Wednesday, February 3, 2021

John Carter in Comics (Part III)

In the mid-60s, Gold Key reprinted the Dell Barsoom Comics of the previous decade. John Carter's next appearance after that was in February 1972, as a back up feature in DC's Tarzan of the Apes issue #207.

The feature is an adaptation of A Princess of Mars and appears over the course of three issues, starting with this one. Plotted by Marv Wolfman and scripted by Joe Kubert, it's penciled and inked by Murphy Anderson in issues #207 and #209 (with Gray Morrow handling #208). 
This particular adaptation is notable for its rather weird interpretation of the Tharks, as seen on this page:
I'd love to know what they were thinking by giving the Green Martians double torsos like this. I find it incredibly off-putting, not to mention having no basis in the text of Burroughs. Interestingly, issue #208, whose artwork is done by a different penciler depicts the Tharks in a more traditional fashion. However, the double-torsoed Tharks return in issue #209, when Anderson resumes his penciling duties. He's also the first artist responsible for drawing DC's interpretation of the incomparable Dejah Thoris.
After these three issues, the adaptation continues in September 1972 in a new comic, Weird Worlds, before concluding in its seventh issue in October 1973. As adaptations go, it's noteworthy only for the fact that, since it was published in the 1970s, the attire of Carter and the Martians is closer to that described by Burroughs in his original stories, something that would have been less likely in earlier decades. Otherwise, I find it merely adequate, despite the involvement of several comics legends.

5 comments:

  1. "I'd love to know what they were thinking by giving the Green Martians double torsos like this. I find it incredibly off-putting, not to mention having no basis in the text of Burroughs."

    You've got me thinking about going back and rereading A Princess of Mars to see what you are talking about. I've got to admit for me the visuals for the denizens of Barsoom all come from the 1979 paintings by Michael Whelan that Del Rey used for the covers of their paperbacks in the early 80s. The Green Martians on those covers are definitely depicted with the same double torsos found in these comics.

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    1. You're right about Whelan's illustrations. Somehow I'd never noticed it before. Now I'm starting to doubt myself.

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  2. Yeah, the double-torso thing is...distracting.

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  3. I just checked out Whelan's Green Martian art to refresh my memory. He does depict their second set of arms having shoulders, but the effect looks a lot more subtle than it does in these DC comics. I think it's probably because he doesn't have the 'waist' of the upper torso really taper the way that this comic does - the entirety of Whelan's Green Martians' bodies have a uniform width that does not jar the eye.

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  4. Nice series! Can't wait to see more (from James and other readers - I hadn't been aware of the awesome Whelan covers).

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