Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is an American holding company founded in 1923 [1] [2] by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is based in Tarzana, California. The company holds the rights to the literary works of Burroughs that are still protected by copyright (a number of Burroughs' early works have passed out of copyright and consequently are in the public domain).
Burroughs was one of the first artists to incorporate, which he did for tax reasons and for more control over his works. [3] Burroughs' books were published through the company from 1931 ( Tarzan the Invincible ) through 1948 ( Llana of Gathol ), with one additional title ( I Am a Barbarian ) appearing in 1967.
The company remains in the ownership of the Burroughs family and manages and licenses Burroughs' works and characters, including Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. [4] [5] In most of the world, the original work of Burroughs is now in the public domain.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. has been involved in numerous legal actions over the years, even in cases where copyright on Burroughs' original work had expired.
The company successfully sued Gold Star Books in 1966 and forced the Tarzan series of books by Barton Werper to be taken off the market. [6]
In 2004, the company threatened Victoria University Press with a lawsuit [7] over author Nigel Cox's book Tarzan Presley , which blended the Tarzan mythos with the life of Elvis Presley. The book has not been reprinted since its initial publication.
In 2012, the company sued Dynamite Comics for trademark infringement. [8] Dynamite's series Lord of the Jungle and Warlord of Mars were based on Burroughs' novels that had entered public domain. However, ERB claimed that use of trademarked characters Tarzan and John Carter constituted infringement and unfair competition. Dynamite and ERB settled the claim in 2014, and signed a contract to clear the way for both series to continue. [9]
Starting in 2020, ERB, Inc. will be re-printing the complete literary works of Burroughs, accompanied by new artwork created by Joe Jusko, in hardcover format. [10]
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he also wrote the Pellucidar series, the Amtor series, and the Caspak trilogy.
John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabitants, where he becomes a warrior battling various mythological beasts, alien armies and malevolent foes. Created in 1911, the character has appeared in novels and short stories, comic books, television shows and films, including the 2012 feature film John Carter, which marked the 100th anniversary of the character's first appearance.
Tarzan of the Apes is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine The All-Story in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 1914.
A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th-century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal instance of the planetary romance, a subgenre of science fantasy that became highly popular in the decades following its publication. Its early chapters also contain elements of the Western. The story is set on Mars, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the work of the astronomer Percival Lowell, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Robert Kennedy Abbett was an American artist and illustrator.
The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). The yell was a creation of the movies based on what Burroughs described in his books as simply "the victory cry of the bull ape."
John Coleman Burroughs was an American illustrator known for his illustrations of the works of his father, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Dejah Thoris is a fictional character and princess of the Martian city-state/empire of Helium in Edgar Rice Burroughs' series of Martian novels. She is the daughter of Mors Kajak, Jed (chieftain) of Lesser Helium, and the granddaughter of Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium. She is the love interest and later the wife of John Carter, an Earthman mystically transported to Mars, and subsequently the mother of their son Carthoris and daughter Tara. She plays the role of the conventional damsel in distress who must be rescued from various perils, but is also portrayed as a competent and capable adventurer in her own right, fully capable of defending herself and surviving on her own in the wastelands of Mars.
John Carter, Warlord of Mars is a comics series published from 1977 by American company Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman (writer) and Gil Kane (penciller), it was based on the Barsoom series of Edgar Rice Burroughs and featured the eponymous character.
Tarzan and the Castaways is a collection of three stories by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the 24th and final in his series of twenty-four books about the jungle hero Tarzan. The title novella, and the two short stories were first published in pulp magazines in 1940 and 1941. The combined book was published first as a hardcover by Canaveral Press in early 1965, and as a paperback by Ballantine Books in July 1965.
Swords of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the eighth of his Barsoom series. It was first published in the magazine Blue Book as a six-part serial in the issues for November 1934 to April 1935. The first book edition was published by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in February 1936.
Canaveral Press was a New York–based publisher of fantasy, science fiction and related material, active from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. It was an imprint of Biblo and Tannen, a publishing house founded in New York City by Jack Biblo and Jack Tannen. Through its entire existence, Richard A. Lupoff was the editor for Canaveral Press.
Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics.
Synthetic Men of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ninth of his Barsoom series. It was first published in the magazine Argosy Weekly in six parts in early 1939. The first complete edition of the novel was published in 1940 by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as Under the Moons of Mars in pulp magazine The All-Story from February to July 1912 and published compiled as a novel as A Princess of Mars in 1917. It features John Carter, a late-19th-century American Confederate veteran who is mysteriously transported from Earth to the dying world of Mars where he meets and romances the beautiful Martian princess Dejah Thoris. Ten sequels followed over the next three decades, further extending his vision of Barsoom and adding other characters.
Tarzan is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Tarzan is a series of 24 adventure novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) and published between 1912 and 1966, followed by several novels either co-written by Burroughs, or officially authorized by his estate. There are also two works written by Burroughs especially for children that are not considered part of the main series.
Bunduki is a 1975 novel byEnglish writer J. T. Edson, the first work in the Bunduki series that followed. The series involves characters related to Tarzan and was initially authorized by the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the opening of the novel the main protagonists are transported from Earth to Zillikian.
John Carter, Warlord of Mars is a role-playing game published by Heritage Models, Inc. in 1978.
Scott Tracy Griffin is an American writer, actor and "one of the world's leading experts" on author Edgar Rice Burroughs and his works. He is the author of Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration, the "only official commemorative illustrated history" of Burroughs' literary character Tarzan, which book was a 2013 Locus Award finalist for Best Art Book.