When I first stumbled across the comedic science fiction comic Marooned, I couldn’t help but reflect on how it reminded me in essence of some of the classics of science fiction literature, such as the Barsoom pulp fiction stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. While Marooned does share the vision of a dying Mars, much like in Burroughs’ stories, it takes a more whimsical look at the inhabitants of Mars and the very imperfect protagonists the comic is about. In this, I believe Marooned exceeds those early pulp fiction stories with their immortal hero who is superior to the Martians in every way, with characters who are flawed and quite human – even among the non-humans.

The comic has an interesting mix of characters, both Earth-born and Martian, that help drive the comic’s story. The primary human protagonist, Captain Floyd John (and likely named in homage of John Carter from the Barsoom stories) may tower above many of the aliens, but he’s not depicted as superior to them. If anything, he’s one of the most flawed of the characters and has on several occasions required the assistance of others (both Martian and that of his sentient robotic compatriot, Asimov) in order just to survive. Yet there have been several instances where Captain John has come through in a pinch. He may be a flawed hero, but he’s still a hero, having fought for his friends even when there’s been little hope of his prevailing.

The second protagonist of the series, the sentient robot Asimov, plays the role of the deadpan snarker to Captain John’s straight man. It has on a multitude of occasions denigrated Captain John and done its best to ensure its human compatriot realize just how worthless he really is. Fortunately, Asimov itself is not immune to the occasional putdown (often from the Martians themselves), and in one strip realized it needs Captain John to have purpose. Asimov creates an interesting dichotomy to its partner, possessing a sense of cynicism (and at times defeatism) that appears mostly absent from Captain John.

While Captain John and Asimov are central to the majority of the plot, the Martians Ugo and Ril are key elements to making the story interesting. The growing father/daughter relationship between Captain John and Ril is rather sweet (with Ril playing the part of the rebellious daughter) and presents a counter to his desire to return home to Earth, or accept that he’s been abandoned on Mars and accept the hand fate has dealt him. Ugo’s role is more diverse, but at its heart, Ugo is the wise old mentor who helps Captain John and Asimov cope with the strangeness that is Mars.

Naturally there’s more to Marooned than just those four characters. Some, like Liam, I hesitate to talk about as it would ruin one of the more interesting plot twists in the comic (though observant readers will likely realize parts of it before the twist unveils). But suffice it to say, at its heart Marooned is more than just the story of two individuals from Earth who find themselves trapped on the Martian surface but instead speaks metaphorically as well as on a literal interpretation. The comic might not be hard science fiction (what with several alien races existing on Mars that humanity apparently knew little about), and may lack the frontier struggles of the John Carter books, but it is definitely well worth reading.