The Funnies #47
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Funnies #47 holds its place in comics history as one chapter in the first-ever authorized comic-book adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom saga, a serialization that introduced John Carter, Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, and Kantos Kan to the comics medium for the very first time beginning with issue #30 in 1939. The chapter titled 'The Battle of Zodanga' carries the story to one of the pivotal confrontations of A Princess of Mars, dramatizing the Zodangan intrigue that separates Carter from Dejah Thoris and reunites him with his ally Kantos Kan — key narrative beats that define the emotional engine of Burroughs' novel. As part of the only multi-year comic serialization of the Barsoom saga during the Golden Age, this run established the visual grammar for Martian characters — the design of Tharks, Red Martians, and the planet's architecture — that would inform every subsequent comics, illustrated, and cinematic interpretation for decades. The series also demonstrated, at a time when the medium was still defining itself, that pulp science-fantasy properties could sustain a long-form comics narrative within an anthology format.
In a tale of fate and steel, a young smithy named Sir Percy—once a humble worker in the king’s forge—finds his life changed forever when King Victor entrusts him with a mysterious ring. With his future hanging in the balance between a quiet life of healing and a journey into the unknown, he stumbles upon a deadly plot when he overhears Sir Mordant and his men plotting to kidnap the king. Forced into hiding and nearly killed, Percy survives and races to warn Victor, proving himself a hero in the making. When the truth is revealed, the king’s gratitude will crown him not with gold, but with a name that echoes through legend—The Black Knight.
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The John Carter feature in The Funnies was an officially licensed production authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., adapted from A Princess of Mars and brokered through Dell's anthology title. The first four installments (issues #30–33) were drawn by Jim Gary, a King Features Syndicate illustrator whose style showed the influence of Alex Raymond and Milton Caniff; John Coleman Burroughs — Edgar Rice Burroughs' own son — took over the artwork beginning with issue #34 in August 1939 and carried the strip through its final installment at issue #56. For issue #47 and the surrounding issues, John Coleman Burroughs was assisted in the studio by his wife, Jane Ralston Burroughs, who handled backgrounds, inking, and lettering, and who also served as the physical model for Dejah Thoris herself. The artwork John Coleman produced for The Funnies proved so reusable that Dell reprinted black-and-white versions of the panels in a Fast Action Story booklet in early 1940, and many of the same illustrations appeared in the Better Little Book #1402 also published that year.
Trivia · 8 facts
- The Funnies #47 was published in September 1940 by Dell Comics, making it part of the 1939–1941 Golden Age Barsoom serialization.
- The John Carter chapter in this issue is titled 'The Battle of Zodanga,' an 8-page installment adapting a climactic sequence from Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars.
- The chapter features John Carter reuniting with Kantos Kan in the Martian city of Zodanga and continuing his search for Dejah Thoris, who has sworn to marry the son of her captor believing Carter dead.
- Tars Tarkas, the four-armed Green Martian chieftain and Carter's key ally, is among the characters present in the surrounding story arc as Carter marshals forces against Zodanga.
- Art for the John Carter pages was produced by John Coleman Burroughs, son of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who took over the strip with issue #34 (August 1939) and continued through the series' conclusion at issue #56 (June 1941).
- Jane Ralston Burroughs, John Coleman's wife, assisted on the strip by handling backgrounds, inking, and lettering, and physically modeled for the character of Dejah Thoris.
- The entire John Carter run in The Funnies (#30–56) represents the first authorized comic-book adaptation of the Barsoom saga and the comic-medium debut of John Carter, Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, and Kantos Kan.
- Artwork produced by John Coleman Burroughs for The Funnies was subsequently reprinted in the Dell Fast Action Story (February–March 1940) and recycled for Dell's Better Little Book #1402 (John Carter of Mars, 1940), extending the strip's reach beyond the original anthology comic.
Cast · 4 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Large Feature Comic #18 (1941), Men of Mystery Comics #88 (2012)
Key issues in The Funnies
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