There were at least two varieties of the four-card "John Carter" trading card set issued by Disney for the movie released in March 2012.
The cards came in a plain cellophane wrapper.

The cards with the red backgrounds were among goodies handed out at the advance showing of "John Carter" at Disney's Burbank Studio during the 2012 ECOF in Woodland Hills, Calif. They were probably also handed out at other promotional events.

I got the cards with the blue backgrounds later, probably on ebay. The cards with the blue backgrounds are copyright by disney.co.uk, so I assume those were distributed originally in the United Kingdom, whereas the cards with the red backgrounds were for U.S. distribution.

Both sets feature the same photos of John Carter, Tars Tarkas, Woola and Dejah Thoris, though with the different color schemes and different layouts front and back.

"John Carter" opened at The El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard for a March 9-April 19 run in 2012. Publicity included this fold-out, four-page mailer which had scenes from the movie as well as of the costume and prop display that was set up in the theatre. The brochure measures 6"x11" inches.

The theatre, now known as The El Capitan Entertainment Center, is owned by Disney and used to premiere most of its own movies
More about the El Capitan and its history here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Capitan_Theatre

Perhaps one of the biggest sins committed by the makers of the 2012 "John Carter" movie was to make the white apes into super-large beings and then use that image as one of the main promotional photos in the press kits sent out to newspapers. Their hope probably was that many newspapers would choose that image for their advance articles and reviews, and they were not disappointed, as big apes and diminutive John Carter were rendered in black as well as color ink across the newspaper pages of America during John Carter Week nine years ago, leading up to the March 9 release of the big-budget film.

The sad thing was that ERB's John Carter books were not about giant monsters -- they were about people. Yes, there were monsters, but the white apes, the apts, the banths and the slightly more intelligent monsters -- the Warhoons, Issus, the Zodangans, the synthetic men and other hostile individuals and group -- were either the size of earthly humans and beasts or, at most, twice the size.
Disney special effects people did an excellent job depicting the Tharks, thoats and calots but they felt they had to add excitement to ERB's story by making his ferocious white apes into even more terrifying creatures of monstrous proportions.

Among the newspaper clippings I saved from that week were many featuring the apes, as if that was what the movie "John Carter" was all about: Come, see the man face off against the big monster! "Sigh! Another Monster" reported one newspaper headline.

It was just another reason many clueless theater-goers thought that "John Carter" was a ripoff of Star Wars "Return of the Jedi" with Luke confronted by the giant rancor, rather than the other way around -- George Lucas candidly acknowledging that his creative franchise was inspired by ERB's Martian tales.

Critics seem to think it is their job to find things to dislike about movies, and many of the articles shown here lead off with thumbs-down headlines or comments. Fortunately, there are some helpful remarks along the way, and some of the stories do take a more positive approach.

What these clippings do represent is a snapshot of history -- what the newspapers were saying that March about "John Carter."

(A sequel to Disney's John Carter [of Mars])

---

Edgar Rice Burroughs stood before the tomb, staring at the words "Inter Mundos" which were spelled out in cast iron plates over the top of the doorway.

He had just seen his Uncle Jack enter the tomb, an amulet belonging to a Martian Thern in his grasp, ready to use the device to return to the red planet where his true love, Dejah Thoris, awaited him.

Ed snapped out of his reverie, remembering that just a few feet behind him lay the dead body of the human-like, interplanetary being which his uncle had just dispatched in order to obtain the powerful amulet carried by the sinister creature.

His sharp mind almost instantly analyzed the serious problem with which he was now confronted -- the necessity of disposing of a body!

Thanks, Uncle Jack, he thought grimly. Just what I need -- the job of quietly, secretly and securely getting rid of a corpse. The Thern might not exactly be human, but it certainly looked human, and that would be the problem if the local authorities were suddenly to discover it on what was now his estate, inherited from Uncle Jack -- otherwise known as John Carter -- along with his uncle's assets from his "mountain of gold."

The Thern had been shot in the back by none other than Uncle Jack. But who would be blamed? Well, he couldn't very well blame Uncle Jack, who had supposedly been dead and buried already for a couple of days. No one would believe a fantastic story about mystical travel through space, warring factions and exotic creatures on another planet, and a mysterious race of centuries-old beings with near supernatural powers.

Dead? Buried? Perhaps that was the answer. Before him stood a tomb which, as far as anyone knew, could be opened only from the inside. But Ed Burroughs had the key, a puzzle he had solved based on a telegram his uncle had sent him in which he had addressed him as Ned.

