Dynamite Delves Into The History Of Mars

Dynamite has had incredible critical and commercial success of Dynamite’s Warlord of Mars, Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris, and Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom series. Now comes Dejah Thoris and the White Apes of Mars #1.

On the way to an archeological dig at an ancient battle site at the “face” of Mars, Dejah Thoris and her party are stranded. They take shelter in a dead, ancient city –  infested with killer white apes. Hungry ones. The most harrowing horror story in the annals of Barsoom!  Dejah Thoris and the White Apes of Mars is written by Mark Rahner and drawn by Lui Antonio, with covers by Brandon Peterson and Alé Garza and will hit comic stores in April 2012!

“The most terrifying tale in the annals of Barsoom,” says writer Mark Rahner.  “A trip to unearth the secret of the “face of Mars” when the Princess, her best friends and crew get stranded in an ancient dead city – infested with ravenous white apes. You’ve never seen a Mars epic like this!”

“Mark [Rahner] has been on a roll with us, turning out great work on the Green Hornet and Warlord of Mars with the Annuals he did for us,” adds Dynamite Editor Joe Rybandt.  “For this series, we’ve given him a lot more room and he’s paid us back by delivering a terrifying tale of horror and survival on Barsoom! Don’t you miss it!”

“There are so many more stories that can be told about Dejah Thoris, that we knew we had to expand Dejah’s universe with another Dynamic comic book,” states Dynamite President and Publisher Nick Barrucci. “Mark is doing a fantastic job on this series, and we are extremely excited by his take on Dejah Thoris!”

Princess of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the first of his famous series, which initially began publication in serialized form within the pages of All-Story Magazine in February 1912. It is also Burroughs’ first novel, predating his Tarzan stories. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the story is considered a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction.

Dejah Thoris is the Princess of the Martian city state/empire of Helium, Dejah Thoris is the love interest and later the wife of John Carter, an Earthman mystically transported to Mars, and subsequently the mother of their son Carthoris and daughter Tara. She plays the role of the conventional damsel in distress who must be rescued from various perils, but is also portrayed as a competent and capable adventuress in her own right, fully capable of defending herself and surviving on her own in the wastelands of Mars.

Mark Rahner is a veteran critic, interviewer and pop culture writer at the Seattle Times. His comic book work includes “Galveston” and “Cthulhu Tales.”  Rahner’s work has appeared in publications around the world including WIRED, FANGORIA, and STARS AND STRIPES. Media appearances include Headline News, MSNBC TV, KIRO talk radio Seattle, KPTK (Air America) radio Seattle, KZOK (Bob Rivers Show) Seattle, and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (“Rahner’s Rotten Rentals”).