#edgarriceburroughs = Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - October 15, 2025

 October 15, 2025 and on this day 110 years ago in 1915, Edgar Rice Burroughs began writing H. R. H. THE RIDER, a novel of romance, mistaken identity, and European intrigue. In some ways the story is a western set in the small fictional European kingdom of Karlova. The western novel, The Outlaw Sheriff by Hal Dunning published in 1928 followed a very similar story line.

World War One had begun a little over a year before Burroughs started the book and while HRH THE RIDER doesn’t mention the war, the events of the time no doubt focused Ed’s attention on Europe.

The 38,000-word story was serialized in All-Story Magazine in three instalments in December of 1918 and was combined with THE OAKDALE AFFAIR for its book publication on February 15, 1937.

Details about the publication history, several covers, illustrations, reviews, and a complete electronic version of the story are available at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0764.html

The 100-word fictional drabble for today, “Who Was That Masked Man,” was inspired by “H. R. H. The Rider.” H. R. H. stands for His Royal Highness.”

Princess Mary asked the King of Karlova, “Why stop the execution? Didn’t the Rider kill Prince Boris?”

“No, the Prince and the Rider are the same man. I only pretended his execution to teach him a lesson.”

“He didn’t kill the Prince? The same man? That’s disappointing.”

The King grumbled, “What, you wish the Prince had been killed?”

“No, but it was exciting to be courted by two men at the same time, a crown prince and a notorious outlaw.”

The Prince overheard and asked, “And which version of me did you prefer?”

Princess Mary blushed. “That would be telling.”

Online Book store opened today

 Opened our online bookstore today with the help of Robin Allison Lupton.. We only have a dozen books on it so far, but we'll upload about ten a day. Three sections. Campbell Classics are reprints of Classic books like Frankenstein and Pride and Prejudice. Someone has to keep them in print. West Mesa Press published books and collections by Robert Allen Lupton. The final section will be first editions and rare and collectable books for sale.

This is its first day. It's not bad, but the more we learn about it, the better it will be.

westmesapublishing.myshopify.com

www.westmesapublishing.myshopify.com

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - August 31, 2025

 I missed a few days with family issues, but I'm resuming these posts as of today.

August 31, 2025 and on this day ninety years ago in 1935, the Rex Maxon illustrated and Don Garden scripted Tarzan daily story arc, “Tarzan and the Fire Gods,” concluded, The story features female pilot, Lady Beth Barclay who is forced to parachute from her airplane. She landed safely in the company of the Niarchus tribe, who’d fled from Alexander the Great many years before. She is initially greeted as a goddess, but the tribe’s leader, also named Niarchus, plans to sacrifice her in a column of fire. (Thanks to H. Rider Haggard for She) Meanwhile the obligatory poacher enters the story, determined to pillage and kill his way across Africa. Dr. Jones, a noted geologist and friend of Tarzan, also arrived in the area. Mayhem ensued.

Read the entire story at:

https://www.erbzine.com/mag37/3784.html

The 162 daily comic pages consisted of two panels each, with illustrations above prose. Some of the oft-maligned Maxon’s best work.

The 100-word drabble, “A Warm Welcome, for today was inspired by the comic arc and by fire gods everywhere.

Lady Beth, a downed aviator, and Tarzan fled the Niarchus tribe. Beth said, “Those people are crazy. They worship fire gods that they’ve never seen.”

Tarzan said, “Keep running. In my experience, the best gods are unseen. That way the priests have more power.”

“A giant pillar of fire is in their temple. It never goes out. The priests make regular sacrifices by burning people in the fire.”

“So the priests control the population by threatening to cast them into a fiery hell.”

“They do.”

“What a novel idea. I’m shocked other religions haven’t adopted that premise. Oh, wait. They have.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - August 24, 2025

 August 24, 2025 and on this day seventy-two years ago in 1973, the Bob Lubbers illustrated and Dick Van Buren scripted Tarzan daily story arc, “Tarzan and the Octopus God,” began. The story ran for sixty-two daily episodes. It was followed by “Tarzan and the Insect Men.”

The tale features the evil Captain Cross, good natives, bad natives, Tarzan, and of course, a gigantic octopus, a creature which, god or no, helps Tarzan find justice for the deserving. Interestingly, Lubbers enjoyed drawing ‘good girl art” and was pleased when Dick Van Buren included an exotic woman in a story line, but there is not a single woman, exotic or otherwise, in a single panel of ‘Tarzan and the Octopus God’ unless of course, the octopus is female.

