Official Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine
Since 1996 ~ Over 10,000 Webpages in Archive
Volume 3697

Eclectica Archive

ECLECTICA v.2012.02

Eclectica Archive

ERB, Inc. and Burroughs Family at The John Carter Hollywood Premiere Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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COMING SOON FROM ERB, INC.
An All-New Full-Colour Weekly Tarzan Strip

SPECIAL GUESTS OF HONOUR  AND SPEAKERS AT  THE 2012 TARZANA ECOF The 100 Year Celebration

MEET JIM SULLOS AT THE 2012 TARZANA ECOF FLASH REMINDER! Monday, 27 February 2012,  BBC Radio 4 will broadcast "Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle," with James Sullos of ERB, Inc., Desmond Morris, and Jeffrey Richards.  The broadcast time is 16:00 GMT, and will be available on the BBC website.  BBC Radio usually makes their programs available for 7 days after the initial broadcast, though some are available for longer.  The program can also be accessed through BBC iPlayer. ~ www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 ~  Also try http://bbc.in/xzEk0a

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MEET ROBIN AT THE 2012 TARZANA ECOF JANE:  The Woman Who Loved Tarzan Interview Excerpt with Author Robin Maxwell "My next novel – it won’t be published till September 2012, is JANE:  The Woman Who Loved Tarzan.  It’s set in 1912 and it’s fiction, so I suppose it could be considered historical fiction.  But it was written (with the full authorization and support of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate) as a Tarzan classic.  It's the first novel in the ERB Tarzan franchise to be penned by a woman, and the first of the series written from Jane’s point of view.  It crosses several genres (adventure, sci-fi/fantasy, romance, and women’s literature), but at its heart it is, like all my other books, the story of a strong, fabulous woman who stands tall under extraordinary circumstances." ~ Robin Maxwell

MEET PROF. STAN GALLOWAY AT THE 2012 TARZANA ECOF click Read the Feature Article in Bridgewater Magazine  ~ Winter 2012 Issue

Jim Sullos

Casper van Dien

John Carter

Lydie Denier

Ron Ely

JG Huckenpohler

Michael Sellers

Thomas Yeates

John Carter

Dan Parsons

Mary Burroughs

Joe Musso

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Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Sues Dynamite Comics For Infringement
ERBzine News ~ February 16, 2012
ERB, Inc., owners of the copyright and trademark rights to author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ works has sued comic-book distributor Dynamic Forces and publisher Dynamite Entertainment over books based on Burroughs’ most-famous characters - Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. The lawsuit, filed by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., claims that Dynamite’s “Lord of the Jungle” and “Warlord of Mars” series constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition.

The suit says the companies pushed ERB Inc. to allow them to publish comic series based on Tarzan and John Carter characters, but ERB Inc. never agreed to do so. ERB Inc. was created by Burroughs in 1923 and is primarily owned by the author’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It is located in Tarzana, Calif., a part of Los Angeles. Burroughs died in 1950.

Dynamite publishes a number of comic series based on classic characters, including the Green Hornet, the Shadow, Flash Gordon, Zorro, Sherlock Holmes and the Lone Ranger. However, it’s probably best known for publishing “The Boys,” an R-rated comics series written by Garth Ennis about a black-ops team that polices superheroes who get out of line.

R.I.P. JOHN SEVERIN December 26, 1921 ~ February 12, 2012  Internationally  acclaimed  illustrator-cartoonist,  John  Powers  Severin ,  passed  away  Sunday, February  12,  2012  at  his  home  in  Denver,  Colorado  with  his  family  by   his  side. He  was  90  years  old. Throughout  his  sixty-plus-year  career  in  comic  illustration  and  cartooning,  Severin  gained   world-wide  notoriety  and  is  regarded  by  many  fans,  friends,  historians,  and  colleagues  as  a  truly distinctive  and  brilliant  artist.

.Hall of Fame artist John Severin, one of the last of the legendary EC artists, has died at age 90. Severin—whose sister Marie was also a famed artist and colorist for Marvel—was among the greatest draftsmen of the EC crew. He was especially well known for his Western comics, which were meticulously researched and elegant in their line. In recent years he had continued to work, notably on The Rawhide Kid in 2003, a controversial gay western; he also worked on The Punisher and B.P.R.D.

