Tarzan retrospective article in Wales Online

Posted on August 19, 2014

Columnist Dan O’Neil takes a look at the 100 years of Tarzan:

Instead, we celebrate the first true 100th birthday of the first superhero – Tarzan. The “true” hundredth because although the noblest savage of ’em all appeared earlier in an obscure pulp magazine, no-one took much notice until the book Tarzan of the Apes was published in 1914.

It was a sensation, selling a million copies in a year and it signalled the birth of an immortal. Now a century on, yet another Tarzan movie is in the works which means that Tarzan films have been with us almost as long as the 40-odd books written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Here was a man who found it hard to separate fact from fiction and for proof, here’s how he described his upbringing to his readers: “I was born in Peking at the time that my father was military advisor to the Empress of China and lived there in the Forbidden City until I was 10 years old.” A tall tale to rank with Tarzan’s upbringing by apes. Burroughs was born in Chicago in 1875, the fourth son of a wealthy businessman.

Read the full article Here!

The Monster Men an All-New Digital WebComic Launch!

Posted on August 18, 2014

The Monster Men – the Launch of an Exciting New Adventure – A Web Comic Strip based on a book by the author of Tarzan – Edgar Rice Burroughs! In English and Spanish! see Edgar Rice Burroughs.com/comics for Adventure!

(August 15, 2014 – Tarzana, CA) University Professor Arthur Maxon has been experimenting with the creation of artificial life—and he is afraid of what he created. If life can be created from lifeless chemicals with no assurance that anything other than mindless monsters could be created, the safest place to pursue this gruesome research is far away from upstate New York. A remote island off the coast of Borneo is the perfect place to continue his experiments. So, Maxon departs for the East Indies – taking his beautiful daughter, Virginia, with him. Adventure awaits that neither could have ever imagined!

See the Sample Strips

Maxon recruits Dr. Carl von Horn to be his fellow scientist and Captain of his yacht, the Ithaca. As the crew prepares for their voyage, a young man, Townsend J. Harper, Jr., becomes smitten by Virginia. Plus, unbeknownst to Maxon and Virginia, Dr. von Horn also hopes to marry Virginia.

On the island, Maxon and von Horn begin their experiments and grow several living creatures in chemical vats. They are humanoid but, mindless and ugly. Maxon hopes Experiment Number Thirteen will result in the perfect human being, and in his fanatic obsession, believes Virginia should wed his ultimate creation. But is this perfectly created human capable of feelings, or is he A Man Without a Soul?

Before that question is answered, Experiment Number One escapes and abducts Virginia. Maxon and von Horn are in pursuit, as is Number Thirteen. During their pursuit, they encounter pirates who believe Maxon has a hidden treasure – a rumor started by the ship’s crew. Evading the pirates temporarily, they stumble upon the now dead Number One, killed by Number Thirteen. And, Virginia begins to look at Number Thirteen, her rescuer, in a different light.

After dealing with pirates, kidnappings, native warriors, and the eleven ungodly horrors of escaped experiments Numbers Two to Twelve, can Maxon be convinced to abandon his obsession with artificial life? Can Virginia be sure of her emotions as she confronts madmen and dubious suitors? Only Sing Lee knows for sure, and he’s not talking…..yet! Read these exciting new comic strips, learn of their fate, and enjoy the adventures that only Edgar Rice Burroughs can create and vividly describe.

As with all the series featured at edgarriceburroughs.com/comics, the first four episodes of “The Monster Men” will be available at no charge. Fans can gain unlimited access to the entire site and all the strips from the beginning for only $1.99 per month or $21.99 per year.

About the Edgar Rice Burroughs Digital Comic Strips Service Regularly updated and expertly curated, the Edgar Rice Burroughs Digital Comic Strips service offers all new web comic adventures based on the classic characters and stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Current offerings include:

THE MONSTER MEN™ by Tom Simmons, Erik Roman, L Jamal Walton and Cristian Docolomansky
JOHN CARTER WARLORD OF MARS™ by Roy Thomas, Pegaso, Salvador López, Carolina Sánchez, Guadalupe Rivera and Olivia Peña
KORAK THE KILLER (TM) by Ron Marz, Rick Leonardi, Neeraj Menon and Troy Peteri
THE MUCKER (TM) by Ron Marz, Lee Moder, Troy Peteri and Neeraj Menon
TARZAN OF THE APES (TM) by Roy Thomas and Tom Grindberg
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN (TM) by Roy Thomas and Tom Grindberg
CARSON OF VENUS (TM) by Martin Powell, Thomas Floyd, and Diana Leto
THE ETERNAL SAVAGE (TM) by Martin Powell and Steven E. Gordon
THE WAR CHIEF(TM) by Martin Powell and Nik Poliwko
THE CAVE GIRL (TM) by Martin Powell and Diana Leto (A Bi-Weekly)
PELLUCIDAR (TM) by Chuck Dixion and Tom Lyle
THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT (TM) by Martin Powell, Pablo Marcos and Oscar Gonzalez

Real scientists like ERB books

Posted on August 14, 2014

Huffington Post has just put up an interesting article interviewing 15 different real-world scientists about their literary preferences. From cosmology and physics professors at MIT to astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, these men of science shared what their favorite sci-fi and fantasy books are. Among them, Dr. Jane Goodall from the UN Messenger of Peace listed the Tarzan of the Apes classic. It is great to hear the ERB stories inspired such creative and important minds!

