Sunday morning Chick drove to 10452 Bellagio Road in Bel Air (actually the home of Emma Burroughs, ERB's divorced first wife) -- the Burroughs manor was on a spacious hilly property deep back in the trees. JCB met him at the door and led him through a labyrinth of corridors to a large billiard room dominated by a massive carved pool table. Stacked on the table were Barsoomian costumes: harnesses, belts, swords, decorations, silks, etc. Jack then directed him to don a variety of costumes and strike poses while he shot many rolls of film with his Rolleiflex camera.
The project went on for a number of weeks and Chick's wife, Eleanor, even did a series of poses. The modelling sessions ended just after the Pearl Harbor attack. The debut of JCB's strip coincided with Pearl Harbor Sunday, and although the comic was quite good, it fell victim to a restricted wartime economy and shortages in colour ink and newsprint. The Burroughs and Coombs couples maintained their friendship and they met socially a number of times in JCB's cottage in Tarzana. Jack went on to a serious painting career while Chick became a successful writer with hundreds of short-stories, articles, columns and books to his credit.