Erica Schultz, writer of Swords of Sorrow: Black Sparrow/Lady Zorro Special, talks with writer Ron Marz about John Carter: Warlord of Mars #8, both on sale now!
ERICA SCHULTZ: What drew you to Dejah Thoris and John Carter as characters?
RON MARZ: I read the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels as a kid, and I've been a fan of the series ever since. I've said it before, the things you discover at that magical age, somewhere between 10 and 13 or 14, stay with you the rest of your life. I've wanted to write John and Dejah for a long time, because they're iconic hero and heroine archetypes. There are no feet of clay, no anti-heroes, just heroes cut from classic cloth. They're throwbacks to an earlier era, which is frankly a brand of hero you don't see much anymore. So what's old is new again.
ES: How long have you had this arc in mind?
RM: This is actually a story that started with my co-writer, Ian Edginton. Ian's been a friend for years, and I've been a fan of his writing for longer than that. Our story sensibilities are very much the same, so when we needed to jump ahead on the schedule, Ian was the first name I thought of to help out. We've been talking about writing something together for years and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally do so. Ian had the idea for these two issues and we kicked it back and forth to get the details honed. Ian took the first run at the plot, and then I polished up the dialogue.
ES: If you could write another character from the John Carter mythos, not Dejah or John, who would it be?
RM: The Thark chieftain, Tars Tarkas, is getting a solo story with issue #10. That one's going to have some bigger visuals in it, because I wanted to give our artist Ariel Medel, a chance to show off a bit. I worked with Ariel as an editor on a project for the Indian market, and then finally had a chance to meet him in person at a convention in Mexico City last year. So when we needed some art help on the series, I suggested Ariel might be a good fit. He's been doing really terrific work under some demanding deadlines.
Check out JOHN CARTER: WARLORD OF MARS #8, which is on sale now. We have an extended preview for you below!
