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Tarzan (comics)
Encyclopedia
Tarzan, a fictional character
created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
, first appeared in the 1912
novel
Tarzan of the Apes
, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics
.
began on March 15, 1931 with artwork by Rex Maxon. United Feature Syndicate
distributed the strip.
Over the years, many artists have drawn the Tarzan comic strip, notably Burne Hogarth
, Ruben Moreira
, Russ Manning
and Mike Grell
. The daily strip
began to reprint old dailies after the last Russ Manning daily (#10,308, which ran on 29 July 1972). The Sunday strip also turned to reprints circa 2000. Both strips continue as reprints today in a few newspapers and in Comics Revue
magazine. NBM Publishing
did a quality reprint series of the Foster and Hogarth work on Tarzan in a series of hardback and paperback reprints in the 1990s.
The comic strip has often borrowed plots and characters from the Burroughs books. Writer Don Kraar, who wrote the strip from 1982 to 1995, included in his scripts David Innes
and John Carter of Mars.
, Charlton Comics
, DC Comics
, Marvel Comics
and Dark Horse Comics
. The character's earliest comic book appearances were in comic strip reprints published in several titles, such as Sparkler, Tip Top Comics and Single Series.
's Four Color Comics
#134 & 161 in 1947, before giving him his own series, Tarzan #1-131 (Jan-Feb 1948 to July-August 1962), through Dell Comics
(as well as in some Dell Giants and March of Comics
giveaways), then continued the series with #132-206 (November, 1962 to February, 1972) through their own Gold Key Comics
. This series featured artwork by Jesse Marsh
, Russ Manning
, and Doug Wildey
. It included adaptions of most of Edgar Rice Burroughs's original Tarzan books (skipping only Tarzan and the Leopard Men, Tarzan the Magnificent, Tarzan and the Madman and Tarzan and the Castaways), as well as original stories and other features. Almost all of the Dell and Gold Key Tarzan stories were written by Gaylord DuBois
. Western also published a companion series, Korak: Son of Tarzan for 45 issues from 1964-72.
's depiction of the character. It also featured some adaptations of the Burroughs books in addition to original stories, adapting Tarzan of the Apes, The Return of Tarzan, Jungle Tales of Tarzan, Tarzan the Untamed, Tarzan and the Lion Man and Tarzan and the Castaways. Initially the series also featured adaptions of other Burroughs creations, and had companion books Korak (14 issues, 1972-75) (also taken over from Gold Key) and Weird Worlds
(12 issues). The Korak comic was later renamed Tarzan Family, from 1975–1976 (7 issues), into which all the non-Tarzan Burroughs adaptations were consolidated. DC published several other Family titles concurrent with Tarzan Family, including Superman Family
(1974–1982), Batman Family
(1975-78) and Super-Team Family
(1975-1978).
During this period, the British arm of Warner Bros.
(owner of DC) published Tarzan and Korak for the British market.
. Burroughs books adapted by Marvel include Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar and Jungle Tales of Tarzan. Marvel did not continue the Tarzan Family title, electing to issue a series on Burroughs' primary non-Tarzan character, John Carter, Warlord of Mars
, instead.
and Superman
. Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman is a "straight" team-up between Tarzan and the 1930s Batman to save an ancient city- during which the two form an effective team as they acknowledge their similar origins, despite such differences as Tarzan's willingness to use lethal force-, while Superman/Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle is a revisionist version in which Lord Greystoke grows up in England, while Kal-El is raised by the apes as "Argozan", although the two switch roles at the conclusion with Greystoke remaining in the jungle while Kal-El returns to the city, Greystoke stating in a letter to his parents that he feels as though he has found his true place. Tarzan also fought the Predators
in a mini-series called Tarzan vs. Predator at the Earth's Core.
Charlton Comics
briefly published a Tarzan comic in the 1960s titled Jungle Tales of Tarzan, adapting stories from that Burroughs book, on the mistaken belief that the character was in the public domain
.
Watson-Guptill Publications published hardcover comic book versions of the first half of Tarzan of The Apes in 1972 and four stories from Jungle Tales of Tarzan in 1976. These were illustrated by Hogarth many years after he stopped doing the newspaper strip and had a level of penmanship rarely seen in comics or even illustrations. It had captions of text from the novel instead of speech balloons.
Between the periods when Marvel and Dark Horse held the licence to the character, Tarzan had no regular comic book publisher for a number of years. During this time Blackthorne Publishing
published Tarzan in 1986, and Malibu Comics
published Tarzan comics in 1992.
There have in addition been a number of minor appearance of Tarzan in comic books over the years. Though not mentioned by name, Tarzan is referenced in Alan Moore
's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
. Places and people from the original Tarzan novels are referred to, suggesting that Tarzan does or did exist in that universe.
In a fictional 1999 comic book story featuring The Phantom
, the hero meets Edgar Rice Burroughs, and inspires him to create Tarzan. Warren Ellis in the comic book Planetary
has a pastiche of Tarzan called Lord Blackstock.
