After Marvel cancelled John Carter they had a remaining 2 issues written and penciled. They re-wrote it, made subtle changes to the artwork and published it a Star Wars story ( issues 53 & 54 of Marvel Star Wars). The closest thing we’ll ever get to a Star Wars/John carter cross over.
I may be misremembering, but I think Marv Wolfman wrote John Carter for DC, then when Marvel got the licence, he continued ro write it for them. I actually preferred the DC version, but for me the best of all was the DC Carson of Venus strips, with incredible Mike Kaluta art.
The Den series by Richard Corben is a ERB influence series where everyone is naked. Gil Kane was a really good artist. He was a big fan of ERB. He was also a Howard fan. I have Showcase Presents the Atom (those old black and white collections DC did) where states his story influences a mentions along with ERB, A. Merritt and Robert E. Howard. (And this BEFORE the Howard Boom.) In Showcase vol 2 the Atom travels to a "sub-atomic" world and has a ERB type adventure.
I agree that the movie is much better than what the reviewers said. I am glad I bought the DVD of the movie. I first heard of the Martian stories about John Carter, when either Dell or Gold Key reprinted the Jesse Marsh interpretations of the Barsoom stories back about 1964, or '65, or thereabouts. That artwork was very similar to the Flash Gordon comics, & I remember I loved them at that time.
I'd like to find the black and white trade, looks stunning. I have not read every issue, read a few and really liked it, Gil Kane illustrates adventure stories so well, probably why Sword of The Atom is one of my favourites too.
I see a fellow viewer already informed you about the remaining John Carter artwork Marvel had for an issue being transitioned into 2 Star Wars comics, but as a fan of Tarzan, you should also know that they also transitioned some Tarzan artwork into a Battlestar Galactica comic - issues #17 and #18. It's my understanding that #17 was written as a sort of a prelude so they could use the modified artwork for #18. 18 also has a beautiful Michael Golden cover. One wonders if the people managing these properties even noticed that stories meant for ERB comics were being modified to fit into their franchises.
I found the Marvel Omni for about a hundred bucks on eBay. Just received yesterday. Looks pretty cool. I justified the cost by assuming that Marvel probably won't get the rights back anytime soon.
EC artist Reed Crandall did a series of John Carter drawings in the 60's in which JC and Dejah Thoris were nude, but it was done pretty discreetly, he didn't show Carter's Johnson. Some of them were recently reprinted in the collected Witzend. I believe Crandall did some illustration for the Canaveral Press Burroughs series. I feel like ERB is more of a kids' writer than, say, Howard, but what he did do well was create incredible, often iconic, imagery that inspired the best fantasy artists. It certainly helped that his first editions were often covered with paintings by J.Allen St.John, whose compositions were later emulated by his admirers like Krenkel and Frazetta. I'm not a big fan of Wolfman's scripts, but he was fortunate to be paired with some of the best comic artists of his era. He had already recently adapted "A Princess of Mars" starting as a backup in DC's Tarzan comic, with art by Murphy Anderson.
My first experience with Marvel's John Carter comic was when two unpublished issues of John Carter: Warlord Of Mars were re purposed into two Star Wars comics. They changed the dialog and removed two of Tars Tarkas's arms. Dejah Thoris became Princess Leia and John Carter became some nameless warrior on some alien planet. Don't recall the issue numbers but they were a part of Marvel's Star Wars comic in the 1970's -1980's.
Michael, great video about a terrific series of John Carter comic books. I especially liked that the stories were originals, giving fans something new in the adventures of John Carter and Barsoom. And there is justification for this, since at the end of Princess there is a 10 year hiatus. I am also proud to have a very tangential connection to this series since Marvel published a letter by me in book #3.
I have quite a few of those ‘Essential crappy telephone book things’ 😂. And I even have the JC one…one of many I put aside to read later….and now I’m reminded… my tbrs are miles long thanks to you booktubers arghhhh
Sweet! Love Epic Comic Wednesday! I have this series digitally and I plan reading it, I just finished the first issue and I'm hooked now! You are right in saying that the comic series is verry close to the books! Thanks for the recommendation!
