John Carter, Warlord of Mars #8 - Jan. 1978

"...And Stone May Crumble!" by Marv Wolfman, Gil Kane, and Rudy Nebres.

John Carter and Dejah Thoris have a rare moment of relaxation:

...well, that certainly puts a damper on the fun!

Kantos thinks this is all superstitious nonsense (kind of unusual for a resident of Mars), but Tars Tarkas warns him to heed such symbols. Carter agrees with Kantos, and relates a story from his time on Earth, about the time he led an expedition through Africa.

Carter and his party were apprehended by a Voodoo priest, who claimed his dolls had powers over the white men. One of them believed the threats, and ended up being burned at the stake. But when it came for Carter's turn, he refused to fall fo it, and ended up kicking the voodoo priest into his own pyre. This story makes Tars Tarkas...hungry.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, a monstrous being called The Great One (Wayne Gretsky?) is infuriated at the murder of Stara-Kan by John Carter. He lets his displeasure be known by grabbing the head of a Martian and crushing it like a grape.

Back in Helium, John Carter and Dejah settle down for the night, as do Kantos and Lyssia, though they aren't quite as content:

While Kantos loves Lyssia, he cannot bring himself to quit the service, premonitions or no. While he and John Carter talk, there's a massive explosion outside the city. Springing from the ground is a series of giant serpents, made entirely of stone!

But John Carter is not aware of his, busy as he is questioning one of the hooded assailants. Before the man has a chance to say anything, he is blasted by one of the serpents, now right outside the gates of Helium. The blast turns him into stone!

As Carter and his friends scatter, Kantos notices Lyssia is missing! He braves the creatures by trying to rescue her--climbing atop one of them and cutting into its head with his sword. John Carter does the same, trying to put one of the serpents in the line of fire from another one.

He then runs off, looking for what he believes to be the source of this madness, Stara-Kan's mechanical arm:

...to be continued!


Another downbeat ending! Say what you will, but Marv Wolfman was certainly willing to pick off the occasional character in this series (even if they weren't any of the regulars). It helps get across what an absurdly dangerous world Mars is!