The family has released a statement:
Internationally  acclaimed  illustrator-cartoonist,  John  Powers  Severin  (1921-2012),  passed  away  Sunday, February  12,  2012  at  his  home  in  Denver,  Colorado  with  his  family  by   his  side. He  was  90  years  old. Throughout  his  sixty  plus  year  career  in  comic  illustration  and  cartooning,  Severin  gained   world-wide  notoriety  and  is  regarded  by  many  fans,  friends,  historians,  and  colleagues  as  a  truly distinctive  and  brilliant  artist.

Long-time  friend  and  former  president  and  chairman  of  Marvel   Comics,  Stan  Lee  states:
“He  had  an  art  style  that  was   uniquely  and  distinctly  his  own.The  minute  you  looked  at  his  artwork  you  knew  you  were  looking   at  a  John  Severin  illustration;  it  could  be  no  one  else. Besides  his  inimitable  style,  there  was  a   feeling  of  total  authenticity  to  whatever  he  drew,  whether  it  was  a  Western,  a  crime  story,  a   superhero  saga  or  a  science  fiction  yarn. Not only was his penciling the very finest, but his inking, too, had a distinctive Severin touch that made every strip he rendered stand out like a winner”.

Severin’s professional career was launched early in high school when he contributed cartoons for the Hobo News. Early in his career, his works were also published by Jack Kirby at Crestwood Publications’ Prize Comics. He co-created the long-running Native American feature American Eagle and continued drawing stories for Prize Comics through 1955.

Called an “artist’s artist”, Severin gained a reputation for his historical knowledge and detail in all genres, most notably war and western. Sharing a Manhattan studio with fellow classmates Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Elder from New York’s famed High School of Music and Art; Severin began drawing for EC Comics. His illustrations graced the covers and inside pages of several EC comic series’ including Two-fisted Tales and Frontline Combat. It was also during this time Severin’s colleagues, Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines co-created MAD Magazine. Severin was one of the five original artists who played a part in launching the infamous magazine, illustrating features for MAD Magazine between 1952 and 1954.

Upon leaving EC Comics, Severin was sought after to help launch CRACKED Magazine, a new publication that would become the prime competitor to MAD Magazine. Severin, using the pseudonyms “Nireves”, “Le Poer”, and “Noel”, was the lead artist for CRACKED Magazine for an unprecedented 45 years.

Following the cancellation of EC’s comic book line in the mid-1950’s, Severin began working for Atlas Comics, the company that would eventually become Marvel Comics. After the transition to Marvel Comics, Severin contributed his illustrations to several popular titles including the Incredible Hulk, The Nam, Kull the Conqueror, Captain Savage, What The?!, and Semper Fi.

Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin and René Goscinny in 1940

    In 2003, Severin revived an outlaw character he created fifty years prior, for Marvel’s controversial Rawhide Kid in the groundbreaking edition Slap Leather. Also in the 2000s, Severin contributed to Marvel’s The Punisher; DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, American Century, Caper, and Bat Lash; and Dark Horse Comics’ Conan, B.P.R.D. and Witchfinder. Severin's final illustrations were for Marvels Witchfinder Lost and Gone Forever, published in early 2012.

    “One of my greatest regrets, as an editor, was the fact that John was so busy doing other things that I couldn’t give him as many assignments as I would have wished. If it were up to me, I’d have kept him busy drawing for Marvel seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year,” states Lee.

    “John Severin's distinguished work is personified by the quality of the man himself. John Severin was one of the nicest, most decent, honorable, straight-shooting men you’d ever hope to meet,” states Lee. “Truly, the art world has suffered a great loss with John’s passing – but so has the human race. To John’s friends and fans worldwide, he has been greatly loved and will surely be greatly missed.”

 Throughout his life, Severin received numerous honors, recognitions, and awards for his illustrations and contribution to the comic book industry. In 2003 he was inducted into the Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Hall of Fame.

    John Powers Severin was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. After attending the High School of Music and Art he enlisted in the United States Army where he served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He moved to Denver, Colorado in 1970. As a freelance comic illustrator and cartoonist, thousands of Severin’s illustrations have been published and admired by fans worldwide. John Severin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Michelina, 6 children, 13 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, a step great granddaughter and Severin’s sister, Marie Severin, who is also a comic illustrator and cartoonist.

