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History of the Wild Stars -- The 20-teens
History of the Wild Stars -- The 20-teens
by Michael Tierney2014 marked the 30th anniversary of the first Wild Stars publication.
To celebrate, in August 2014 the Volume 2 and new paperback and hardcover editions of Volume 1 were released locally and worldwide through Amazon.com.
Three years after Wild Stars II was published, it was another case of life imitating art when an extraterrtrial object passed through our solar system. Scientists evaluated that this cylindrical object contained alien water within its core, bascially decribing the Marzanti spike from the novel. In the Wild Stars, a Marzanti spike is an alien device used as a first step of colonization by crashing it into a planet's oceans and adapting their biology to that planet.
The reason I said this was another case of life imitating art is because a similar thing happened once before with Wild Stars II: Force Majuere.Force Majuere: Prairie Bay #1 is a comic reprinted in Wild Stars II: Force Majuere, and first published in 2002. In it I introduced the then controversial idea that Mars might contain water. Years later, in 2011, a Mars probe sent back the picture on the right showing water gysers exploding on Mars. What makes this picture even more unique is that the gyser openings in the photo are almost an exact match to those on the 2002 cover! Compare it to the upper left inset on the advertisement shown below, and you'll see what I mean.
Available on Amazon by clicking the images below:
All three editions are availble locally at either Collector's Edition in North Little Rock,
or at The Comic Book Store in Little Rock.
NEW RECORD asking price for an Out-Of-Print edition of the WILD STARS!
The previous record was an Amazon seller asking $450 for a Wild Stars: Book of Circles -- Recalibrated first edition hardcover.That's now been topped!
One is asking $615.64 for the first paperback edition of Wild Stars: The Book of Circles on Amazon.
This is the only edition that includes my forward discussing surviving what was considered to be terminal leukemia at the age of 8.
Click this link or the image below if you're interested!
That price does include Free Shipping!
I was invited as a featured guest of the 2015 River City Comic Expo in Little Rock on August 29th, 2015.
To see more photos of the event, click on the photo
or this link.
You can listen to Shane and myself discuss comics in general, my own Wild Stars comics and novels, plus my upcoming Edgar Rice Burroughs: 100 Year Art Chronology 3 book set.
Here's a link to the podcast version of the show (blog post).
And here's a link to the Direct MP3 version.
The program was replayed in California by Kryptonradio.com
Available now:
we currently have a limited supply of each cover of the paperback editions at both stores
For more information about this issue, visit this link.
Another Cirsova contributor mentioned my Shark Fighter story during his YouTube GeekGab podcast (visit this link).
Check it out starting at the 25 minute mark and continuing through when the host shouts:
"Stop the bus! A guy's fighting a shark!"
"Stop the bus!"
I'll take that review!
"...not light fare, but .... meaty and gripping adventure"
"a grim sort of redemption"
The Bears of 1812
I have a new story in Cirsova Magazine #5 (Spring 2017).My story in Cirsova #2 was Shark Fighter, a psychological horror story.
This one is a historical fantasy titled The Bears of 1812.
The Bears of 1812 features native American legend Sacagawea from the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and her involvement in the War of 1812. As I told the editor; "The stuff you'll think I made up is the stuff that really happened." There were many incredible historical events during that time, and Sacagawea's history easily weaved right into the heart of it.
Michael Tierney -- April 5, 2017
It's no wonder this magazine received a Hugo Award nomination.What surprised me was "The Bears of 1812" by Michael Tierney . . . it was really interesting.
I like what he did with Sacagawea . . . very satisfying.
The Criteria for Admission Into the Galactic Community
Cirsova #7 includes The Criteria for Admission Into the Galactic Community, my third contribution to the magazine.
The title tells you that this is a science fiction story.
It is available for preoder by clicking this link or the image above.
Like the following Edgar Rice Burroughs' 100 Year Art Chronology, this publication is funded on Kickstarter.
Also like the ERBAC project, it was quickly funded, surpassing its target goal by 500% on the second day!
February 19, 2018 Update!
The limited edition hardcover of Cirsova magazine #7 is now available.The mass marker softcover will be out in a couple of weeks.
A social science-fiction story, I had the idea behind Criteria For Joining the Galactic Community while taking a swim break from working on the ERB Chronology.
Wrote it in something like five minutes, and then later that day received an email from the Cirsova editor that he was passing on one of my Wild Stars future history stories as being too grim. Since Criteria is lighthearted, I immediately submitted it without a proofread (you can tell by the photo that it's a short-short story), and he snapped it up.
One caveat I should add is that when I wrote it, I didn't mention the name of the President in the story, wanting to leave it open to be either Bush, Obama, Trump, or whoever a future reader might want to think. In retrospect, I'm not surprised that the mention of fences in the story steered the editor to think it was Trump.
