John Carter, Warlord of Mars #16 - Sept. 1978

"John Carter is Dead!" by Chris Claremont, Ernie Colon, and Rudy Nebres.

This first issue of John Carter, Warlord of Mars under a new writer stars with what would seem to be a dead end:

Obviously we can only guess what Daria said, exactly, since obviously someone in Marvel's Production Department goofed up (damn faulty rubber cement!). But I think we get the idea. Anyway, back to the fight:

John Carter's body lies in state so the people of Helium can pay their respects. A massive funeral procession follows, as if they were burying a god.

That night, Carter's dear friend Kantos goes to visit the tomb, and is wracked with despair over his friend's death. He is more than a little shocked when a hand reaches out from the shadows, the hand of...John Carter!

Tars Tarkas hears Kantos cry out, and comes in. He finds a pulse in Carter's collapses body--this is no ghost--and takes him to the palace. It turns out that Carter's body was able to withstand the poison, a dose that would have killed anyone else.

Carter asks where Dejah is, and Sola reveals that she has gone off to find the Guild of Assassins to get revenge. That inspires Carter to rise from his bed and follow after his wife! He hops in a flier and takes off:

...to be continued!


Ernie Colon (who didn't do all that much work for Marvel) and Rudy Nebres make an interesting combo. Nebres' heavy style tended to make every artist who drew this book look similar, giving the series a generally uniform look. But as we'll see next issue, there was more change coming!