For those who might have missed the ERBzine-reprinted  Tarzan parodies by John Severin: MELVIN! MELVIN OF THE APES TARZ an' the APES

Tiny rustic farms battle for survival in Los Angeles area
In one of the city's few residential-agricultural zones,
developers want to raze five homes to build a 37,500-square-foot elder-care facility.
Neighbors are divided. LA Times ~ January 13, 2012
Chickens are part of the neighborhood in a portion of Tarzana zoned for residential-agricultural use. A developer wants to build an elder-care facility in the area. A chicken, a raven and a peacock greeted Lisa and Ron Cerda when they moved into their southeastern Tarzana neighborhood almost two decades ago. It was just the sort of bucolic reception the couple hoped for when they fled crowded West Los Angeles for one of the city's rare residential-agricultural zones, a district that permits farming and the keeping of livestock.

Today, the Cerdas say their rustic neighborhood is threatened with extinction. Schools, synagogues and commercial businesses have crept into the district, despite dogged opposition from dozens of residents. The latest battle involves a proposal to demolish five single-family dwellings and construct a 37,500-square-foot elder-care facility. "I feel like we're under attack," said Lisa Cerda, who heads Tarzana Residents against Poor Property Development. The group has appealed more than two dozen proposals for development projects in recent years, arguing that they were unsuitable for their neighborhood. "Once a precedent has been set and you allow an elder-care in an RA zone, you cannot prevent it from happening again."

The battle to preserve the rural flavor of residential-agricultural neighborhoods is being fought in several areas of Los Angeles County. In recent years, Tarzana's Melody Acres has tried to stop developers from subdividing large lots. Last year, the rural Richland Farms enclave of Compton has campaigned against new parking restrictions and stricter rules against keeping livestock. And in the Walnut Acres neighborhood of Woodland Hills, residents are trying to halt construction of a two-story, 76-bed nursing home.

The city's Planning Commission has given preliminary approval to the Tarzana project, but opponents have appealed and are awaiting a response. They cite concerns about increased traffic, trash and noise, and they claim that city officials are doing little to preserve the agricultural districts. The special zoning designations date mostly to the 1920s, when Los Angeles and the rest of the nation were experiencing a boom in one-acre home-based farms.

The Tarzana neighborhood is one of the Valley's first farming communities. Flowering trees shade wide streets, and many of the original 1920s homes occupy lots of at least 17,500 square feet. Feathery-legged bantam chickens can be seen pecking through the grass along the roadside. In one three-acre compound surrounded by a slate-rock wall, footpaths meander through lush gardens.

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

Two of our Tarzana Hall of Famers in the News Singer Melanie Brown and husband Stephen Belafonte list Tarzana house at $3.45 million Singer Melanie Brown and husband Stephen Belafonte list Tarzana house at $3.45 million.

Florida monkeys have humans concerned
UPI.com ~ Feb. 12, 2012
SILVER SPRINGS, Fla., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Non-native rhesus monkeys, living in the wild in Florida, are causing a controversy as a potential threat to humans, wildlife officials say. In a state reliant on tourism and home to many exotic animals, the population of rhesus monkeys has been expanding in the Silver Springs area, near Ocala, for decades.

While some people say the monkeys came to populate the area after getting loose during the filming of a Tarzan movie, most experts believe they were brought to the area in the 1930s to add excitement to an amusement park only to swim away from their river island home. They are now considered a threat to humans by state wildlife officials, the Tampa Bay Times in St. Petersburg reported Saturday.

A state-approved trapper, Scott Cheslak, has captured more than 700 of the primates in the past decade, but lack of disclosure on their whereabouts has ignited a debate. While he is not obligated by law to explain what he does with his catch, the newspaper confirmed he was formerly employed by a company that supplies monkeys to scientific research laboratories.

The growing number of invasive rhesus monkeys has put Florida officials in the middle of a dilemma. Monkey sightings are popular with tourists, but state wildlife authorities say the animals can spread the herpes-B virus among humans, making them "a true public hazard," Sally Leib, manager of Silver Springs State Park, said. "We know people like to see the monkeys, but we know they don't belong here," she said.