May 23rd, 2017 update:
The online magazine Castalia House has run a series of interviews with Cirsova authors, and mine is now online here.
The interviewer, Scott Cole, asked a lot of great questions that covered not just my stories in Cirsova magazine, but also about my Wild Stars comics and books, my experiences as a comic book retailer, and about my Edgar Rice Burroughs 100 Year Art Chronology.
Speaking of which, the Edgar Rice Burroughs 100 Year Art Chronology (order link) went on sale June 2018!
Click on any of the images below if you'd like to read more about the
You can read all about it: HERE!
Edgar Rice Burroughs 100 Year Art Chronology
June 20th, 2018 Update!
Reporter Sean Clancy did a great job!
June 4th, 2018 Update!
One retailer upped his order so many times it was a quarter-ton skid of books by the time it shipped!
But these are pretty heavy sets -- 15 lbs. each!
That means 3 sets weigh as much as a bag of concrete -- and should last as long or longer.
Wild Stars III: Time Warmageddon
This latest chapter in the saga of the Wild Stars is first being published in magazine form by Cirsova Publishing, who have released several of my short stories.Wild Stars III: Time Warmageddon is the entirity of this Summer 1918 Cirsova Special, which be manufactured strictly to Kickstarter orders.
This instant sellout was funded in the first 11 hours!
The main cover is by Tim Lim.
One reviewer was so impressed with Tim's work that he wrote:
". . . a manly hunk of manliness . . .
"Wild Stars III will put hair on your chest."
Interior art is by Mark Wheatley, who also provided a variant wraparound cover and the art for the back cover for the main edition.
Mark Wheatley also illustrated this virgin, text and bar code free, wraparound dust wrapper for the hardcover edition.
Jack's Basement
Cirsova #9, Fall 2018, contain Jack's Basement, a horror humor story with a twist ending that should appeal to fans of comic books.
Now available for preorder.
by Edgar Rice Burroughs & Michael Tierney
5-Star Review on Amazon:
"It is not apparent where the fragment ends or which are the new part(s) added by Mr. Tierney.
...was well handled as Burroughs might have done...
...a rare treat"
5-Star Review on Amazon:
"Michael nailed it.
This brought me back through a couple of decades and dropped me right back into the jungle.
Such a feeling of deja vu - Michael handled completing this lost tale perfectly.
Such an absolute joy.
Michael's writing complements Burroughs so well, it's hard to define where one drops off and the other picks up.
Truly something any Burroughs or Tarzan fan needs in their collection."
5-Star Review on Amazon:
"I'm loving it.
"I feel like I'm there (in the jungle) and that it's real (Tarzan and the Mangani seemed real).
I also had that same great feeling I had as a teen reading Burroughs' Tarzan stories in my room for the first time,
complete immersion in an exciting and strange world.
I was trying a little to distinguish between what (Michael Tierney) wrote as opposed to ERB's fragment writing.
A week later I find out that I was right about some parts but wrong about others.
Michael did a great job.
I loved the ending.
Now I plan to pick up something Michael Tierney has written solo."
Review on tangentonline.com by Victoria Silverwolf:
"The most interesting aspect of the story is the way it delves into Tarzan's psychology."
"...the cover art for this issue is beautiful."
The hardcover is availble for $30 on Lulu.com.
Digital and print copies are also available at Barnes & Noble.
Collector's Edition in North Little Rock and The Comic Book Store in Little Rock, Arkansas also have both the hardcovers and paperback editions in stock!
In fact, one of the two authors of Young Tarzan is almost always available to do free signings at one store or the other.
You can probably guess which of the two.
YOUNG TARZAN'S PLACE WITHIN CANON
Michael Tierney -- March 22, 2019
I intentionally didn't say a lot about the setting of Young Tarzan and the Mysterious She until others had a chance to read it for themselves. Wanted them to experience it with a fresh perspective and no sense of precognition. Plus, to say too much would give away a surprise element of the plot.
Young Tarzan had been getting all 5-Star reviews on Amazon until today, when a negative review didn't feel that the story has a place within canon. So now it's time to explain the placement of Young Tarzan.
As the 3-star reviewer who has previously seen the fragment mentions, in ERB's section the mangani (apes) discuss the gomangani (natives) and their blond white captive, with Tarzan's ape mother Kala a part of the conversation. He speculates that maybe Burroughs felt this was an error to write and then abandoned the story--implying that it should never have been finished.
Going back to Tarzan of the Apes, ERB stated that the gomangani village had been around for several months prior to Kala's death, and I worked within this time frame. There was another statement about apes having never seen a native, but it didn't say that every ape in the tribe had never seen them. As far as Kulongo being the first native that Tarzan had seen, that could have been interpreted as the first he had seen up close. So it's a tight window, but there is wiggle room for interpretation.
