SYNTHETIC MEN OF MARS

John Carter desperately needed the aid of Barsoom's greatest scientist. But Ras Thavas was the prisoner of a nightmare army of his own creation -- half-humans who lived only for conquest. And in their hidden laboratory seethed a horror that could engulf all of Mars.

The first time I ever went to Tarzana, California, I walked down Ventura Boulevard, noticing that all of the buildings were really ugly. Then I arrive at my destination: a small house, set back from the street, with a beautiful tree shading the entire front yard. Inside, the air was cool and everything was polished wood, especially the incredible, gigantic desk. That's where he worked. It was awesome.

Edgar Rice Burroughs had a huge California ranch, and the land eventually became a town, named for Burroughs's most famous character. Burroughs created one of the few heroes everyone knows, and at that desk, he took Tarzan to exotic lands, had him face bizarre creatures and endless, exotic challenges. Those adventures spirit the reader away to a timeless time of action and heroism. And sitting in that office, I was a permanent convert. For me, and for countless others, the legend will never cease. And that's as it should be.
                        --Steve Saffel, Senior Editor