Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars: Weird Worlds



Weird Worlds (comics) For other uses, see Weird Worlds (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Weirdworld. Weird Worlds

Weird Worlds #1 (September 1972) Art by Joe Kubert Publication information Publisher DC Comics Format Ongoing series Genre Science fiction Publication date Vol. 1: September 1972 – October–November 1974 Vol. 2: March 2011 – August 2011 No. of issues Vol. 1: 10 Vol. 2: 6 Creative team Written by List Vol. 1: Dennis O'Neil, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman Vol. 2: Aaron Lopresti, Kevin Maguire, Kevin VanHook Artist(s) List Vol. 1: Murphy Anderson, Howard Chaykin, Dan Green, Michael Kaluta, Alan Weiss Vol. 2: Aaron Lopresti, Kevin Maguire, Jerry Ordway Weird Worlds was an American science-fiction comics anthology series published by DC Comics. It ran from 1972 to 1974 for a total of 10 issues.[1] The title's name was partially inspired by the sales success of Weird War Tales and Weird Western Tales.[2]

Weird Worlds published features based on writer Edgar Rice Burroughs' creations which DC had obtained the licensing rights. This included the "John Carter of Mars" feature, by scripter Marv Wolfman and artist Murphy Anderson, which moved from Tarzan #209, and the "Pellucidar" feature from Korak, Son of Tarzan #46 drawn by Alan Weiss, Michael Kaluta, and Dan Green.

These features ran until issue #7 (October 1973) until it became economically infeasible for DC to continue publishing so many adaptations of Burroughs' work.[3] "John Carter" would re-appear in Tarzan Family #62–64 and "Pellucidar" in Tarzan Family #66.

A new feature began in issue #8, Dennis O'Neil and Howard Chaykin's Ironwolf,[4] which ran through issue #10. The release of the last issue of Weird Worlds was delayed for several months due to a nationwide paper shortage.[5]

The title was relaunched in March 2011 and ran for six issues.[6] It featured Lobo and two new characters: Aaron Lopresti's Garbage Man and Kevin Maguire's Tanga. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the characters appeared in the title My Greatest Adventure.

References	Edit Weird Worlds at the Grand Comics Database Daniels, Les (1995). DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes. New York, New York: Bulfinch Press. p. 153. ISBN 0821220764. 'Carmine Infantino and I found out that the word weird sold well.' [editor Joe] Orlando recalls. 'So DC created Weird War and Weird Western.' Schweier, Philip (February 2015). "Iron Wolf". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (78): 42. McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. After the debut tale by acclaimed artist Howard Chaykin and co-scripter Denny O'Neil, Ironwolf became the lead protagonist in the Weird Worlds [title]. Wells, John (October 24, 1997), "'Lost' DC: 1971–1975", Comics Buyer's Guide, Iola, Wisconsin (1249): 125, In the wake of a nationwide paper shortage, DC canceled several of its lower-selling titles in late 1973...[Supergirl #10] and three other completed comic books slated for release in November 1973 (Secret Origins #7, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #137, and Weird Worlds #10) were put on hold until the summer of 1974. Weird Worlds vol. 2' at the Grand Comics Database External links	Edit Weird Worlds at the Comic Book DB Weird Worlds vol. 2 at the Comic Book DB Weird Worlds and Weird Worlds vol. 2 at Mike's Amazing World of Comics Stub icon	This DC Comics–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Last edited 5 months ago by Jmg38 RELATED ARTICLES Howard Chaykin American comic book artist and writer

John Carter, Warlord of Mars comic series

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Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars: Weird Worlds Published on November 3, 2011, by JPRoscoe - Posted in Books/Comics, DC, Independent 0

edgar rice burroughs john carter of mars weird worlds 5.5Overall Score Story:6/10 Art:5/10 John Carter comes to DC Comics

Series deserved a better release

Rate this (2 Votes) Comic Info weird worlds #1 cover john carter tarzan dc comics Weird Worlds #1

Reprints stories from DC Comics Tarzan #207-209 (April 1972-June 1972) and Weird Worlds #1-7 (September 1972-October 1973). Confederate soldier John Carter collapses in an Arizona cave and wakes up on Mars (Barsoom) where he meets aliens like the Martian warrior Tars Tarkas, his daughter Sola, and his faithful Martian “dog” Woola. A stranger in a strange land, John Carter finds life on Mars is one battle after another as he fights for his new allies and the beautiful Deja Thoras, the woman who will guide his actions forever.

