I can’t believe he pulled it off. Roger Langridge actually got the whole plot of the original novel into five issues, and pretty effectively, I’d say. Of course, I say that as someone who read the book beforehand; I’m curious to see what someone who didn’t read it would think of this series. It rushes through a lot — the final battle in Zodanga takes less than a page — but I didn’t mind it, because Langridge has carefully established and deliberately exaggerated three things about John Carter: 1) He’s awesome. 2) He’s amazingly lucky. 3) He loves Dejah Thoris and will overcome anything to be with her. Langridge isn’t making any of those things up; those were all part and parcel of the original book. Far better that he trim the plot and keep the emotional core of the story than, say, The Last Airbender, which did the opposite. Langridge has also been fortunate to have an artist whose exaggerated, cartoony style matches the tone of the story perfectly (and who, I must say, draws a mean guitar solo in this issue). Also, after four issues of straight Martian action, it’s neat to see how Andrade dials it down for the scenes on Earth; it’s the same style, but it’s a lot quieter.