Yes it was a great series. I also loved DCs take on the character. Both diverged a bit. Didn't know Marvel had ever required the rights. I have several issues but never got a reprint volume. Great stuff.
The main problem with Disney's John Carter movie, I've read, is that it cost so much to make that it would have needed to be a blockbuster success to make a profit; and that was never going to happen because Carter is not a pop culture icon embedded in the public consciousness the way James Bond, Batman and Spider-Man are. DH's John Carter omnibus has much better printing and paper than Marvel's Essentials volumes. According to Marv Wolfman, the entire series takes place between paragraphs 3 and 4 of Ch.27 of "A Princess Of Mars". I agree Michael, Rudy Nebres is a good inker for some pencillers but not Gil Kane's fine lines, which are overwhelmed by Nebres. Kane is followed on the title by other excellent artists including Walt Simonson and Frank Miller. Over at DC, their Weird Worlds title featured great artists too including Murphy Anderson, Howard Chaykin and Michael Kaluta. As I'm watching this on Christmas Day here in Australia, I'd like to wish you and your family a wonderful festive season Michael and thanks for so many interesting, thoughtful discussions over 2023.
Back in the late 1980s, in San Clemente, CA, a co-worker I knew from Wendy's told me he used to have a copy of John Carter Annual #1 ( published in 1977), but loaned it to a female co-worker who was a graphics artist and aspiring children's book illustrator, and she never returned it. "That's life, I guess", he commented after it happened. Best to treasure what you have in your collection, but don't lend anything out to anyone. Bravo, Mike, for revisiting this Marvel classic, even though there are subtle differences between the comic book and the original novels. 😉
That's right Dave Cockrum did the 1st issue. I'm talking about Rudy Nebres. We could talk forever about how inkers (like how Vince Coletta RUINED Jack Kirby's artwork) Can kill a great artists pencils.
Bravo! Man, your ERB coverage always strikes a chord with me. I remember coming across that first issue at Richard Kyle's old Wonder World Books in Long Beach and snapped it right up. As an art student in those days, and already a fan of the John Carter books, I was always picky about the interpretations of the Barsoomian flora and fauna. There still seemed to be some proportion issues with Gil Kane's Tharks for me, but they were still great. MANY fond memories. It's like Dejah Thoris all over again!
I have the first few issues of the Marvel series. On the other hand, I have the whole DC run of _Weird Worlds,_ which I just pulled out of their comic box. John Carter, along with Pellucidar, only ran in issues 1 through 7 of _Weird Worlds._ Both series were cancelled because the sales were not enough to justify the cost of the licensing, so starting with issue 8, _Weird Worlds_ presented a Howard Chaykin feature called “Iron Wolf”, a swashbuckling space adventure. The comic ended with issue 10.
Here in the UK, we were slightly more limited in terms of which comics we had access to but I do remember Iron Wolf. I bought the WW issue where IW debuted and I seem to recall that they tried to bill it as being in the line of Captain blood or the Seahawk. I wasn't too keen on it though and preferred the only JC issue that I came across, which was the concluding episode of Gods of Mars, which was brilliant. I plagiarised large elements of it for a story I wrote for English class in school. The best thing was that it got me interested in reading the Barsoom books, starting with Master Mind of Mars.
This video was a lot of fun. I never saw those comic books when I was growing up, or, if I did, I didn't know enough about John Carter for them to make an impression.
Totally agree that the first issue of the Marvel run is the single best issue of JC. The art is simply the best. Perhaps the reason Marvel chose not to re-tell the 1st and 2nd book is because DC had just done that in weird Worlds ( typing this just as you mention Weird Worlds😂)
An artist named Culbreath recently did a graphic novel version of "A Princess of Mars" in which all the characters are actually shown naked, as ERB described them. This may be classed as the most faithful graphic interpretation of the original ever.
Hello Michael Hello. Thanks a billion times for this video. I am a huge fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Roberts E. Howard, and Comic Books. Have you ever made videos on Moon Knight? Will you someday do a video on Moon Knight or Iron Fist? I'll watch Steve's video immediately after yours. Have a great time
I have to say, Dynamite had some really fun runs with Dejah Thoris and John Carter. I would definitely recommend. Though admittedly the Lady of Vaughan Manor might not approve. The incomparable Dejah Thoris does make gold metal bikini Leia in Jedi look conservative ....