Written by Marv Wolfman, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars: Weird Worlds present back-up stories from DC Comics’ Tarzan series reprinted by Dark Horse. John Carter of Mars was Burroughs’ successful (yet slightly less successful than Tarzan) series of eleven books. The character first appeared in 1912 in the short story Under the Moons of Mars but eventually that story was developed into the book A Princess of Mars (1917). The collection features art by Sal Amendola, Murphy Anderson, Gray Morrow, and Joe Orlando.

John Carter always intrigued me. He was just a normal guy on Earth, but essentially a superhero on Mars (due to the lighter gravity). He could practically fly when he jumped and possessed the strength of ten men in confrontations with strange aliens and monsters. It is a great set-up for a series.

weird worlds #5 cover john carter dc comics Weird Worlds #5

This collection starts out by adapting A Princess of Mars but then becomes a bit of a mess by taking on other stories about the time it jumps from Tarzan to Weird Worlds. It is obvious by the end of the short book that word was given that John Carter’s time at DC was finished so the story wraps up in a not very satisfactory conclusion.

The art in the John Carter also is all over the place. Sometimes Carter has short hair, sometimes he has long hair…this is just an example of the inconsistencies since multiple artists handled the comic over its short run. There are a couple of faults in the books in that artists have a very difficult time illustrating Tars Tarkas and his people as described by Burroughs. Their long bodies just look weird and often look like they were formed wrong…I credit the artists for trying to determine their appearance from the description but it doesn’t translate to the illustrations well.

John Carter is an interesting character who has never made the big jump. After the run at DC, Marvel Comics had a John Carter comic series in 1977 for a number of issues (also reprinted by Dark Horse). Currently, there are multiple John Carter comics on the market. John Carter had his big chance again to become a name in 2012 with a big screen film, but John Carter bombed at the box office (due in large part to the marketing and release)…leaving John Carter without a solid home again.

Related Links:

John Carter (2012)

John Carter in Comics
John Carter of Mars -- A Comics History by Michael Tierney Frazetta's Chessmen/Thuvia cover A Romance of the Planets A Princess of Mars 1st edition HC Tarzan of the Apes is the creation that writer Edgar Rice Burroughs is best known for. But the apeman wasn't his first creation. And for many fans, Tarzan isn't even their favorite Burroughs character.

Whereas Tarzan can be described as a Romance of the Jungle, Burroughs' first novel was a Romance of the Planets.

Under the Moons of Mars art logo Under the Moons of Mars was first published in 1912 by All Story Magazine under a pseudonym, and reprinted five years later in hardcover by A.C. McClurg with the title of A Princess of Mars (shown right). Here Burroughs introduced John Carter of Mars, a Civil War veteran and the greatest swordsman on two worlds.

Like Tarzan, A Princess of Mars ended with a cliffhanger where John Carter, after having just saved the planet and his love, Princess Dejah Thoris, is suddenly transported back to Earth by the same mysterious means that he came to Mars.

John Carter would return to Mars in The Gods of Mars, and his quest to win the hand of Princess Dejah Thoris would be resolved in the third book of the opening trilogy; Warlord of Mars.

John Carter 1st Edition collection Ace John Carter of Mars paperback setBallantine Thuvia, Main of Mars Abbett art There would be a total of 11 published volumes (the complete First Edition collection is shown above), all filled with high adventure in the surreal landscape of a Mars very different from that we know today. Most modern readers assume that John Carter had traveled not just through space, but to a different reality as well.

Burroughs' Mars is a lost world where ancient and crumbling cities housed a variety of races and monsters, filled with women who wore virtually no clothing -- only jewelry. The beauty and savagery of the world are shown in the covers for the brief series of paperbacks done by Roy G. Krenkel for Ace (shown right), before the dispute over rights was settled in the Sixites.

