The Four Color Media Monitor

Mark Tapson gave some history of one of the most famous science fantasy writers of the 20th century, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and made an interesting observation:

ERB’s work gave life to the pulp fiction genre. Tarzan was also the pioneer of the comic book superhero; his comic strip was introduced in 1929, tying with Buck Rogers as the first “serious” adventure strip (prior to that, comics were largely limited to funnies like the Katzenjammer Kids) and inspiring The Phantom and later, Superman and Batman.

You could surely make a similar point about the Warlord of Mars series, since it later served as inspiration for Adam Strange, at the time Julius Schwartz was one of DC's most prominent editors in the late 1950s (and even before his comics career, he'd worked as assistant to some science fiction specialists in the 40s). Let's hope Burroughs' estate and publishers continue to remain faithful to his visions and not bowdlerize them as became of at least 3 authors in the UK. Mainly because Burroughs did provide an important example lacking in today's world in his works - heroism:

You may well ask, what does this gushy fan tribute to a pulp fiction author have to do with our imperative here at Culture Warrior, to Make Western Civilization Great Again? Well, we live in a time of cynicism and contempt for the old-fashioned sort of noble ideals, romanticism, sense of adventure, and “toxic masculinity” that permeate ERB’s work. Making our civilization great again begins, I would argue, with reclaiming and valuing the sort of masculine, individualistic spirit that helped power our civilization in the first place (for more on this theme, see a previous article I wrote here, “Want Teenage Boys to Read? Give Them Books About Heroes”). Thankfully, we can still return to those thrilling days of yesteryear, as the old Lone Ranger TV theme put it, through the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. [...]

Definitely so long as his heirs prove willing to uphold what he set out to do. His works can serve as important inspiration for modern comics writers who need a good source to draw from too.

Labels: comic strips, history