Pulp magazines have influenced writers, artists, film directors, software developers, and countless others over the years. Our “PulpFest Profiles” focus on contemporary creators who have drawn inspiration from these rough-paper fiction magazines.
William Patrick Maynard (WPM): Henry Franke is the editor of The Burroughs Bulletin and The Gridley Wave, both published by The Burroughs Bibliophiles. Widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on Edgar Rice Burroughs in comics and comic strips, Henry served as Contributing Editor to IDW’s Library of American Comics’ reprint series of Russ Manning’s Tarzan newspaper strips. He penned introductions for those volumes as well as reprints for Titan Books and TwoMorrows Publishing. Henry served a total of six years as the editor of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association (ERBapa). The most obvious question such an illustrious career demands is, Henry, when did you first encounter Edgar Rice Burroughs’ work?
Henry Franke: My introduction to ERB’s work was with the 1960s Gold Key Comics Tarzan series featuring Jesse Marsh and Russ Manning’s art and their reprint of the three-issue Dell Comics adaptation of the first three John Carter of Mars novels. The Whitman hardcover children’s editions of a number of Tarzan titles soon followed. My parents gave me a set of the Ballantine Books paperbacks as a Christmas present in 1969 and I read most of them during the holiday break.
WPM: You’ve achieved so much in your career. While your ERB work is clearly a labor of love, you have initiated or contributed to numerous projects. How did you turn a hobby into a secondary career?
Henry Franke: Discovering academic books on Burroughs prompted my joining The Burroughs Bibliophiles in 1991. A year later I joined the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association (ERBapa). After one year, I took on the position of Official Editor. As the editor, I started attending ERB fan conventions beginning with the 1994 Dum-Dum. The Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship gathering, PulpFest, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, New River Comic-Con, SpiralCon, and more followed. At conventions, I made valuable contacts and saw the wide range of books, pulps, art, and collectibles related to ERB.
I began finding art for the ERBapa by contacting professional artists — starting with Mark Wheatley and Thomas Yeates — for possible contributions. Collecting artwork then became a primary personal effort. ERB’s stories and their adaptations in other media were a springboard into a broader appreciation of 20th Century American popular culture, such as “old-time radio” and newspaper adventure comic strips.
Becoming editor of The Burroughs Bibliophiles in 2010 expanded my ERB research, offered more formal duties in fandom, and presented opportunities to write about or speak on Burroughs and his work to wider audiences. While there are many ERB fans who know more about Burroughs and his works, this significantly increased my visibility inside and outside of fandom.
So 2010 really kicked off my efforts. It was Thomas Yeates who recommended me to Dean Mullaney, editor of the Library of American Comics imprint at IDW Publishing when they were planning the four-volume archival reprinting of Russ Manning’s Tarzan daily and Sunday newspaper comic strips. I wound up as the series’ Contributing Editor and wrote an introduction for each book.
As time passed, I was invited to write for a few other archival reprints, as well as speak at various conventions. Two years ago, ERB, Inc. asked if I might write Afterwords for the new uniform hardcover editions in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library. All of this evolved over time and often by chance.
WPM: You have managed to maintain print publications well into the digital age. Tell us about your history with The Burroughs Bulletin and The Gridley Wave and update us on their status in 2023.
Henry Franke: In the digital age and with the burgeoning social media scene, there are now dozens of ERB-related websites, Facebook pages and groups, and similar online efforts. From my perspective, it is the idea of keeping The Burroughs Bulletin as a print-only publication that distinguishes the Bibliophiles from most other fan efforts.
The Burroughs Bulletin — which began publication in 1947 — is the only fanzine authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs himself, when Vern Coriell personally met with the author to secure his permission. The Burroughs Bibliophiles, established in 1960, adopted The Burroughs Bulletin as its official journal. At about the same time, The Gridley Wave began publication. The annual Dum-Dum conventions are hosted by the Bibliophiles, along with our awards presented to fans and professionals.
Due to increased printing and mailing costs over the last ten years, the Bibliophiles’ Board of Directors decided to emphasize digital editions of the newsletter, which are offered in full-color pdf. However, print editions of The Gridley Wave are also available.
The Burroughs Bibliophiles website continues, along with the Bibliophiles Facebook page and the Bibliophiles YouTube channel. At the moment, the one major aspect of the Bibliophiles that remains print-only is The Burroughs Bulletin journal. We are working to advance sales outlets to non-members, such as with Bud’s Art Books and mycomicshop.com. However, these copies will sell for significantly more than what Bibliophiles members pay for them.