For more on Runaway Tarzan Monkeys Plan to see Al Bohl's soon-to-be released documentary www.erbzine.com/mag31/3110.html

JOHN CARTER The Movie Novelization Also Includes  A Princess of Mars  .	John Carter of Mars I A Princess of Mars Gods of Mars Warlord of Mars .	John Carter of Mars II Thuvia, Maid of Mars The Chessmen of Mars The Master Mind of Mars A Fighting Man of Mars	John Carter of Mars III Swords of Mars Synthetic Men of Mars Llana of Gathol John Carter of Mars

TARZAN: THE JESSE MARSH YEARS VOLUME 10 - Now Available  Written by Gaylord DuBois, art by Jesse Marsh.  Tarzan faces his most harrowing adventure yet when his treehouse is targeted and destroyed by slavers, who kidnap Jane and Boy! This volume sees Tarzan battle lion-sized wasps, outwit ivory poachers, brave giant spiders to find desperately needed medicine, become stranded in the Valley of Monsters, and even track a murder cult for the British government. Reprinting Dell's Tarzan #47-#51, from 1953, for the first time. Introduction by PictureBox's Dan Nadel. Dark Horse  ~ $49.99

TARZAN: THE JESSE MARSH YEARS VOLUME 11 - Coming Soon Written by Gaylord DuBois, art by Jesse Marsh.  Jesse Marsh continues revolutionizing comics art, imbuing these action-packed adventures with a blend of grace and power that has rarely been matched. Whether swinging through Marsh's beautifully rendered jungle, flying through the air atop his giant eagle, or battling marauders alongside his friends from all over Africa's land of Pal-ul-don, Tarzan proves one of comics greatest heroes. And fifty issues in, Jesse Marsh keeps getting better!  Dark Horse  ~ $49.99

BROTHERS OF THE SPEAR ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 - HARDCOVER - Now Available Written by Gaylord DuBois, art by Jesse Marsh and Russ Manning Young Natongo and his adopted brother Dan-El share a bond much stronger than blood, so when they learn of Dan-El's true father and his lost people, they pledge to discover the secret of his birthright together. Their journey across Africa reveals danger at every turn, but nothing to match the shock of finding Dan-El's home enslaved by an evil witch doctor. With only each other to fall back on, can the brothers of the spear survive battle, exile, shipwreck, and more to overthrow the usurper so Dan-El can take his rightful place as king? Collecting the backup stories from Tarzan #25-#67!  Dark Horse  ~ $49.99

Gods of Opar: Tales of Lost Khokarsa
by Philip Jose Farmer and Christopher Paul Carey
Dust jacket by Bob Eggleton ~ In limited and trade editions Gods of Opar: Tales of Lost Khokarsa collects for the first time anywhere Philip José Farmer’s epic Khokarsa cycle, including the never-before-published conclusion to the trilogy, The Song of Kwasin. In Hadon of Ancient Opar, the young hero Hadon journeys from his outpost city to the heart of the ancient African empire of Khokarsa, battling in the Great Games for the chance to win the king’s crown. But just as Hadon stands upon the precipice of victory, the tyrannical King Minruth usurps the throne and overturns the beneficent, centuries-old rule of the priestesses of Kho. Now Hadon must set out upon a hero’s journey unlike any other—to hunt down a living god and return with his bounty.

The saga continues in Flight to Opar, as a decree by the oracle hurtles Hadon upon a perilous quest that will determine the fate of the next twelve millennia.

In The Song of Kwasin, Hadon’s herculean cousin returns to Khokarsa after long years of exile in the Wild Lands. But soon Kwasin finds that in order to clear his name he will have to take up the cause against King Minruth himself and stop him before he fulfills his mad quest for immortality high atop the sun god’s bloody ziggurat.

Table of Contents:	Exclusive to the Limited Edition:
Hadon of Ancient Opar Flight to Opar The Song of Kwasin      (with Christopher Paul Carey)	The Song of Kwasin Outline The Khokarsan Language Khokarsan Glossary The Khokarsan Calendar The Plants of Khokarsa

Subterranean Press ~ 576 pages ~ Release Date: April 2012
Amazon.ca

Bob Clampet Returns to the Tarzana ERB, Inc. Office in the Early 1970s

Bob Clampett and John Coleman Burroughs with the promotional portfolio of their '30s John Carter animation project
At the offices of ERB, Inc. with Hulbert Burroughs and Danton Burroughs: JCB's Thark Mask and Sword

Dark Horse Presents #9  with a Thomas Yeates variant cover Licensed by ERB, Inc.

Mark Wheatley Art The TARZAN FAMILY is the basis for  a new BURROUGHS BULLETIN cover.

DeWet du Toit

Al Bohl

“I’m like Tarzan in so many ways. My best friend is an elephant called Shaka, and I spend more time
with monkeys, zebras and crocodiles than I do with people.
People might say I’m crazy, but I know this is what I was born to do.”
Watch DeWet’s Tarzan trailer HERE
Meet DeWet du Toit at Al Bohl's Louisiana Festival Event