Weird Worlds #1
Weird Worlds #1 (September 1972) is the anchor issue of DC's dedicated Edgar Rice Burroughs anthology, the first comic title to give both John Carter of Mars and the Pellucidar adventurers David Innes and Abner Perry co-equal headline billing under one roof. By consolidating two serialized Burroughs adaptations that had previously run as backup strips in Tarzan and Korak, Son of Tarzan, DC created the Bronze Age's most ambitious Burroughs showcase and established the template — sword-and-planet alongside hollow-earth adventure — that defined the short but influential run. The series represents DC's most sustained effort to translate Burroughs' planetary-romance prose into sequential art, and its eventual cancellation after seven issues of Burroughs content directly pushed the John Carter license toward Marvel, where it would flourish in 1977.
In the merciless sands of Mars, ex-capitain John Carter and the radiant Princess Dejah Thoris face their darkest hour as captives of the fearsome Tharks. Trapped in the shadow of the "Tribunal of Fear," Carter’s superhuman strength and unwavering resolve are tested against brutal warriors and hidden betrayals, while secrets of blood and destiny stir in the dark. With survival hanging on a thread, escape becomes the only path through a world where mercy is a death sentence.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 15 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.6 ▾ $194 2 listings
Raw — VG+ ▾ $8.2–$41.46 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.99–$49.49 10 listings
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
When DC Comics acquired the Burroughs licenses in 1972 and relaunched Tarzan with issue #207, it initially tucked the John Carter of Mars adaptation (scripted by Marv Wolfman, drawn by Murphy Anderson) and the Pellucidar adaptation (written by Len Wein, drawn by Alan Weiss) into the back pages of Tarzan and Korak, Son of Tarzan respectively. A format shift that reduced those titles from 48-page giants to standard 32-page books left no room for the backup features, so editor Dennis O'Neil launched Weird Worlds as a standalone anthology — with the series title itself credited on the letter page to writer Cary Bates. The title's branding was partly inspired by the commercial success of DC's own Weird War Tales and Weird Western Tales, applying the same 'Weird' formula to science-fiction adventure.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: September 1972; published by DC Comics (National Periodical Publications) at a cover price of 20 cents.
- Cover art by Joe Kubert; the issue's full indicia title is 'Tarzan Presents Edgar Rice Burroughs' Weird Worlds.'
- Contains two serialized features: 'Trial of Fear' (John Carter, Warlord of Mars) — script by Marv Wolfman, art by Murphy Anderson — and 'The Arena of Sudden Death!' (Pellucidar/David Innes) — script by Len Wein, art by Alan Weiss.
- The John Carter story continues directly from Tarzan (DC, 1972 series) #209, and the Pellucidar story continues from Korak, Son of Tarzan (DC, 1972 series) #46; neither feature begins here, meaning no character in the issue makes their DC comics debut in this issue.
- The John Carter story adapts Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel A Princess of Mars (this is the fourth chapter of that serialization); the Pellucidar story adapts At the Earth's Core.
- Editor Dennis O'Neil wrote a full-page editorial in the issue; the letter page credits writer Cary Bates with coining the title 'Weird Worlds.'
- The series name was deliberately patterned on DC's successful 'Weird' anthology brand (Weird War Tales, Weird Western Tales).
- The entire run of DC's John Carter and Pellucidar comics from this era — including Tarzan #207–209 and Weird Worlds #1–7 — was collected and reprinted by Dark Horse Comics in January 2011 as John Carter of Mars: Weird Worlds, timed as a promotional tie-in ahead of the 2012 Walt Disney Pictures film.
Cast · 12 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Mundo de Aventuras #58 (1974), Mundo de Aventuras #59 (1974), Tarzan #24 (1976), Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars: Weird Worlds #[nn] (2011), Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar: At the Earth's Core #[nn] (2017)
Key issues in Weird Worlds
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.