***SPOILER***
As far as Tarzan having never seen a white woman before Jane, apparently the 3-Star reviewer didn't finish reading the story, because Young Tarzan does not contradict this. But to say that gives away a plotline of the story--which is why I've been quiet until now.
Concerning why ERB abandoned the story, I'd speculate that it had more to do with Blue Book editor Edwin Balmer, who purchased ERB's previous Jungle Tales a decade before, suddenly leaving to edit Red Book the same year Young Tarzan was written. New editors meant different tastes and agendas, and while new Blue Book editor Donald Kennicott would turn out to be a big ERB fan, perhaps he preferred his novels. He certainly bought a lot of them!
March 2nd 2019 Update
On March 2nd, 2019, an Early Release of Young Tarzan and the Myserious She was held at The Comic Book Store in Little Rock, Arkansas.Editor "Alex" P. Alexander (far left in the picture below) was on hand, signing copies along with co-author Michael Tierney (in the center with the Olsen family below).
Talk show host Shane Stacks of Shane Plays Geek Talk on 101.1 FM radio did a live remote show during the signing.
You can listen to it here:
Great fun was had by all, and the hardcover editions quickly sold out!
Thanks to everyone for making this event one of the most successful signings that The Comic Book Store has ever hosted!
January 23rd 2019 Update
An article about Young Tarzan and the Mysterious She was published on Hollywood In Toto.Click this link, or the image below to read it.
It's an old question of: Who you would visit from the past if you could?
Take that question a step further and ask if you could collaborate with literary giants on their greatest creation, who and what would it be?
Here's Michael Tierney's answer: Young Tarzan and the Mysterious She.
Releases March 2019 in Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense.
The story behind the story of Young Tarzan and the Mysterious She
It was left unfinished and, after his death in 1950, lay hidden until it was rediscovered in the early 1960s, along with many other "treasures in the safe."
Many well-known writers were offered the chance to complete the story, but there were elements that they considered problematic, and they passed.
In 2005, ERB's grandson, Danton Burroughs, offered me the chance.
I found the problems to be opportunities to explain what I considered to be inconsistencies in the jungle lord's established history.
But on the day of Danton's greatest accomplishment, when he became President of his grandfather's company, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., there was a fire that destroyed many of his father, John Coleman Burroughs' paintings--some of them lost forever without a record.
Danton tragically died that night of a heart attack.
What I didn't learn until recently was that the fire left ERB, Inc. with no record of the story.
Danton took his knowledge with him, and the fragment was essentailly lost to the company his Grandfather founded.
Fortunately, I still had my digital files, and the original fragment was discovered after the annoucnement of this publication.
Danton had sent it to be transcribed into digital format by Bill Hillman, webmaster of ERBzine.com, who announced this very day that he still has it.
While I was creating the Edgar Rice Burroughs 100 Year Art Chronology, I'd asked current President Jim Sullos for an opportunity to do something with the story.
What I didn't realize until recently was that he thought this was all my creation.
We didn't both put all the pieces together until just a few weeks ago.
That's the story behind the story of Young Tarzan and the Mysterious She.
Wild Stars Coming Soon!
Posted by Cirsova on June 12, 2019
We've been working very closely the last two months with Michael Tierney on a very special project: a 35th Anniversary Edition of his Wild Stars epic!
The scope of this project is unlike anything Cirsova Publishing has ever done before.
Wild Stars IV: Wild Star Rising -- We will be releasing an all-new Wild Stars novel that is both prequel and sequel to the earlier Wild Stars saga, telling the story of the final space exodus from Earth 75,000 years ago and the Ancient Warrior's gambit to finally free Phaedra from her prison at the heart of a supermassive black hole. This volume will also contain the first ever extensive bio-glossary of the Wild Stars universe: a must have for old fans and new!
Wild Stars III: Time Warmageddon -- We will be reprinting the formerly Kickstarter-exclusive short novel, Time Warmageddon, with corrected text and a new epilogue. Plus this will collect two previous published stories, Shark Fighter and The Grass Maiden [originally Bears of 1812], and an all-new never-before published Wild Stars short story, The Grimgrip.
Wild Stars II: Force Majeure -- We will be reprinting a new edition of Force Majeure, the hybrid comic/novel that expanded the story of Prairie Bay and continues the time-travel adventures of Erlik, Daestar, Akara, and Mack.
Wild Stars I: Book of Circles -- We will be reprinting a new edition of Book of Circles, the original Wild Stars graphic novel collecting Erlik (1984), First Marker (1988) and the 2001-2002 run of Wild Stars.
Wild Stars Omnibus -- We will be collecting all 4 volumes of Wild Stars in a single massive hardcover volume!