Full article at Huffington Post

Behind the scenes of Tarzan movie with Kellen Lutz

Posted on August 8, 2014

Tarzan MovieBlu-ray review at Blu-Ray Definition

Posted on August 7, 2014

The popular Blu-ray focused website has just reviewed the 2013 Tarzan release. They were disappointed with occasional graphical stutters and so-so supplemental materials, but happy with the overall video and audio quality. Read the full text here.

Comics Retrospective and Jim Starlin’s Warlock

Posted on August 6, 2014

AV Club has just put up a great article looking back the the history of superhero comics in the U.S. It focuses primarily on Jim Starlin’s work on Warlock, but gives a pretty comprehensive idea about the origin of many contemporary archetypes and tropes. The introduction reads:

Superhero comic books descend from the pulps. That is, they are a product of a massive surge in genre fiction produced in the early decades of the 20th century. Look at your favorite superheroes today, and you can still see the traces of this lineage. It’s not as if fantasy, science-fiction, or detective stories hadn’t existed before 1900, but so many of the expectations and conventions that genre fans take for granted today were only created and codified after the turn of the century. Many of the people who got in on the ground floor of the Golden Age of comics had experience with pulp magazines like Amazing Stories and Weird Tales as writers, editors, or devoted fans.

It’s a great piece Tim O’Neil, so we highly recommend it to all fans of our comics and Edgar Rice Burroughs classics. Check it out here.

Inkpot Awards at 2014 Comic Con

Posted on August 3, 2014

During this year’s Comic-Con, the Inkpot Awards were given to Chuck Dixon, Kelley Jones, Graham Nolan and Brian Stelfreeze. Congratulations to all the recepients!

The Inkpot Awards are annual awards given to contributors to the world of comics, science fiction/fantasy, film, television, animation and fandom services, as the official website explains.

Ron Marz signed for new John Carter Comics

Posted on August 2, 2014

Dynamite Entertainment has just announced that they have signed Ron Marz for a new ongoing John Carter: Warlord of Mars comic series launching in November. Marz is a veteran of the comic industry having written and edited a number of prolific titles such as Green Lantern and Silver Surfer. He expressed great enthusiasm for working on the new John Carter, stating it is a job he has been “wanting to do since [he] was twelve years old.” Dynamite Entertainment, too, shares Marz’s excitement.

The new comic series stars the science fiction and fantasy hero John Carter who mysteriously finds himself in the alien world of Barsoom. Struggling to adapt and fight new enemies, great challenges and adversary will require John to become a true Warlord. The original series debuted with an Edgar Rice Burrough’s novel in 1912, an inspired many future adventure classics from Flash Gordon to Star Wars and Avatar.

You can read the full article at All-Comics. Don’t want to wait till November for the new comics? New John Carter: Warlod of Mars comics are available online right now!

Online Comic Book Subscriptions

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Follow 12 Golden / Silverage comics online inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs classics and get behind-the-scenes Bonus Materials such as artist sketches and older comics! All our strips are updated weekly and available immediately online for just single subscription of $1.99/ month or $21.99 /year!

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Russ Manning’s Tarzan strips take top prize at the Eisners

Posted on July 28, 2014

The Library of American Comics, a website dedicated to archiving and preserving comic strips from American newspapers, has just been awarded three Eisner Awards. One of those went to Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, receiving the Best Archival Comic Strip Collection title.

Considered the “Oscars” of the comic world, the Eisner Awards are given out annually at the San Diego Comic-Con. They are named after the pioneering graphic novelist Will Eisner and span over two dozen categories.

Read more at: The Library of American Comics. Interested in Edgar Rice Burroughs Comics?

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Ron Ely returning to acting

Posted on July 25, 2014

If you look at Ron Ely’s acting credits, there’s a huge gap between 2001 and 2014.

Ely was happy to take the long break from his career working in TV and films, which dates back to 1958.

“I stepped out of acting to raise a family and be able to spend more time with them here in Santa Barbara,” Ely says. “Now, all the kids are through college with advance degrees. My family asked me ‘what are you hanging around for?” I started looking around and this film came up. It felt so good making the movie, I wish I had never left.”

Read the full story at: V News