Under the Moons of Mars (40 page)

The so-called “Martian rat,” found most often in the dungeons of prisons on Barsoom. Hairless and repulsive, as large as a medium-sized dog, the ulsio has six legs, thereby suggesting that it is evolutionarily related to the white apes and Green Men of Mars. The ulsio has razor-sharp teeth and is extremely dangerous, although in combat it tends to be sly and cowardly rather than courageous.

An officer in the American Expeditionary Force fighting in France during the First World War, Ulysses Paxton was severely wounded. He had read of the wonderful adventures of John Carter on Barsoom, and discovered that he had the same power to travel to cross the millions of miles separating Earth from Mars. On Mars, Paxton fell in love with the beautiful Valla Dia, princess of the City of Duhor. However, Valla Dia had been the unwilling subject of a surgical procedure, and her skull now housed the brain of the hideous and cruel Xaxa of Phundahl, while Valla Dia’s brain was in Xaxa’s body. Ulysses Paxton brought about the restoration of Valla Dia’s brain to her own skull. They were then married and Paxton became a noble citizen of Duhor.

This was the original title of the first John Carter novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The author submitted the story to
All-Story
magazine under the byline “Normal Bean.” The story was accepted and published as a serial between February and July, 1912, with the author’s byline changed to “Norman Bean.” The first book edition was published in 1917 under the more familiar name
A Princess of Mars
, with the author’s name, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Barsoomians divide the circle into 360 karads, just as Earthly mathematicians and cartographers divide the circle into 360 degrees. At the Barsoomian equator, one karad is the equivalent of 100 haads, the haad being the Martian equivalent of a terrestrial mile. However, the actual circumference of Mars is approximately 13,300 miles. Dividing this distance by 36,000 haads, gives an actual value of the Martian haad of roughly .37 miles. As one moves away from the equator toward either the North or South Pole of Mars, the circumference grows progressively smaller, as does the karad. At the poles the karad would have a theoretical value of zero.

A starchy root. A staple of Barsoomian military rations, rarely served elsewhere except in the homes of the poor.

Horselike creatures with human faces who can wield weapons with their forelimbs. They live on the inner surface of the moon, along with the Kalkars. [See
Moon Maid, The
]

A tribe of Green Men [See
Green Men
]

Fierce creatures standing as tall as fifteen feet, with dead white skins and white hair. They have six limbs, like the Green Martians, and are thus more correctly regarded as relatives of the six-limbed Tharks, Warhoons, and other green hexapods than of Barsoom’s true humans. They are social creatures, living in groups, and are intelligent enough to make and use simple tools. They are almost certainly the “missing link” or transitional species from which the Green Martians evolved.

A calot assigned to guard John Carter early in Carter’s adventures on Mars. Later, Woola is attacked by white apes and very nearly killed. He is rescued by John Carter and nursed back to health, forming a close bond of loyalty, friendship and affection as a result.

A large, dinosaur-like animal. These creatures have been domesticated for many years and are used by Martians to draw freight wagons or drays.

A large and powerful city, at one time second only to Helium in wealth and influence on Barsoom. There was a serious rivalry between the two cities, until a military confrontation led to the subjugation of Zodanga and its incorporation into the Empire of Helium. During the grand showdown between the two cities, the incomparable Dejah Thoris was kidnapped by Sab Than, son of the Zodangan Jeddak, Than Kosis. To rescue Dejah Thoris, John Carter and his friend Kantos Kan, an naval officer of Helium, disguised themselves and enlisted in the navy of Zodanga.

A unit of time. The Barsoomian equivalent of an hour.

Jeremy Bastian lives with his wife, Emily, and their menagerie of livestock and poultry in Plymouth, Michigan. He has lived in Michigan all his life minus the two years he spent attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He is currently working on his creator-owned comic
Cursed Pirate Girl
for Olympian Publishing and has had work published through Dark Horse and Archaia comics. His love of an antique world of illustration has warped his artistic integrity into a slow-paced battle against a minimalistic streamlined world. He revels in the most microscopic detail and challenges himself with every page to dig even deeper into the bizarre abyss of his imagination.

Peter S. Beagle was born in 1939 and raised in the Bronx. Thanks to classics like
The Last Unicorn
,
A Fine and Private Place
, and “Two Hearts,” he is a living fantasy icon. He also wrote the episode “Sarek” for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the animated
Lord of the Rings
. His nonfiction book
I See By My Outfit
is considered a classic of American travel writing, and he is also a gifted poet, lyricist, and singer/songwriter. He currently makes his home in Oakland, California.

Peter has vivid memories of entertaining himself during slow elementary school classes by writing original adventures of the Lone Ranger, the Shadow, and different characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Getting invited to contribute to this anthology felt, he says, “like a golden ticket back to my childhood.”

Chris Claremont is best known for his award-winning, ground-breaking work on Marvel Comics’
The Uncanny X-Men
series. Chris’s work has served as the foundation material for the X-Men movies, including
X-Men: First Class
and the forthcoming second
Wolverine
movie. Chris is currently putting the finishing touches on a young adult novel,
Wild Blood
; working on an adult novel,
The Winter King
; and a screenplay,
Hunter’s Moon
.

Artist and comics creator Molly Crabapple has been called “a downtown phenomenon” by
The New York Times
and “
the
artist of our time” by comedian Margaret Cho, using her hyper-detailed Victorian pen for graphic novels, giant nightclub murals, and for clients like D.C. Comics, Marvel Comics, SXSW, Red Bull, and the
Wall Street Journal
. She is the creator of
The Puppet Makers
(D.C. Comics) and
Straw House
(First Second Books).