The Art of Michael Whelan

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The Art of Michael Whelan
JOHN CARTER OF MARS
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JOHN CARTER OF MARS

Cover for Edgar Rice Burroughs

Michael Whelan
Sep 02, 2024
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The Art of Michael Whelan
The Art of Michael Whelan
JOHN CARTER OF MARS
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On the back of a saddled Martian bird, John Carter flies above a barren red landscape with the horizon tilted at a steep angle. His arms are spread wide as he grips reins in one hand and a rapier in the other. Dejah Thoris has a worried expression as she holds him around his waist. The bird twists with its eyes and beak pointing in a different direction than rider, giving a disorienting change in motion. Behind flies Tars Tarkas on his own winged mount. An elegant city with high reaching spires and onion-shaped peaks sits in the distance framed by a huge moon. Another smaller moon hangs bright in the gray blue sky.
JOHN CARTER OF MARS (1979), Acrylic - 22" x 28"

I’ve had a special fondness for The Martian Tales by Edgar Rice Burroughs even since I first read them in my early teens. This was the last of 11 covers, so it seemed fitting to have John Carter and Dejah Thoris ride off into the sunset.

All kidding aside, I wanted to wrap up the series with a painting that evoked the romantic notion of the deathless hero and the woman of his dreams winging off to further adventures against the backdrop of the full majesty of their planet.

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Additional images from JOHN CARTER OF MARS

LEFT: Detail of John Carter and Dejah Thoris on the back of a saddle Martian bird. He is pale in comparison to the red tone of her skin. Her hand reaches around resting suggestively on his hip. He wears only a loincloth, belt with decorative filigree, and a harness that crosses his chest in an X with a large crest reminiscent of an eagle with wings and tail plumage spread. CENTER: Figure study of John Carter flying on the back of a Martian bird. His cape flaps freely in the wind because Deja Thoris is absent. He holds the reins in one hand and a long rapier in the other. In the upper right of the paper, there are two faces sketched, one looser than the other. RIGHT: Detail of Tars Tarkas riding on the back of a saddled Martian bird. He is a green Martian with four arms, anatomically one torso stacked on another. He holds the reins with his lower hand and a long rapier above it. Behind him, an elegant city with tall spires and onion shaped peaks sits on the titled horizon with a full moon behind it.LEFT: Detail of John Carter and Dejah Thoris on the back of a saddle Martian bird. He is pale in comparison to the red tone of her skin. Her hand reaches around resting suggestively on his hip. He wears only a loincloth, belt with decorative filigree, and a harness that crosses his chest in an X with a large crest reminiscent of an eagle with wings and tail plumage spread. CENTER: Figure study of John Carter flying on the back of a Martian bird. His cape flaps freely in the wind because Deja Thoris is absent. He holds the reins in one hand and a long rapier in the other. In the upper right of the paper, there are two faces sketched, one looser than the other. RIGHT: Detail of Tars Tarkas riding on the back of a saddled Martian bird. He is a green Martian with four arms, anatomically one torso stacked on another. He holds the reins with his lower hand and a long rapier above it. Behind him, an elegant city with tall spires and onion shaped peaks sits on the titled horizon with a full moon behind it.LEFT: Detail of John Carter and Dejah Thoris on the back of a saddle Martian bird. He is pale in comparison to the red tone of her skin. Her hand reaches around resting suggestively on his hip. He wears only a loincloth, belt with decorative filigree, and a harness that crosses his chest in an X with a large crest reminiscent of an eagle with wings and tail plumage spread. CENTER: Figure study of John Carter flying on the back of a Martian bird. His cape flaps freely in the wind because Deja Thoris is absent. He holds the reins in one hand and a long rapier in the other. In the upper right of the paper, there are two faces sketched, one looser than the other. RIGHT: Detail of Tars Tarkas riding on the back of a saddled Martian bird. He is a green Martian with four arms, anatomically one torso stacked on another. He holds the reins with his lower hand and a long rapier above it. Behind him, an elegant city with tall spires and onion shaped peaks sits on the titled horizon with a full moon behind it.
Details and preliminary concept for JOHN CARTER OF MARS
Book cover for JOHN CARTER OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published by Del Rey Books
John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Del Rey)

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The Art of Michael Whelan
The Art of Michael Whelan
JOHN CARTER OF MARS
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erniet
just a guy
Sep 2

Awesome! These are some of my favorites books as well, and your artwork truly does them justice!

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