I'm glad they dropped it. Now it may be picked up in the future by a competent writing team and we could see actual adult scifi done with a similar budget they pour into childish Star Wars movies, which are firmly in the doom cycle at this point. And I don't mean a sexy scifi series, just one written by adults, with plots that make sense in a world designed by a competent adult and not "gee-whiz what looks cool just do it" Disney/Marvel/Lucas mentality.
BTW, I know Mr. Donoghue is dreading the day, but with the Rom material coming out is there a chance you'll cover that? I absolutely love Bill Mantlo's Rom. Great fun with great Sal Buscema artwork. And I find that it's not just fun, but there's some genuinely moving moments with Brandy Clarke.
Both you and Steve mention that JC is a former soldier for the confederacy. Is there a reason for that, some Barsoomian relevancy? Little details like that aren’t accidental, but I don’t want to misread the era.
I didn't like Gil Kane's art back in the day. However, though small, the art on the right side of your thumbnail looks much better. May I ask where it is from or who the artist was?
After Marvel cancelled John Carter they had a remaining 2 issues written and penciled. They re-wrote it, made subtle changes to the artwork and published it a Star Wars story ( issues 53 & 54 of Marvel Star Wars). The closest thing we’ll ever get to a Star Wars/John carter cross over.
I am shocked. Shocked to learn you have a complete collection of John Carter of Mars series in omnibus format! Great video MKV! Love that first issue!
I may be misremembering, but I think Marv Wolfman wrote John Carter for DC, then when Marvel got the licence, he continued ro write it for them.
I actually preferred the DC version, but for me the best of all was the DC Carson of Venus strips, with incredible Mike Kaluta art.
The Den series by Richard Corben is a ERB influence series where everyone is naked.
Gil Kane was a really good artist. He was a big fan of ERB. He was also a Howard fan. I have Showcase Presents the Atom (those old black and white collections DC did) where states his story influences a mentions along with ERB, A. Merritt and Robert E. Howard. (And this BEFORE the Howard Boom.) In Showcase vol 2 the Atom travels to a "sub-atomic" world and has a ERB type adventure.
I agree that the movie is much better than what the reviewers said. I am glad I bought the DVD of the movie. I first heard of the Martian stories about John Carter, when either Dell or Gold Key reprinted the Jesse Marsh interpretations of the Barsoom stories back about 1964, or '65, or thereabouts. That artwork was very similar to the Flash Gordon comics, & I remember I loved them at that time.
I'd like to find the black and white trade, looks stunning. I have not read every issue, read a few and really liked it, Gil Kane illustrates adventure stories so well, probably why Sword of The Atom is one of my favourites too.
I see a fellow viewer already informed you about the remaining John Carter artwork Marvel had for an issue being transitioned into 2 Star Wars comics, but as a fan of Tarzan, you should also know that they also transitioned some Tarzan artwork into a Battlestar Galactica comic - issues #17 and #18. It's my understanding that #17 was written as a sort of a prelude so they could use the modified artwork for #18. 18 also has a beautiful Michael Golden cover. One wonders if the people managing these properties even noticed that stories meant for ERB comics were being modified to fit into their franchises.
I had no idea about that Tarzan comic being turned into a Battlestar Galactica issue. That’s really interesting…and weird. Thanks!
I found the Marvel Omni for about a hundred bucks on eBay. Just received yesterday. Looks pretty cool. I justified the cost by assuming that Marvel probably won't get the rights back anytime soon.
Probably not.
EC artist Reed Crandall did a series of John Carter drawings in the 60's in which JC and Dejah Thoris were nude, but it was done pretty discreetly, he didn't show Carter's Johnson. Some of them were recently reprinted in the collected Witzend. I believe Crandall did some illustration for the Canaveral Press Burroughs series.
