He's 110 years old, but not only was he the basis for a recent big-budget sci-fi / fantasy film, his multi-volume high-adventure saga is the inspiration for almost every major space opera in print or on-screen since his debut in 1911*!
He's John Carter!
The first pulp adventure/scientific romance series created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
(predating Tarzan
by several months). the six-part serial "Under the Moons of Mars"
detailed how soldier-of-fortune John Carter, mortally-wounded by Indians while prospecting for gold in 1870s Arizona, somehow projects his consciousness to Mars, where it is reincarnated in a body identical to his Earthbound form. BTW, Burroughs suggests that Carter (on Earth) was immortal.
In the opening pages of "Under the Moons of Mars", the author reveals that Carter can't remember his childhood, having always been a man of about thirty years old.
Generations referred to him as "Uncle Jack," but he always lived to see all the members of the families grow old and die, while he remained young.
In Mars' lesser gravity, Carter's normal-human strength is, literally, superhuman!
He can lift over a ton, and can leap over a quarter of a mile!
And, yes, he can breathe, because the Barsoomians operate atmosphere-generating facilities bringing the oxygen content of the air to near-Earth levels.
He rescues and falls in love with the beautiful princess of the city/state Helium, Dejah Thoris, and joins with her in battling tyrannical enemies in a world filled with hidden cities, exotic creatures, and advanced technology (sometimes disguised as "magic").
Probably because of heavy special-effects requirements, there were no film or tv adaptations of John Carter stories until 2009, when a low-budget direct-to-video version of A Princess of Mars
was released. Legendary animator Bob Clampett attempted to produce an animated version in 1936
, going so far as to produce an illustrated bible and test footage. But no studio wanted to bankroll the project, believing "realistic" animation wouldn't sell. Several years later, the Fleischer Studio
produced the classic
Superman cartoons
, proving them wrong.
Kerry Conran had just finished the first all-CGI movie, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and wanted John Carter of Mars to be his next project!
You can read about the regrettable fate of Clampett and Conran's attempts HERE!
With public interest in Mars peaking over the past year, Atomic Kommie Comics™ feels it's the right time to re-present some of the best art of past versions of Barsoom and John Carter and offer our fans the chance to acquire collectibles in our Martians! Martians! Martians!™ collection including mugs, t-shirts, and an Art of Barsoom 2022 12-Month Calendar!featuring comic book and pulp magazine art! With Christmas coming, any of our collectibles combined with one of the books, comics, or dvd/blu-ray as a gift set would make a great Christmas present for the pop-culture/high adventure/sci-fi fan in your life!
(Hey, everybody else is already promoting Christmas gifts!)
For the remainder of November, we'll be presenting never-reprinted John Carter/Barsoom comic stories!
Don't miss them!
*Though The All-Story magazine the first chapter of "Under the Moons of Mars" appeared in is cover-dated February, 1912, the magazine was actually on sale in November-December 1911.
Cover-dating fiction magazines (including pulps and comic books) 3-4 months ahead of the actual release date was standard practice until the 1990s.
