John Carter Warlord of Mars No. 24: Museum Object and Cultural History

John Carter Warlord of Mars No. 24: date made: 1973. date made: 1974. date made: 1975.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team•Updated September 29, 2026•2 min read•✓ Fact-checked

Editorial graphic for: John Carter Warlord of Mars No. 24: Museum Object and Cultural History — Editorial graphic by Pop Culture Files · not a photograph

The object in the museum catalogue

Marvel Comic's John Carter: Warlord of Mars ran for 28 issues and 3 Annuals between 1977 and 1979. Based on the pulp fiction of American author Edgar Rice Burroughs, the series followed the fantastical adventures of John Carter, a Civil War veteran magically transported to the planet Mars, known as "Barsoom" by its inhabitants.

Burroughs, creator of the groundbreaking Tarzan, the Ape Man, introduced John Carter in his story Under the Moons of Mars, serialized in All-Story Magazine in 1912. Retitled A Princess of Mars, the story was published as novel in 1916, becoming the first in a series of adventures set on the red planet. The "Barsoom" series, with its melding of fantasy, science fiction, western and romance, influenced later works of American popular culture, including Flash Gordon, Superman and Star Wars

In addition to the Marvel series, Burrough's interplanetary hero has headlined a few other comic titles and has been the subject of at least two films; 2009's direct to DVD Princess of Mars and Disney's big budget John Carter, released in 2012.

Materials, dates and provenance

date made: 1973
date made: 1974
date made: 1975
date made: 1976
date made: 1972
date made: 1977
date made: 1978
date made: 1979
maker: Marvel Comics
Object Name: comic book
Physical Description: paper (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 6 3/4 in x 10 1/4 in; x 17.145 cm x 26.035 cm
place made: United States: New York, New York City
Subject: Comics
Subject: Fantasy
ID Number: 2013.3039.238
nonaccession number: 2013.3039
catalog number: 2013.3039.238
Credit Line: Gift of George R. Zug
Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.