I feel like ERB is more of a kids' writer than, say, Howard, but what he did do well was create incredible, often iconic, imagery that inspired the best fantasy artists. It certainly helped that his first editions were often covered with paintings by J.Allen St.John, whose compositions were later emulated by his admirers like Krenkel and Frazetta. I'm not a big fan of Wolfman's scripts, but he was fortunate to be paired with some of the best comic artists of his era. He had already recently adapted "A Princess of Mars" starting as a backup in DC's Tarzan comic, with art by Murphy Anderson.
My first experience with Marvel's John Carter comic was when two unpublished issues of John Carter: Warlord Of Mars were re purposed into two Star Wars comics. They changed the dialog and removed two of Tars Tarkas's arms. Dejah Thoris became Princess Leia and John Carter became some nameless warrior on some alien planet. Don't recall the issue numbers but they were a part of Marvel's Star Wars comic in the 1970's -1980's.
The John Carter movie is personal favourite of mine, I thought it was absolutely fantastic and wish they'd continue it
Michael, great video about a terrific series of John Carter comic books. I especially liked that the stories were originals, giving fans something new in the adventures of John Carter and Barsoom. And there is justification for this, since at the end of Princess there is a 10 year hiatus. I am also proud to have a very tangential connection to this series since Marvel published a letter by me in book #3.
I grabbed the omnibus shortly after it came out, and it is spectacular.
I have quite a few of those ‘Essential crappy telephone book things’ 😂. And I even have the JC one…one of many I put aside to read later….and now I’m reminded… my tbrs are miles long thanks to you booktubers arghhhh
Sweet! Love Epic Comic Wednesday! I have this series digitally and I plan reading it, I just finished the first issue and I'm hooked now! You are right in saying that the comic series is verry close to the books! Thanks for the recommendation!
I’ve never read any of these, but it sure does look amazing! Thanks for showing them!
Yes it was a great series. I also loved DCs take on the character. Both diverged a bit. Didn't know Marvel had ever required the rights. I have several issues but never got a reprint volume. Great stuff.
The main problem with Disney's John Carter movie, I've read, is that it cost so much to make that it would have needed to be a blockbuster success to make a profit; and that was never going to happen because Carter is not a pop culture icon embedded in the public consciousness the way James Bond, Batman and Spider-Man are.
DH's John Carter omnibus has much better printing and paper than Marvel's Essentials volumes.
According to Marv Wolfman, the entire series takes place between paragraphs 3 and 4 of Ch.27 of "A Princess Of Mars".
I agree Michael, Rudy Nebres is a good inker for some pencillers but not Gil Kane's fine lines, which are overwhelmed by Nebres. Kane is followed on the title by other excellent artists including Walt Simonson and Frank Miller. Over at DC, their Weird Worlds title featured great artists too including Murphy Anderson, Howard Chaykin and Michael Kaluta.
As I'm watching this on Christmas Day here in Australia, I'd like to wish you and your family a wonderful festive season Michael and thanks for so many interesting, thoughtful discussions over 2023.
Back in the late 1980s, in San Clemente, CA, a co-worker I knew from Wendy's told me he used to have a copy of John Carter Annual #1 ( published in 1977), but loaned it to a female co-worker who was a graphics artist and aspiring children's book illustrator, and she never returned it. "That's life, I guess", he commented after it happened.
Best to treasure what you have in your collection, but don't lend anything out to anyone. Bravo, Mike, for revisiting this Marvel classic, even though there are subtle differences between the comic book and the original novels. 😉
A more enjoyable journey does not exist! Thanks Michael!
That's right Dave Cockrum did the 1st issue. I'm talking about Rudy Nebres. We could talk forever about how inkers (like how Vince Coletta RUINED Jack Kirby's artwork) Can kill a great artists pencils.
Bravo! Man, your ERB coverage always strikes a chord with me. I remember coming across that first issue at Richard Kyle's old Wonder World Books in Long Beach and snapped it right up. As an art student in those days, and already a fan of the John Carter books, I was always picky about the interpretations of the Barsoomian flora and fauna. There still seemed to be some proportion issues with Gil Kane's Tharks for me, but they were still great. MANY fond memories. It's like Dejah Thoris all over again!
