Created by Marv Wolfman (writer) and Gil Kane (penciller), it was based on the Barsoom series of Edgar Rice Burroughs and featured the eponymous character.

There was also a four-issue mini-series cross-over in 1996 with another of Burroughs' characters, Tarzan, in Tarzan/John Carter: Warlords of Mars from Dark Horse Comics.

In 2011, Marvel published two mini-series, John Carter: A Princess of Mars, by Roger Langridge (scripts) and Filipe Andrade (art), and John Carter: World of Mars, by Peter David (scripts) and Luke Ross (art), a prequel to the Disney Movie.

In 2014, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. initiated the publication of webcomic Warlord of Mars by Roy Thomas (script) and Rodolfo Pérez García (art).

John Coleman Burroughs explained that this was done at the request of United Features Syndicate, in order to provide more action in the weekly episodes.