Weird Worlds #1 - Sept. 1972

"Trial of Fear" by Marv Wolfman and Murphy Anderson.

Picking up where "John Carter" left off in Tarzan, we get this nifty, poster-like splash page and a brief recap of Carter's origins:

We now join Carter and the always-scantily-dressed Dejah Thoris getting to know one another:

Carter is thrown into the pool hip-deep, forced to battle a small army of Tharks to prove to Lorquas that he is worthy of them. After initially getting overwhelmed, Carter manages to fight them all off, leaving everyone impressed.

Lorquas declares Carter to be a chieftan, but warns him that if Carter "abuses his welcome", he will be suffer a fate worse than death. Carter refuses to be intimidated, stating that if any harm comes to Dejah Thoris, it is Lorquas who will suffer revenge at Carter's hands--even if he only has the two!

That night, Carter confides to Sola that he plans to escape Barsoom, who tells them her secret: she is Tars Tarkas' daughter. Another Thark, named Sarkoja, overhears this and alerts Lorquas, who is less than pleased at the news:

...to be continued!


Weird Worlds made for a solid series right from the get-go--in addition to John Carter, there was another ERB character, David Innes, in a strip here called "Pellucidar" by Len Wein and Alan Weiss, making for a smashing double feature!