It had occurred to Ed to spell out Ned by pressing the letters N, E and D in "Inter Mundos" and the combination had successfully opened the tomb, luring the Thern out of hiding. Why not do so again and slip the dead body inside? John Carter's spirit had no doubt already departed his earthly clay to be united with the "copy" of his body that would have been sent to Mars, or Barsoom, as the natives called it.

Ed was sure his Uncle Jack wouldn't mind if his body had a little company, especially if it helped get his nephew out of a potential pickle. After all, there had been no harm done to his body while it was lying next to the rotting corpse of Colonel Powell in an unsecured Arizona cave for a decade!
Eager now, Ed reached up and pushed the N, but he didn't hear the reassuring click that had sounded the first time he had experimentally touched that letter. Quickly he touched the E and D but again, no clicks, and no opening door.

Panicking now, he ran through the procedure again, and again, more desperately each time.

No, it didn't work. Perhaps the letters had been pre-programmed to work once and only once. Now, the tomb appeared that it really did open only from the inside.

Tears started to form in Ed's eyes. What was he going to do? Why had his uncle left him with this mess?

But wait. His uncle had given him a code once. Did he leave another one with his final words?

"Take up a cause. Fall in love. Write a book."

Perhaps there was something there that would work with Inter Mundos. The first letter in each sentence? The third letter?" Ed tried combination after combination. Nothing worked. If there was a code, it was beyond him.

He took a step back and almost tripped over the body of the Thern.

The Thern!

Maybe he carried something on him that would be helpful.

He began rummaging through the man's pockets. To his surprise, he found a smaller version of the amulet, this one with a chain to which was attached a common key. Wouldn't it be something if it was a REAL amulet? Perhaps the Therns all carried backup amulets. Ed began reciting the words he had read in his uncle's journal: "Och...Ohem...Och...." The amulet lit up with a blue glow.

Omigosh, thought ERB, clapping his hand over his mouth. I'd better be very very careful.

He remembered what happened near the end of his uncle's story and moved back into the house to re-read it. Matai Shang had held the amulet while reciting the words, but it was John Carter who was sent to Earth, not the Thern. Of course! He was holding one hand on Carter as he spoke. Obviously, the power was transferred if the one holding the piece and reciting the words was touching someone else.

Now Ed knew how he could get rid of the body.

He hurried back to the tomb where the Thern lay in crumpled repose.

But where to send him? Barsoom? That might not be a good idea. His fellow Therns might have a way to resurrect him.

Then, he remembered from John Carter's journal the part where he and Dejah were laying out rocks and naming the planets. Venus was Cosoom! That would be an excellent place to hide the body. Every scientist knew that the surface temperature of Venus was unbearably hot and unfit for human life. Perhaps some day someone would journey there and prove the scientists wrong. But since that didn't seem as if it would happen for awhile, the body would probably be quite safe there, and more than likely reduced to ashes before long.

Hoping he would not accidentally send himself to Cosoom, Ed touched the body of the inanimate Thern and said the words: "Och...Ohem...Och..." The amulet lit up. "Tay...Wyees. Cosoom!"

The beads of perspiration stood out on Ed's head. For just a minute, he was afraid that the amulet might send only a "copy" of the Thern's body to Venus, leaving the original on the ground before him and, essentially, leaving him the same problem he had before. But he recalled, too, that though John Carter's original body was left in the cave, the Thern who had appeared there, with his advanced science, had the ability to transport his whole body back and forth between planets.

That was rather convenient, especially at a time like this, Ed reasoned. He breathed easier as the Thern's body slipped between worlds in a blue glow.
He looked at the amulet in his hands and wondered if it would work for places other than planets. Could it take him to different lands on Earth? If it did, what a way to follow through on Uncle Jack's recommendation. If he did decide to take the advice and write books, he would probably start with Uncle Jack's own adventure and then go on to explore other exotic possibilities -- stories set in lands and on planets he had read of in the pulps.

Of course, there were inherent dangers in just popping up blindly in foreign places, as well. He could easily imagine transporting himself to Africa and materializing right in the middle of a den of tigers!

--John Martin

Disney may not have flooded the toy aisles with John Carter action figures and playsets in 2012 but it did produce some activity books aimed primarily at young people (and the young at heart, the fans).

Here are scans of the front and back covers of a John Carter 3-d book (20 pages including covers) with two pairs of 3-D glasses attached with perforations inside, so you and your honey can look at the pictures at the same time.

Another book is John Carter, Battle for Barsoom, with 28 regular pages of puzzles and other activities plus two pages of stickers in the middle of the book. The back cover is the same as the front, with Disney and Golden Books logos and UPC code in place of "Battle for Barsoom."

Both books are 7 7/8 by 11 inches.