Making a Splash: Gil Kane, Warlord of Mars!

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Y'know, when Marvel got the rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' properties in 1977, seemed they knew exactly what to do with 'em: hand them over to their top writers (and probably biggest ERB fans) Roy Thomas (on Tarzan) and Marv Wolfman (on John Carter), pair them up with their top action-artists John Buscema (on Tarzan) and Gil Kane (on John Carter) and turn them loose!

Today we're gonna focus on Gil Kane's John Carter Warlord of Mars (issues 1-10, March-December 1977). Gil didn't do full pencils all the time, for many issues he did the layouts only, but writer/editor Marv kept some dyn-o-mite inkers around for the finishing chores: Dave Cockrum, Tom Sutton, Rudy Messina, the Tribe, and for most issues Rudy Nebres. These artistic team-ups made for action-packed, splendidly other-worldly pages the oozed with a savage sci-fi vibe that well-suited ERB's second most famous hero! Check out these splashes to see what Ol' Groove means...

And y'know, Ol' Groove just realized I've never done a MaS post on Big John Buscema's Tarzan! Well, tune in next Friday when I fix that sitch! Pax!