
Phil Collins? REALLY? Tell me that didn’t happen. Consider how Disney effectively removed Tarzan from the adult market with its cartoon musical version featuring Phil Collins. If Disney attempts to turn John Carter into a kid-friendly icon, look out… this film could be one giant dud.
Frank frazetta barsoom movie#
If done right, this movie could be as eye-popping and culturally galvanizing as James Cameron’s Avatar, or Lucas’ Star Wars.īut those of us who recall the original books fondly are hoping it will have a dash of John Milius’ Conan The Barbarian to provide the proper amount of barbaric grandeur. Disney and Pixar are currently in the midst of filming a live-action/CGI hybrid called, simply enough, JOHN CARTER OF MARS. Well, after staying in print for nearly 100 years, Barsoom is finally coming to celluloid. So why do I find myself dwelling on John Carter and his ancient, savage version of Mars today? The fantastic Michael Whelan cover art on those particular editions remain unrivalled for stunning paperback design. I read most of the Barsoom books when I was a youngster, somewhere in the 10-13 range and thoroughly enjoyed them.

A very realistic take on these immortal characters. I love the misty atmosphere here it reeks of 70s psychedelia.in a good way. These books, not to mention the author’s Tarzan, Venus, Pellucidar, Westerns, and various other works, make ERB one of pulp fiction’s towering giants.Īrtist Boris Vallejo's take on John Carter and Dejah Thoris. From 1912 to 1964, Burroughs wrote a total of 11 novels set on Barsoom (most of which featured John Carter). Here was swordplay, swashbuckling, and adventure in the grandest style. John Carter, his rugged hero, was a Civil War veteran who stumbled into a mystical cave and was transported through space and time to an ancient version of Mars (Barsoom) where various races of Martians (some obviously descended from Native American stock, some wholly alien in design) battled constantly for survival among the remains of a fallen civilization. In 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars, his first novel. I’m thinking of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his most original creation John Carter of Mars. I’m thinking of ancient cities crumbling across dead sea-bottoms, tusked green warriors standing ten feet tall, snake-haired plant-men, four-armed white apes, ten-legged lions, flashing swords, and blasting radium pistols. I’m thinking of BARSOOM, the title the red planet bore a long, long time ago. No, not the red dustball of our modern age, where tiny robots scour the dunes for microscopic life. I’m listening to the ancient, pattering rhythm of the rainsong and thinking about Mars. It’s a sublimely gorgeous rainy day here in Napa.

The setting is one of Mars' ancient ruined cities, home to the savage green Tharks. That's John Carter and Dejah Thoris in the midst of all the savage beasties. A great painting by Joe Jusko featuring a convergence of Barsoom's most memorable elements.
