the pages are made of?). Yup...I'm one of those dorks. I smell books as I open them. You can't lie! You've done it, too! As I mentioned before, the book got me seriously interested in "Under the Moon of Mars". I plan to read it. Soon. In fact, this graphic novel kind of has me craving science fiction of any kind. I LOVED the genre. Any suggestions from my sci-fi friends? It may have been the other-worldly feel of it (other than the fact that it's Mars), or it may have been the cliffhanger ending. Though I did not like the pace of it, it was effective as a gateway book (Ahahaha!). For that, I owe it something!

If you're curious, the book was done by these dudes: Ian Edginton (Adapter), Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author), I.N.J. Culbard (Illustrator)

Have you read this? Do you agree? Disagree? Send me your review/thoughts and I'll publish them here!