The individual volumes will feature new virgin covers by art legend Mark Wheatley, and the omnibus will feature a wrap-around dust-jacket by Cirsova's own fabulous cover artist, Anton Oxenuk.
We'll have more info on the goodies we'll be offering soon, but we will be using IndieGoGo to take domestic pre-order beginning June 28th for a release in October.
Important notice to our non-US fans and supporters
Cirsova Publishing has MANY loyal fans and devoted readers all over the world. Some who have supported us since the very beginning. We love you all and would not be where we are without you!
That is why, even though the IndieGoGo will be domestic only, we will do everything we can to make sure you are taken care of!
The truth is when we are not doing direct fulfillment, shipping costs swing very wildly based on country and package weight. Trying to predictively configure accurate shipping costs for every country we might conceivably ship to is difficult and time-consuming. Sometimes we've found we've undercharged and lost money; other times we've found we've overcharged [when we have, we've tried to refund the difference].
So, we humbly ask you to bear with us on this!
If you live outside of the US and want items from the Wild Stars IndieGoGo, please contact us so that we can offer you an accurate quote!
Overseas orders will be handled separately after the crowdfund has been completed.
Unlike the editions offered through last year's Wild Stars III Kickstarter, these editions will remain in print and be commercially available through normal channels.
Certain exclusive goodies that we have lined up will be held back in limited quantities and made available to our overseas supporters once we have had a chance to figure out our shipping costs and weights.
Please stay tuned for more details and announcements!
Wild Stars IV: Wild Star Rising
A New Wild Star Is Born!
Wild Stars IV is bringing the whole family for the 35th Anniversary Event!
Posted by Michael Tierney on June 28, 2019
It's always gratifying for a writer when an editor wants to buy your work.What's especially gratifying is when the editor says, to paraphrase, "Not only do I think it's a great story,
I think it makes all your earlier stories even better--and I want to publish them as
a package set for the Wild Stars 35th Anniversary."
Needless to say, I was thrilled when Cirsova editor "Alex" Alexander told me that.
But wait--the offer gets even better, too.
Not only will the previous three books be published as part of a matching set with the new Book 4,
and super-sized in the magazine format--featuring new covers by Mark Wheatley,
Cirsova is also doing a 720-page Omnibus hardcover that features a wraparound dust wrapper by Anton Oxenuk!
In his promo video (you can watch here) for the event, Alexander said:
"Wild Stars is incredible science fantasy ... on the scale of Jack Kirby's Fourth World. It's almost incomparable."
Join the Wild Stars
35th Anniversary celebration!
Full wraparound art by Mark Wheatley for all four volumes shown below.
Here's what those four back covers look like when combined.
Click on any of these covers to got to the pre-publcation sales site,
which also includes the following:
Virgin Art for the Wild Stars Omnibus First Edition hardcover
September 5th, 2019 Update
It focussed on my first comic store being the first in Central Arkansas and discussed my Wild Stars comics and books,
released in celebration of Edgar Rice Burrough's birthday this week.
Next week's part two will focus on my upcoming Wild Stars 35th Anniversary book releases.
DMR Interview -- Part Two -- September, Friday the 13th, 2019
This part focusses on my Wild Stars 35th Anniversary book releases and other publishing efforts dating back to the 1970s.
Shane Plays Interview -- October 4th, 2019
worldwide release of the 35th Anniversary editions of Wild Stars Books One through Four.
2019 Comics Industry Year in Review
with Critical Blast
and see what discoveries come next as we journey into
the Wild Stars: The 20twenties!
Michael Tierney
Out of Print Wild Stars
       
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The Multiversal Scribe Magazine (1977)
Across the Distance Portfolio Wild Stars Volume One #1 (Summer 1984)  Wild Stars Portfolio One Wild Stars Volume Two #1 (Winter 1988)  Under the Wild Stars Wild Stars Volume Three #1  Wild Stars Volume Three #2 Wild Stars Volume Three #3  Wild Stars Volume Three #4 Wild Stars Volume Three #5  Wild Stars Volume Three #6 Force Majeure: Prarie Bay #1
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Shown below are the out-of-print Wild Stars Chronicles,
a limited edition set of hardcovers released in 2008.
Top Row: Nebula 71 (written in 1971); Ceobra (1974); The Catalyst (1976); Moonshadow (1978); Wild Stars Rising (1976-77).
Bottom Row: First Marker (1978); and the prequel/sequel to First Marker, Under the Wild Stars from 1998. These were the source material for all the Wild Stars comics.
For even more of the story behind the story,
check out the Wild Stars Production Notes!
For something different ...
check out the Bonus Section!
Wild Stars navigational chart:
Wild Stars History
1980s
New Millennium
1970s
1990s
