Sab Than

Sab Than is a Martian villain from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom mythology, opposing John Carter of Earth on the red planet. He is entangled with Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium, and aligned with antagonists including Than Kosis and Tal Hajus.

A villain rooted in the earliest days of Barsoomian adventure on the comics page, Sab Than made his debut in 1952's Four Color #375 — a Golden Age entry point into the richly imagined world of Edgar Rice Burroughs, brought to life by the pen of Jesse Marsh and Paul S. Newman. He moves through stories alongside some of Mars' most legendary figures: Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, John Carter, and the fearsome Tal Hajus and Than Kosis. Though his appearances across the catalog are select rather than sprawling, the fact that his presence stretches from that 1952 debut through 2012 — touching Four Color, John Carter of Mars, and John Carter: The World of Mars — speaks to how essential he remains to the tapestry of Barsoom. For collectors who love classic planetary romance and the Golden Age roots of adventure comics, Sab Than is a name worth tracking down.