Beyond the Farthest Star: Warriors of Zendar #1 Review!

Beyond the Farthest Star: Warriors of Zendar is a wild ride into a fantastic, sci fi world!  In 2020, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and American Mythology have expanded the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe with novels, starting in 2018, and comic books.  ERB was a fantastic world builder like Tarzan’s Africa, the prehistoric world, Pal-ul-Don, hidden lands like the Hollow Earth of Pellucidar, the lost island of Caspak, the underground world beneath the Moon called Va-Nah in The Moon Maid.

Also there is the planet Venus better known as Amtor and Cosoom in Barsoomian, and of course the planet we know as Mars on Earth, but really named Barsoom.  Beyond the Farthest Star (1940) is a sci fi novel that takes his imagination outside of our system, 450,000 light years away at a system of eleven planets orbiting the star Omos.  It was intended to be a series, but only one book was made.  The novel covers only one world, Poloda, with the hero, Tangor, and now we have the first appearance of Zendar in the ERBverse.  

The first issue has a cover by interior artist, Alessandro Renaldi, it has two women, one green-skinned alien with horns, and another woman, with a space suit and gold laser gun.  The background has giant mushrooms and rocky spires with the two women menaced by the points of spears.  The story has a story by Christopher Paul Carey who wrote the novel, Swords Against the Moon Men (2018) and is the ERB Universe creative director.  

Also, the story is by scripter Mike Wolfer, who is a writer, artist, and also editor for American Mythology Productions.  The narrator, Victory Harben, speaks about the cosmos before reaching Omos and its system with equi-distant planets!  It’s some beautiful painted artwork of the Omos system and planets.  Victory Harben is a new character introduced in Carson of Venus: The Eye of Amtor #1 (2020).  She was part of a back-up story in the novel, Carson of Venus: Edge of All Worlds (2020) by Matt Betts.  Victory Harben moves through the universe by the Gridley Wave.  

Victory suspects an alien intelligence with the formation of Omos and its planets and then focuses on Zendar.  It starts with a closeup of a bulky, alien creature, faces in their chest like the Bleemyai tribe, with a bony ridge on its head.  Its language is translated and we get the raiders taking apart a camp.  Victory Harben appears and the creatures are confused, but one gets a spear to kill Victory while she has a golden laser pistol.  She doesn’t understand the creatures at first, but Victory has a translator aura.  Victory fires first sending out a purple blast.  

It strikes the creature who shrugs off the blast, it remarks in English translated by Victory, then is set on fire!  All of the raiders take off.  Then, we get the fallen green-skinned Zendar natives with a surviving Zendarian woman.  She turns and then in close-ups we see her rage.  She charges after Victory.  The woman strikes Victory with her clawed hand and then sends her flying back.  Victory tries to get away and then woman locks her down.  Then, she is caught by hand and leg and swung around to be thrown into mushrooms.  The clawed hand grabs Victory by the throat! 

Victory is lifted into the air; Kyle Hill, science YouTuber, explained that the neck lift is an impossibility because of the muscles in the arm.  Victory takes out her pistol and then drops it to prove her innocence.  The native woman, also in English, asks why Victory sent her “people back to the water”?  Interesting, she does look evolved from an aquatic creature.  Victory explains that she is a traveler and describes the raiders whom the woman say are Keelars and recognize their spears.  She had seen the spears walking to the site of the murders.  

The native woman takes a body of what she calls a Go-Vaas to a pool.  Victory says that she saw the Keelars take her people in jars.  This was at the beginning of the scene, but I’m not certain they carried away the jars.  The woman says the Go-Vaas are her people’s children and immediately runs after them.  Victory falls behind on the run and the woman with black eyes says her tribe is the Ki-Vaas and they are protected by the Zo-Vaas.  There is so much background introduced in a few scenes!  

Then, the woman goes Tarzan swinging on a vine and leaving Victory on the massive tree branch.  It feels kinda Avatar (2009).  Victory is about go vine swinging when a strange dragon creature, it is later identified as a a Frozah, is about bite her.  They both face the Frozah loping towards them.  A small, white rodent hops in.  It is a companion for Victory Harben whom calls him Hucklebuck.  The critter swells up to a massive size complete with black horns, fangs, and claws.  It slashes at the Frozah sending it falling.  Hucklebuck goes back to pet size for Harben.  

She introduces herself and finds the woman’s name is Tii-Laa.  She has tracked the Keelars, but is suspicious about Victory.  She asks if the stranger has come from “The Land of Fire” or is one of the “Numinous Ones.”  Victory has heard of the latter and Tii-Laa runs off without Victory, but of course she follows.  Tii-Laa, whom I would be surprised is not a princess, and Victory Harben, typical Burroughs stranger in a strange land, make a great team.  Beyond the Farthest Star: Zendar Warriors #1 has an intriguing world and mysteries with characters that has the Burroughs tone and is a fun adventure!  

Four Gridley Waves out of Five!  

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