Just because it’s fun every once in a while to write about something besides apes, my latest Nexus Graphica effort focuses on the comics based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ legendary Mars series.
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| While less famous than his literary brother Tarzan of the Apes, the John Carter of Mars series showcased Edgar Rice Burroughs at his best and most creative. But unlike Tarzan, Carter’s adventures have rarely appeared on film (the forthcoming John Carter marks only the second movie featuring the character) and even though he displays obvious super-heroic attributes, remarkably few comics have been devoted to his adventures. |
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| Some 28 years after the initial tale, the earliest graphic adventures first appeared in comics format. Largely illustrated and adapted by Burroughs’s talented son John Coleman, the series appeared in The Funnies (Dell) No. 30, May 1939 through No. 56, June, 1941. Like most of the following attempts, this outing recounts large portions of the first two Martian novels A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars. Using many of the same concepts, John Coleman then produced a Sundays-only strip, 1941-1942. Sadly, none of these attractive, intelligent stories have ever been collected in book form. |
I then recount, complete with commentary, every John Carter comics appearance, all without evoking apes. Well, expect for the inevitable brief references to Tarzan. This is about ERB creations, after all.
As an added bonus, I review three recent graphic novels. Check it all out at SF Site.