The Bibliophiles is a non-profit literary society devoted to ERB and his works, and hopefully, we can revive our House of Greystoke imprint to produce other publications in the future.
By the way, if anyone is interested as to where we have Bibliophiles chapters or wish to establish a new Bibliophiles chapter, please contact me at BurroughsBibliophiles@gmail.com.
WPM: For those who are unfamiliar with The Burroughs Bulletin and The Gridley Wave, are there online issues they can sample before subscribing?
Henry Franke: We do limit access to these online because members of The Burroughs Bibliophiles pay dues in order to receive them. There are also intellectual-property issues concerning material authorized for print only by writers, artists, and ERB, Inc.
WPM: I wanted to make sure we discuss your history with the ERBapa. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, what is an amateur press association?
Henry Franke: In general, an amateur press association, or APA, is a publication with limited membership. This is because members are required to submit articles (or issues of their own fanzine) with a minimum number of words at some determined frequency, which are printed and then aggregated into the APA by the editor. These bound copies are then mailed to members.
Before online bulletin boards and subsequent social media outlets, APAs were a unique way to create a community of fans who communicated with each other.
Several APAs continue to this day, despite the pervasiveness of the internet, and despite rising printing and mailing costs. Three prominent examples are the Robert E. Howard United Press Association (REHupa), the Comic and Fantasy Art APA (CFA-APA), and, of course, the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society (PEAPS).
The Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association (ERBapa) was started in 1984 and continues to be published print-only on a quarterly basis. For more about the ERBapa, you can visit https://www.erbzine.com/apa.
WPM: Henry, you truly are the Keeper of the Flame for many ERB fans. You have increased the knowledge and enjoyment of one of the seminal authors of fantastic fiction of the 20th century for an entire generation of fans. It has been a privilege and pleasure to have such an insightful and private person share so much through this PulpFest Profile. I speak for many when I thank you and affirm how much you and your accomplishments are respected in the pulp community. Thank you, most sincerely, for taking part in this PulpFest Profile.
In addition to his other accomplishments, Henry Franke, along with Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., will be hosting the second ERBFest at this year’s PulpFest. We’ll be saluting the centennials of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and the author’s “Moon Trilogy,” as well as the 150th anniversary of artist J. Allen St. John’s birth. Henry will also be hosting an art show at the convention. It’s all part of ERBFest 2023, the second celebration of the Master of Adventure to be held in conjunction with PulpFest.
Our featured image is adapted from Joe Jusko’s dust jacket art for Tarzan the Untamed, the 7th volume in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library. It was published by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in 2020. Beginning with the 7th volume, Henry Franke began contributing afterwords to the series.
The four-volume set of Tarzan: The Complete Newspaper Strips was published by IDW Publishing in 2013 – 2015. The first volume, pictured above, won the Eisner Award in the category Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips in 2014. The series was part of IDW’s The Library of American Comics. Henry wrote introductions to all four volumes of the Manning series.
Mark Schultz, who will be one of several guests appearing at PulpFest 2023, drew the cover art for the 155th issue of the ERBapa, published in October 2022.
Henry G. Franke III is the editor of The Burroughs Bulletin, the journal of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, the nonprofit literary society devoted to the life and works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He also edits The Gridley Wave newsletter for the organization and organizes a regular Zoom meeting for the Bibliophiles. Henry is a member of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association and has presented several times at PulpFest as well as organized art shows for the convention. He has also contributed to The Pulpster. Specializing in art inspired by Burroughs’ stories, Franke is currently working on an illustrated biography of Russ Manning. He served in the United States Army from 1977 to 2009 and then as an Army government civilian from 2010 to 2020.
William Patrick Maynard is the licensed continuation author for the Sax Rohmer Literary Estate. His short fiction has been published in anthologies by Airship 27, Bold Venture Press, Black Coat Press, Flinch Books, MX Books, Riviere Blanche, and Titan Books. He has authored over 250 articles for numerous magazines and websites. He has contributed Blu-ray commentary tracks and produced bonus features for releases by MGM, Shout Factory, Kino Lorber, and The Serial Squadron. Bill is on the editorial board of The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box and is currently a member of the PulpFest Organizing Committee where he serves as Assistant Director of Marketing. He resides in Northeast Ohio and regularly contributes to our website.
Watch for our next PulpFest Profile in June when Sara Light-Waller will talk with Cathy Wilbanks, Vice President of Operations at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
Artwork © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Trademarks Tarzan®, The Moon Maid™, The Moon Men™, Victory Harben™, Edgar Rice Burroughs®, Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™, ERB Authorized Library™, ERB Universe™, and others owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Associated logos, characters, names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Used by Permission.
