Edgar Rice Burroughs’ work is a bit of an oddity to me. It’s so obviously ripe for both comics and movies/TV, yet there’s a noticable dearth of it produced. I have no idea if that’s just because creators don’t seem to get it, or the fanboy contingent just rejects it for some reason, but IDW is doing their part to bring some of it to the masses. They’ve just announced a Princess Of Mars mini series, adapting John Carter’s first adventure on, well Mars. They seem pretty high on the series, too, releasing a ton of promo art for it, including work by Frank Cho, Ted McKeever and other big deal names.

Full press release and image library (including yet another Frank Cho image) after the jump.

IDW JOURNEYS TO BARSOOM WITH A PRINCESS OF MARS!
Join Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pulp Hero John Carter On His First Adventure

San Diego, CA (June 2, 2006)—The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs have captured peoples’ imaginations for decades, and it’s time once again to pay tribute to his works with an all-new visitation to the planet Mars. In August, IDW Publishing is proud to offer up the definitive comic re-telling of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars, courtesy of writer Dan Taylor (Hero Happy Hour) and artist Ted McKeever (Little Book of Horror: War of the Worlds).

Representing the beginning of the very prolific career of legendary author Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars recounts the very first tale of pulp hero John Carter’s adventures on the Red Planet. The five-issue series opens with Civil War veteran John Carter finding himself mysteriously and unexpectedly transported to the planet Mars, where he is forced to adapt to this strange and fantastic new world and all its dangerous alien beasts and warring Martian species. While trying to survive the perils of the Red Planet, Carter also tries to win the affections of a fellow captive of the Green Martians, Dejah Thoris—a princess of Mars.

“A Princess of Mars, like most of Burroughs’ literary classics, is a natural choice to adapt into a comic book series,” says IDW Editor Taylor, who’s penning the adaptation. “The elements that Burroughs put into his stories lend themselves quite well to comics—imaginative tales filled with wondrous vision. Besides, I’m not one who can pass up on good, old-fashioned, swashbuckling science-fiction adventure.”

“What most drew me to this project was the fact that the novel had such an impact on me in my youth,” says series artist Ted McKeever. “Burroughs’ storytelling is so rich with textures, that I wanted to expand on that, and yet stay as true to the core soul of the series as possible. Like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, Burroughs’ truly was a genius far ahead of his time.”

In addition to the fantastic McKeever artwork, which is being given stunning depth and color by Chris Chuckry, the miniseries will feature variant covers from fellow Barsoom addicts Frank Cho and Mark Wheatley. Cho will be handling variant cover duties on the first three issues, and Wheatley will be batting clean-up on the final two.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars (Diamond Item Code JUN06 3201) #1, the first issue of a five-issue series with 32 full-color pages, debuts from IDW Publishing in August 2006.

Spread the word!