I’ve read about 11 of the Edger Rice Burroughs John Carter / Barsoom series.

When my kids were small, I would spend an hour or more at bedtime, reading to them and then turning off the lights and leading a steampunk adventure that lasted for years. I drew lots of pulp adventure details right from the Barsoom series — though the ground rules of our shared role-playing world precluded any intelligent alien encounters.

A copy of the artwork that graced the 1970 hardback publication of the first Barsoom novel, A Princess of Mars, went at auction for $1.2 million.

This painting influenced the iconic Star Wars poster crouching Leia / saber-wielding Luke, that I spoofed for a play my wife directed.