Warlord - Thoughts on Clothing

In the first book we learn that Martians are very often nude, wearing but a "harness" for holding weapons and various "accoutrements" which clang and rattle at inopportune stealth moments. The harness design vary in description when there is one. I don't know when the iconic X-shaped harness became dominant. Maybe it was in the '77 Warlord comic, where I saw it. That comic also featured the fancy boots (the books suggest sandals). In some of the older illustrations Martians/Carter are shown wearing a belt with a skirt/kilt, plus maybe a strap (or Chewbacca belt) over a shoulder. In the 1952 comic people were thickly clothed.

Wiktionary: Harness/Hernois: "Likely a borrowing from Old Norse hernest, from Old Norse herr (army) + nest (equipment). For Red warriors this might mean pouches, revolver-type gun, long sword, short sword, dagger/knife (utility tool), then ammo, flashlights, and such.

The metal of the harness (such as the crest/insignia) is not intended to deflect sword strikes. It's more incidental when that happens. I guess, if Martians started using armour, then they'd just switch to guns to negate it. Sword duels are partly a cultural thing. If a man throws his gun aside, the other has to reciprocate.

On Earth, plate mail and heavy armour became invalidated by crossbows and guns, but the rapier, saber and bayonet remained in use for some time. Soldiers just wore clothes right before and around the time the books were written, and clothes aren't that far from being naked in terms of protection when you think about it. 

There is a flight belt, but it's probably not useful for travel, and transport ships seem to be favoured in sieges. Maybe such a belt is expensive, slow and difficult to use (you'd also need a propeller to not just float). Would make a nice parachute though, for slowing down a fall or combat drop, but iirc ropes are used for that (a warrior harness has parts for hooking onto stuff: in flight for safety, or during boarding action). I guess a belt could give Martians the ability to jump similar to Carter but I guess the author didn't think about it. I think maybe it's best if floaty tech is a bit hazardous and bulky so only ships and generators could use it.

Does the harness cover the lower body? There are clues here and there, such as a leather strap going over one shoulder, or straps crossing on the back. Amusingly, The Skeleton Men of Jupiter can wear G-string* AND a harness, possibly suggesting that the two are separate. I suppose the harness/belt could have cloth dangling from it to cover the nether regions, and this wouldn't technically be the same as pants. 

* Written in 1940. The term "G-strings" might refer to the string which held the loincloths of e.g. Native Americans, and later strippers during the '20s and onward. I think what Burroughs had in mind here though was probably something of the strap+loincloth variety. The "skeletons" are actually really skinny guys with transparent skin, so maybe their nether regions were gross enough to warrant covering?

There seem to be two camps when it comes to the issue of nudity on Barsoom: Either Martians are nude, or wearing sexy bikinis and such. The reason for this division might be that commercial publishing requires people to be partially covered up, and then full nudity is a reaction against that. Thinking about it, both stances appear artificial, as if imposed by a force beyond the 4th wall. Full nudity becomes... grotesque-burlesque once insisted upon page after page, and nipple pasties seem applied by the artist as a concession.

Anyways, I think the best approach would be to mix depending on context. Clothing could vary by culture, person and situation. I think this would seem a lot more natural.

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The hand guns used might be some kind of revolver in construction, but I'd prefer something a bit more exotic than a western bang-bang gun. Some rifles fire small caliber pellets filled with a light-sensitive explosive called Radium. If fired indoors or during night, it will become a munitions hazard, which seems irresponsible. The Tharks use these radium rifles to snipe airships of Helium. 

-eof-