Today I chat with Christopher Paul Carey, Vice-President of Publishing at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. In 1923, Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Carson of Venus, Pellucidar (the world inside the Earth), the Land That Time Forgot, and countless other science fiction, adventure, and western novels and characters, became one of the first authors in the world to incorporate himself, and the company named after him is owned by his family to this day and is still based in Tarzana, California, the city named after Burroughs’ most famous creation and the ranch Burroughs owned there.
Hello Chris! Thanks for taking some time to chat. I know summer is usually a convention-heavy time for Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. Where will you be appearing over the next few weeks/months?
CPC: Thanks for inviting me!
First off, we’ll be presenting a panel—“Tarzan’s Creator Celebrates 150 Years!”—at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 25, at 4 PM in Room 32AB. As special guests we’ll have Michael Kogge, showrunner for John Carter of Mars: The Audio Series, and Ray Morales, a line producer for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe Presents: The Adventures of Victory Harben animated series that’s in development, both giving updates on their respective projects. VP of ERB Entertainment Wolf Larson will be on hand to discuss other film and TV projects in the works. Additionally, we’ll be revealing some exciting upcoming releases in terms of both publishing and merchandise, including a very special one to commemorate the 150th anniversary of ERB’s birth. Of course, ERB, Inc., President Jim Sullos, VP of Operations Cathy Wilbanks, and myself will also be part of the presentation.
Next, we’ll be heading out to PulpFest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from August 7–10, taking part in their ERBFest programming. I’ve been attending PulpFest since 2012, and no offense to other fine conventions, but it’s hands down my favorite show of the year. It’s a smaller, more intimate convention, and so a great chance to interact with friends and fans one-on-one.
To cap things off, on September 25–28 we will be attending the Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship gathering in Willcox, Arizona, near the site of the former Fort Grant where ERB was stationed when he was in the 7th US Cavalry. We’re very honored and excited to attend this event, as a monument will be dedicated in Willcox to memorialize ERB’s cavalry service. For more details on the event, please contact Frank Puncer at fwpuncer@gmail.com.
I’m excited to see you and Cathy again at Pulpfest/ERBFest/FarmerCon/DocCon. What panels or events should Burroughs fans who haven’t bought tickets yet be aware of that might entice them to attend?
On Thursday, August 7, at 6:55 PM, VP of Operations Cathy Wilbanks will be cohosting a panel with Bernice Jones on “Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Ideal Man.” This is a follow-up to their well-received panel last year on “The Women of Edgar Rice Burroughs,” so it’s definitely one not to miss!
Then Cathy and I will be running the “World According to Edgar Rice Burroughs” panel on Friday, August 8, at 2:30 PM. Our special guests will be Chris L Adams, author of the upcoming Wild Adventures of ERB novel Gauntlets of Mars (the sequel to Dark Tides of Mars), and Win Scott Eckert, author of the forthcoming ERB Universe novel Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow, which is Book 2 in The Dead Moon Super-Arc.
On Friday evening at 8:35 PM, I’ll also be on a panel with Win Scott Eckert that sort of crosses over ERBFest, FarmerCon (PulpFest’s Philip Jose Farmer programming), and Doc Con (their Doc Savage programming), which is titled “Tarzan the Time Traveler and Discourses on Doc.”
We’ll also have a table with a bounty of our latest ERB book and merch offerings. If you’re at the con, please come by our table and say hello!
Coming in the fall, you are re-releasing Burroughs’ adventure/horror novel The Monster Men and also releasing what I believe is the first sequel novel after several comic book sequels. Can you talk a bit about the decision to bring the original novel, first published in 1913, back now?
There hasn’t been an official release of the original novel since, I believe, the 1990s, so we wanted to support Return of the Monster Men, the new ERB Universe novel by Josh Reynolds, and give readers an opportunity to delve back into the source material. It’s a wonderful story about what it truly means to be human.
As part of the official Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe, Josh Reynolds’ Return of the Monster Men is a canonical sequel to the original. Without spoilers, can you tell us anything about the book and how it connects to the recent comics as well as the greater ERBU?
The new novel is based in part on the Monster Men comics but goes beyond them to reach a satisfying conclusion. The Monster Men comics, which were written by Mike Wolfer and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez, were some of the best we’ve done in recent years, and maybe even farther back. We’re thrilled to be able to continue the storyline in an authorized novel, and to have Josh, an amazing storyteller who I’ve worked with before, be able to tell the tale.
You’ll also be releasing Chris L. Adams’ second Mars book under the Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs banner, Gauntlets of Mars, with cover and interior art by Douglas Klauba. What can you tell us about that book?
Gauntlets of Mars is a direct sequel to Chris’ novel Dark Tides of Mars, with his hero Dat Voga stranded in Barsoom’s ancient past. There’s a very epic secret that’s revealed in the novel that answers one of Barsoom’s big mysteries, but to tell you more would be an unforgivable spoiler!
You also have the latest titles in the Authorized Edgar Rice Burroughs Library releasing soon (Books 4 and 5 of the Barsoom Saga: Thuvia, Maid of Mars and The Chessmen of Mars). Can you tease anything about what the plan is after these two come out?
This fall we’ll be putting up volumes 6 and 7 for preorder: The Master Mind of Mars and A Fighting Man of Mars. The books are fan favorites, with Master Mind featuring a new protagonist in the series, Ulysses Paxton, a US infantry solider who dies during World War 1 and transitions to Barsoom, and Fighting Man giving a rare glimpse of the adventures of an ordinary soldier in the forces of Helium. The cover art by Joe Jusko is absolutely gorgeous, and we’ll have the usual hefty bonus section of archival materials, so you won’t want to miss these books.
That’s a lot on your plate on the publishing side of things over the next few months. Is there anything you can share about the other media side of things? Upcoming television, movie, or audio projects or any other cool tie-ins?
With VP of ERB Entertainment Wolf Lason on the job, there’s lots of activity on that front, much of which I can’t speak to just yet. But I can say we have Tarzan and Korak anime projects in development from Eric Rollman Entertainment, as well as Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe Presents: The Adventures of Victory Harben, an animated TV series in development from Flying S Films. We’ll be discussing these in further detail at our convention panels, and maybe even giving an exclusive peak at some at preliminary artwork!
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat, Chris! See you at Pulpfest in a few weeks!
Author, Editor, and VP of Publishing Christoper Paul Carey.
Christopher Paul Carey in addition to being the VP of Publishing at ERB Inc., is the author of Swords Against the Moon Men, an authorized sequel to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic science fantasy novel The Moon Maid, as well as the ERB Universe novel Victory Harben: The Fires of Halos. He has scripted several comic books set in Burroughs’ worlds, including Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond, Pellucidar: Dark of the Sun, and Pathfinder Worldscape: Dejah Thoris. His short fiction may be found in various anthologies. He is also the coauthor with Philip José Farmer of The Song of Kwasin, and the author of Exiles of Kho, Hadon, King of Opar, and Blood of Ancient Opar, all works set in Farmer’s Khokarsa series. His website is https://christopherpaulcarey.com/
Readers, it is not too late to register for and attend Pulpfest 2025 (THE pulp magazine-focused convention in the Northeast) and the other three conventions it hosts: FarmerCon (dedicated to the works of Philip Jose Farmer), ERBFest (dedicated to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs) and DocCon (dedicated to all things Doc Savage related). Check out the Pulpfest website for registration and hotel information!