Posted in: Comics | Tagged: American Mythology, carson of venus, christopher mills, Cyrus Mesarcia, edgar rice burroughs

American Mythology Launches Edgar Rice Burroughs Comicverse with Super-Mega-Crossover Event

American Mythology is launching a new comic book universe based on the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, a press release revealed today. Like all decent comic book universes, it will launch with a super-mega-crossover event called Fear on Four Worlds, beginning with the Carson of Venus #1 one-shot in June. The crossover will continue through Moon Maid #1, Pellucidar #1, and The Land That Time Forgot #1, and continue through various mini-series for the rest of the year and beyond.

Carson of Venus #1 will be written by Christopher Mills with art by Cyrus Mesarcia. The synopsis:

Two worlds collide as a group of unlikely explorers from Caspak – the prehistoric realm known to Burroughs fans as "The Land that Time Forgot" – leap across our solar system to the danger-fraught landscape of Venus. Stalked by alien beasts and treacherous villains, their only hope for survival lies in a legendary figure from eighty years in Earth's past: long-lost astronaut Carson Napier!

"I first discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs in elementary school when I borrowed a copy of Swords of Mars from the bookmobile. Burroughs' unbridled imagination really inspired me then, and still does today," said Mills in the press release. "When I was offered the Carson of Venus and The Moon Maid writing gigs, I was thrilled! I never thought that I'd get the opportunity to play around in ERB's sandbox, and the prospect of doing so was exhilarating, as his works have influenced my own work to a great extent over the years. In re-reading and researching the novels in preparation for writing the comics, I was once again struck by Burroughs' incredible imagination and pure skill as a storyteller. The man was a genius, and his creations just keep on finding new audiences even after a century in print."

"When looking at all four Edgar Rice Burroughs properties, one of the first things that we discussed was how to combine them all into one shared universe," said American Mythology editor Mike Wolfer "I personally enjoyed the Marvel Universe back in the '70s because of the cohesion. I loved that every once in a while one superhero would wander through the book of another hero; there were cameos, and small events in one series could have major ramifications in a totally unrelated series months or even years later. And that's what we want to do with our ERB Universe."

"We're dealing with the planet Venus, the Earth's moon, the island continent of Caspak, and Pellucidar, at the Earth's core," Wolfer continued, speaking about the officially-licensed super-mega-crossover event. "Also, each of the novels that our licenses are based upon were set in different time periods in Earth's history. But then I thought of the very premise of our first ERB series, The Land That Time Forgot, and the answer was right in front of us. In Land, we've shown that there is an invisible time barrier around the continent of Caspak that not only hides it from the rest of the world, but also separates it from present time – it is, indeed, a land that time forgot. Our modern day characters passed through that veil, and found themselves on Caspak at the time that heroes Bowen Tyler and Lys La Rue were still trapped there (the time period seen in the first Caspak novel). What we're doing in 'Fear on Four Worlds' is expanding that premise; traveling back through that veil will not necessarily transport you to the time from when you came, or the place, and we'll see Abby Tyler and Ethan Bradley attempt just that, which thrusts them into a solar system-spanning adventure that's both thrilling and horrifying."

Carson of Venus #1 will be solicited in April's Previews catalog, and features the following variant covers:

"Pulptastic" Main Cover by Mike Wolfer
"Visions of Venus" Variant by interior artist Cyrus Mesarcia
"Character Design" Limited Edition Variant, also by Mesarcia, limited to a print run of only 350 comics
"Blank Sketch" Variant, perfect for professional and aspiring artists to illustrate

Look for it in stores in June.

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