The Ballantine First Edition set was covered by Robert Abbett, who incorporated the unique flying ships of Mars into many of his paintings, as shown in his second different cover for Thuvia, Maid of Mars (shown left). Abbett would first be replaced by a set featuring the wraparound artwork of Gino D'Achilie, who was in turn replaced by another set of wraparound covers by fantasy painter Michael Whelan (shown left). Ballantine John Carter Whelan art

The cover at the top by Frank Frazetta, from the Science Fiction Book Club set (shown right), sums up the characters better than any other illustration. Here John Carter faces a monstrous threat armed only with his sword, all while Dejah Thoris watches confidently.

And, just like Tarzan, all of Edgar Rice Burroughs' creations were unshakably moral. John Carter of Mars was no exception. This is one reason why so many modern writers have failed when trying to adapt or expand on Burroughs' creations. They simply do not fit into the modern concept of dysfunctional anti-heroes. John Carter SFBC Edition collection

John Carter would lay down his life to protect his Princess. Likewise, Dejah Thoris would commit suicide before committing adultery. The novels are filled with scenes where Dejah poises a knife over her breast, just as John Carter makes a timely rescue.

Unlike Tarzan, John Carter did not have great success in other media. Only recently has he started to be transferred to the screen, first with a low budget film, and soon with one of more stature.

But John Carter did beat Tarzan to the comic books with new material, starting in 1939 with an adaptation of A Princess of Mars in The Funnies #30. The first four issues were drawn by Jim Gary. Funnies #35 Funnies #36 Funnies #37 Funnies #40 Funnies #42 John Carter Sunday Page With issue #34, Edgar Rice Burroughs' son, John Coleman Burroughs, took over and would draw every issue until the series ended in issue #56. John Coleman Burroughs would also contribute the John Carter covers for Funnies issues #35, #36, #37, and #40, along with an inset clip on #42 (all shown above).

High Spot #2 The stories from these Funnies would later be collected into the John Carter of Mars Big Little Books, and predated the John Carter newspaper strips, for which John Coleman Burroughs continued to do the art (image shown left courtesy of the Jim Albert collection). The entire newspaper run is available to read at the Erbzine website.

Dell John Carter John Coleman Burroughs also illustrated ERB's third longest running series of novels, David Innes of Pellucidar, in the scarce 1940 Hi-Spot #2 (shown right). This comic was obviously intended to continue, but never did. Issues #1 and #3 on were titled Red Ryder.

The Warlord of Mars was back in comics during the early Fifties, when Dell ran a short series with art by Jessie Marsh in Four Color #375, #437, and #488. The trio were reprinted as a John Carter mini-series by Gold Key in 1964 (both shown left).

When DC Comics took over Tarzan in 1972, they also started running John Carter tales in the short-lived Weird Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs (shown right), which also featured other ERB creations. But the series only lasted a couple of years.

In 1977, Marvel brought John Carter back to the comics. At first, the comics were very faithful to the original concepts, featuring dynamic artwork by Gil Kane (#1 shown left). Issue #18 featured Frank Miller's (Sin City, 300) first work for Marvel.

Weird Worlds #1Marvel John Carter #1 But as writers continued to change, the modern direction of making the characters dysfunctional also crept into the stories.

Then came the story where John Carter and Dejah Thoris were held prisoner in an underground city. To stop their captors from beating John Carter, Dejah Thoris agreed to sleep with their leader. A stereo needle ripping across a record could not describe better how off track those characterizations were. This was not the unconquerable hero and noble heroine, who would commit suicide before adultery.

I stopped reading at that point, and apparently wasn't the only one. The series was soon canceled and John Carter of Mars disappeared from comic shelves for a long time.

Now, a high budget movie is in the works and a new Warlord of Mars from Dynamite Comics is about to debut. It doesn't appear to be licensed, since Edgar Rice Burroughs' trademarked name appears nowhere on the advertising. But, putting all matters of public domain rights to the side, at the very least the upcoming series (Diamond Comics catalog ads shown right and left) looks like it will have some pretty nice covers.

Warlord of Mars Ad 1Warlord of Mars Ad 2 John Carter of Mars, a favorite of many fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, still battles on. Michael Tierney -- August 30, 2010 Swords of Mars 1st Ed. wrapper
 * You can read my review of Dynamite's Warlord of Mars #1 in issue #1675, March 2011, of