I have the first few issues of the Marvel series. On the other hand, I have the whole DC run of _Weird Worlds,_ which I just pulled out of their comic box. John Carter, along with Pellucidar, only ran in issues 1 through 7 of _Weird Worlds._ Both series were cancelled because the sales were not enough to justify the cost of the licensing, so starting with issue 8, _Weird Worlds_ presented a Howard Chaykin feature called “Iron Wolf”, a swashbuckling space adventure. The comic ended with issue 10.
Here in the UK, we were slightly more limited in terms of which comics we had access to but I do remember Iron Wolf. I bought the WW issue where IW debuted and I seem to recall that they tried to bill it as being in the line of Captain blood or the Seahawk. I wasn't too keen on it though and preferred the only JC issue that I came across, which was the concluding episode of Gods of Mars, which was brilliant. I plagiarised large elements of it for a story I wrote for English class in school. The best thing was that it got me interested in reading the Barsoom books, starting with Master Mind of Mars.
This video was a lot of fun. I never saw those comic books when I was growing up, or, if I did, I didn't know enough about John Carter for them to make an impression.
Yea I looked at Amazon. The omnibus was like 150 bucks. Wow. Even the black n whites are over 50. Insane. 😮😮😮😂
That collected edition comic is sick!
Totally agree that the first issue of the Marvel run is the single best issue of JC. The art is simply the best. Perhaps the reason Marvel chose not to re-tell the 1st and 2nd book is because DC had just done that in weird Worlds ( typing this just as you mention Weird Worlds😂)
An artist named Culbreath recently did a graphic novel version of "A Princess of Mars" in which all the characters are actually shown naked, as ERB described them. This may be classed as the most faithful graphic interpretation of the original ever.
There are collections by Dynamite and others I believe. I don't know if they're as good as Marvel though. You can't beat Gil Kane.
Hello Michael Hello. Thanks a billion times for this video. I am a huge fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Roberts E. Howard, and Comic Books. Have you ever made videos on Moon Knight? Will you someday do a video on Moon Knight or Iron Fist? I'll watch Steve's video immediately after yours. Have a great time
I have to say, Dynamite had some really fun runs with Dejah Thoris and John Carter. I would definitely recommend. Though admittedly the Lady of Vaughan Manor might not approve. The incomparable Dejah Thoris does make gold metal bikini Leia in Jedi look conservative ....
I liked the movie, despite the fact it got poor reviews when it first came out. Disney more or less accurately followed Burroughs' characterizations.
Michael, I also remember I did not like the artists who inked Gil Kane's artwork. They made his pencils look more like there own art than Gil Kane's.
I'm glad they dropped it. Now it may be picked up in the future by a competent writing team and we could see actual adult scifi done with a similar budget they pour into childish Star Wars movies, which are firmly in the doom cycle at this point. And I don't mean a sexy scifi series, just one written by adults, with plots that make sense in a world designed by a competent adult and not "gee-whiz what looks cool just do it" Disney/Marvel/Lucas mentality.
BTW, I know Mr. Donoghue is dreading the day, but with the Rom material coming out is there a chance you'll cover that? I absolutely love Bill Mantlo's Rom. Great fun with great Sal Buscema artwork. And I find that it's not just fun, but there's some genuinely moving moments with Brandy Clarke.
There is a 100% chance I will cover Rom.
AWESOME!!!@@michaelk.vaughan8617
I BOUGHT THE SAME COLLECTION FOR MYSELF. i LOVE IT BUT i WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THAT IT WAS IN COLOR.
Hmmmmmm......
😊
Have you done any videos on the Myth Adventure comics? If not, consider this as a request for a future video.
i bought the whole series for 130 on ebay.
Both you and Steve mention that JC is a former soldier for the confederacy. Is there a reason for that, some Barsoomian relevancy? Little details like that aren’t accidental, but I don’t want to misread the era.
I didn't like Gil Kane's art back in the day. However, though small, the art on the right side of your thumbnail looks much better. May I ask where it is from or who the artist was?
ALBERT PUJOLS7O3 HOMERUNS SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS
Yea I looked at Amazon. The omnibus was like 150 bucks. Wow. Even the black n whites are over 50. Insane. 😮😮😮😂