You can read the complete story at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag53/5339.html

The 100-word drabble for today, “Big Time,” is taken from Bob Lubbers comments about illustrating the Tarzan comic strip. He’d signed a three-year contract and illustrated the strip for a few months longer than that. His entire comments are available in a biography available at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag48/4855.html

The dream of a lifetime come true…the big time. . I dug in full bore, charged with inspiration. Seven-day weeks were not uncommon, but only nine to five. Dick Van Buren got the scripts to me on time and we were rolling. When he wrote exotic females into the scripts, it was fun to reprise some of the fun of those Fiction House cover girls. modified slightly. The stories could never be truly topical, but played in an amorphous, Burroughsian time period. Plenty of action, interplay with jungle animals, colorful backgrounds and as many exotic girls as Dick’s scripts allowed.

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - August 23, 2025

 August 23, 2025 and on this day eighty-four years ago in 1941, Actress Shelia Wells, who played Kathy Haines in episode #2, The Ultimate Weapon, of the Ron Ely Tarzan television series, was born

During her short career, thirty total film credits, she appeared on episodes of “My Three Sons,” “Dr. Kildare,” “The Green Hornet,” “The Wild Wild West,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Bonanza,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and the classic film, “The Blues Brothers.”

In the Tarzan episode, Kathy laving her husband, Peter, but Tarzan intervenes, prompting game warden, Hoby Wallington, played by former Tarzan, Jock Mahoney, to say, ““Tarzan, you must be the only marriage counselor who lives in a tree.”

You can read a detailed analysis of the episode at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag74/7421.html#2

The drabble for today, “Talk to the Trees,” was inspired by the episode. Several of the lines have been slightly modified from lines Shelia actually said on screen.

Kathy, played by Shelia Wells, said, “Tarzan, you’ve blocked my riverboat. I’m leaving my husband. Get out of the way.”

“You should give him another chance. He’s been under a lot of stress.”

“You’re not married to that idiot. I don’t need another man giving me advice about things he knows nothing about.”

“I’m sure the two of you can talk it out.”

“Wonderful. A marriage counselor who lives in a tree with a monkey. You been smoking those vines?”

“Kathy, what kind of problems are you having.”

“Both kinds. One where I kill him and one where I don’t.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - August 22, 2025

 August 22, 2025 and on this day 103 years ago in 1924, Edgar Rice Burroughs and his sons began a ten-day fishing expedition in the Sierra Mountains. the DOODAD was created on this trip. The Doodad is the symbol, the colophon, on the spine of books published by Edgar Rice Burroughs Incorporated and the name Burroughs gave his personal airplane.

Burroughs described the trip in the unpublished memoir, “Notes on Trip to Mono Creek and Porpoise Lake." Ed sketched the doodad out in the sand on a riverbank. This symbol was to become the famous colophon which appears on most of the ERB books. Each family member, however, had his own special variant of the doodad: Ed's circle was to the right of the "spear," Hulbert's circle was below, and Jack's was to the left.

Information about the DOODAD is available at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag3/0335.html

The drabble for today, “Spine Tingling Adventure, “ was inspired by the creation of the Doodad.

“Honey,” asked Emma Burroughs. “Did you and the boys catch any fish?”

“We didn’t catch enough to bring home. The most exciting thing is that the boys and I designed a symbol. We call it the doodad.”

Emma looked at the sketch. “Interesting, but what’s it for?”

“It will be the colophon on the spine of the books that will be published by my publishing company.”

“Dear, I know you’ve formed a corporation last year , but you don’t have a publishing company.”

“Not yet. The doodad is too good to waste, so I suppose I’ll have to start one.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - August 21, 2025 -

 August 21, 2025 and on this day eighty-one years ago in 1944, the Rex Maxon written and illustrated Tarzan daily story arc, “The Ivory Hunter,” began. It ran for 44 days. This was not the first time Maxon, who drew the strip for over 18 years had a story line that focused on poachers and it wouldn’t be the last. Do the math Three hundred dailies a year, so about 5400 pages.

The story opens with Tarzan recovering in the arms of Ann Strang, the daughter of one of the ivory hunters. She informs Tarzan that if he doesn’t hunt and kill elephants, he will be killed and she will be beaten. Tarzan makes other plans.

The 100-word drabble for today, “Dane-geld.” Thanks to Rudyard Kipling for his poetic explanation of the result of capitulation to threats eventually works.

“Tarzan,” said Ann. “The ivory hunters will kill you if you don’t find and kill elephants for them. They’ll beat me for not convincing you.”

“Saying yes to open ended threats never satisfies the people making them. If I kill ten elephants, they’ll want twenty. If I kill one hundred, they’ll want two hundred.”

“You’ll die and I’ll be beaten.”

“It it’s within their power. Sooner or later, I’ll have to say no more. Then they’ll try to kill me.”

“You mean that doesn’t make any difference what you do.”

“Ann, it makes a world of difference to the elephants.”