Saturday, March 10, 2012

Reading Room: JOHN CARTER "Death has Three Heads"

The John Carter movie is in theaters now...
...so we're presenting the never-reprinted "Secret Diaries" mini-series that ran in DC Comics' Tarzan Family in 1976!
The adventure concludes...tomorrow!
Of course, it goes without saying that since these are the "secret diaries" of John Carter, that he must have survived in order to write them...
This all-new tale from Tarzan Family #63 (1976) was written by Bob Kanigher, penciled by Noly Zamora and inked by Vic Catan.
As we mentioned earlier, this series has never been reprinted since it's publication in 1976, even in the recent Dark Horse trade paperback that presented all the other John Carter stories that appeared in Tarzan and Weird Worlds!
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Friday, March 9, 2012

Reading Room: JOHN CARTER "Secret Diaries of John Carter"

The John Carter movie opens today...
 ...so we're presenting the never-reprinted "Secret Diaries" series that ran in DC Comics' Tarzan Family in 1976!
 The adventure continues...tomorrow!
There are a couple of inconsistencies with the established John Carter/Burroughs Universe canon.
The Myposans are actually a Venusian race from Burroughs' Carson of Venus series!
The girl should be red-skinned or pale white, not Caucasian-flesh colored.
It's not clearly-stated when this story takes place, but because Carter is still wearing his Earth-produced pants, it's implied that it's shortly after he arrives on Mars.
(The Comics Code didn't allow him to show up stark naked on Barsoom!)

This all-new tale from Tarzan Family #62 (1976) was written by Bob Kanigher, penciled by Noly Zamora and inked by Vicatan.
As we mentioned earlier, this series has never been reprinted since it's publication in 1976, even in the recent Dark Horse trade paperback that presented all the other John Carter stories that appeared in Tarzan and Weird Worlds!

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Martian Genesis"

The John Carter movie opens tomorrow...
 Meanwhile, we're concluding the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present, from the b/w magazine Monsters Unleashed #8 (1974), the final all-new, never-reprinted, sequel strip, produced by a team which included a newcomer to Marvel who would become one of the biggest names in the field (read the name in the credits below)...
Yes, this was George Perez's first assignment after breaking into the business as Rich Buckler's art assistant!
Oddly enough, this story isn't listed on George's own website!
And, there's uncredited inking by neophites Bob Layton and John Byrne, who helped inker Duffy Vohland meet the deadline!
Wonder whatever happened to Byrne and Layton?  ;-)

Despite the promise printed above, Gullivar Jones and company never graced another Marvel comic or magazine.
(Monsters Unleashed was cancelled with #10, two issues before Gullivar would have reappeared.

Beginning tomorrow:
The Secret Diaries of John Carter!

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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

JOHN CARTER Movie WallPapers

WallPapers from the movie website in various formats by clicking HERE!
Yeah, it's Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), not John Carter.
I wanted to start with her...for obvious reasons.
You got a problem with that?
Didn't think so. ;-)
They should have called the film John Carter and the Princess of Mars.
Hits all the demographic bases: Men, women, teens, tweens, sf/fantasy fans, romance fans, Disney Princess fans, etc.
Sequels based on the books could have been...
John Carter and the Gods of Mars
John Carter and the WarLord of Mars
John Carter and Thuvia of Mars
John Carter and the ChessMen of Mars
John Carter and the MasterMind of Mars
John Carter and the Fighting Men of Mars
John Carter and the Swords of Mars
John Carter and the Synthetic Men of Mars
John Carter and Llana of Mars
John Carter of Mars
If the series did original tales they would also use the "John Carter and..." format for the titles.
Hey, it worked for Harry Potter and Indiana Jones, didn't it?

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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Web of Hate"

The John Carter movie opens this week (March 9th)...
Meanwhile, we're continuing the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present, from the b/w magazine Monsters Unleashed #4 (1974), the first all-new, never-reprinted, sequel strip, produced by two newcomers to Marvel...
Dave Cockrum had been doing some inking over various pencilers including Rich Buckler, Don Heck, and George Tuska on The Avengers, but this was his first full art (Pencils and inks) assignment at Marvel.
Tony Isabella had co-plotted/scripted a number of other stories including the last Doc Savage two-parter with Gardner Fox, but this appears to be his first solo effort as a writer.
It's a fine job by both of them.

There's one more Gullivar Jones tale to be told.
And, like this one, it featured the Marvel debut of another soon-to-be superstar!
Who?
You're going to have to come back on Thursday to find out!

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Monday, March 5, 2012

Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Two Worlds to Win!"

The John Carter movie opens this week (March 9th)...
Art by Jim Steranko
Meanwhile, we're continuing the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present, from Creatures on the Loose #21 (1973), the sixth (and final) chapter of the short-lived, never-reprinted, comic adaptation...
People did write, and though Gullivar Jones' four-color adventures were at an end, he returned with new graphic adventures in a Marvel title only a year later!
But that's a story for another time...

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