The European version of the Tarzan comic was published from 1983 to 1989 by Marketprint in Yugoslavia
, and later translated and published in Sweden
, Norway
, Finland
, Germany
, Netherlands
and Denmark
. There were over 100 published episodes, each of which had 16 pages. In most of them Branislav Kerac
was involved, either as the writer, penciller, inker, or complete author. He was also responsible for "The Kalonga Star," a five episode crossover between Tarzan and Kobra
. Other notable episodes were "Tarzan and Barbarians," "The Tiger," "The Boy from the Stars," and "Big race." Tarzan is considered to have been the longest running comic published in the history of Yugoslavian comics.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
, first appeared in the 1912
1912 in literature
The year 1912 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Virginia Stephen marries Leonard Woolf.*Frieda von Richthofen meets D. H. Lawrence.-New books:*Mary Antin - The Promised Land*L...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs...
, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
.
Comic strips
Tarzan of the Apes was adapted into newspaper strip form, first published January 7, 1929 with illustrations by Hal Foster. A full page Sunday stripSunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
began on March 15, 1931 with artwork by Rex Maxon. United Feature Syndicate
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
distributed the strip.
Over the years, many artists have drawn the Tarzan comic strip, notably Burne Hogarth
Burne Hogarth
Burne Hogarth was an American cartoonist, illustrator, educator, author and theoretician, best known for his pioneering work on the Tarzan newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books.-Biography:...
, Ruben Moreira
Ruben Moreira
Ruben Moreira was a Puerto Rican comic book artist and writer best known for his work on Tarzan and as a DC Comics artist.-Biography:...
, Russ Manning
Russ Manning
Russell Manning was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars...
and Mike Grell
Mike Grell
Mike Grell is a comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Jon Sable Freelance.-Early life:...
. The daily strip
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
began to reprint old dailies after the last Russ Manning daily (#10,308, which ran on 29 July 1972). The Sunday strip also turned to reprints circa 2000. Both strips continue as reprints today in a few newspapers and in Comics Revue
Comics Revue
Comics Revue is a bi-monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press and edited by Rick Norwood. Don Markstein edited the publication from 1984 to 1987 and 1992 to 1996....
magazine. NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing is an American publisher of graphic novels. The company specializes in non-superhero comic genres and has translated and published over 150 graphic novels from Europe and Canada, as well as several works by Americans...
did a quality reprint series of the Foster and Hogarth work on Tarzan in a series of hardback and paperback reprints in the 1990s.
The comic strip has often borrowed plots and characters from the Burroughs books. Writer Don Kraar, who wrote the strip from 1982 to 1995, included in his scripts David Innes
David Innes
David Innes is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs as the main protagonist of his Pellucidar novels.-The early novels:David Innes is introduced in the first Pellucidar novel, At the Earth's Core, as a mining heir who finances the experimental "iron mole," an excavating vehicle...
and John Carter of Mars.
United States
Tarzan has appeared in many comic books from numerous publishers over the years, notably Western PublishingWestern Publishing
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company was a Racine, Wisconsin firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Western Publishing also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products as Golden Books Family Entertainment...
, Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. The character's earliest comic book appearances were in comic strip reprints published in several titles, such as Sparkler, Tip Top Comics and Single Series.
Western Publishing
Western Publishing published Tarzan in Dell ComicsDell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
's Four Color Comics
Four Color
Four Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was a long-running American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
#134 & 161 in 1947, before giving him his own series, Tarzan #1-131 (Jan-Feb 1948 to July-August 1962), through Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
(as well as in some Dell Giants and March of Comics
March of Comics
March of Comics was a long-running comic book series published by Western Publishing. 488 issues were published from 1946 to 1982. Comic book writer writer Mark Evanier has described it as "...one of the most widely-circulated comic books in the history of mankind ... some issues reportedly were...
giveaways), then continued the series with #132-206 (November, 1962 to February, 1972) through their own Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
. This series featured artwork by Jesse Marsh
Jesse Marsh
Jesse Marsh was a comic book and animation artist. His main claim to fame is his work on the early Tarzan and related books for Western Publishing that saw print through Dell Comics and later Gold Key Comics. He was the first artist to produce original Tarzan comic books. Up to that time, all...
, Russ Manning
Russ Manning
Russell Manning was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars...
, and Doug Wildey
Doug Wildey
Douglas S. Wildey was a cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his co-creation of the 1964 animated television series, Jonny Quest for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Early life and career:...
. It included adaptions of most of Edgar Rice Burroughs's original Tarzan books (skipping only Tarzan and the Leopard Men, Tarzan the Magnificent, Tarzan and the Madman and Tarzan and the Castaways), as well as original stories and other features. Almost all of the Dell and Gold Key Tarzan stories were written by Gaylord DuBois
Gaylord DuBois
Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois , or DuBois In his lifetime he wrote well over 3000 comic book stories and comic strips as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure...
. Western also published a companion series, Korak: Son of Tarzan for 45 issues from 1964-72.
DC Comics
DC took over the series in 1972, publishing Tarzan #207-258 from April 1972 to February 1977. This version initially showcased artist Joe KubertJoe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
's depiction of the character. It also featured some adaptations of the Burroughs books in addition to original stories, adapting Tarzan of the Apes, The Return of Tarzan, Jungle Tales of Tarzan, Tarzan the Untamed, Tarzan and the Lion Man and Tarzan and the Castaways. Initially the series also featured adaptions of other Burroughs creations, and had companion books Korak (14 issues, 1972-75) (also taken over from Gold Key) and Weird Worlds
Weird Worlds (comics)
Weird Worlds was a short-lived science fiction anthology title from DC Comics that was published between 1972 and 1974. It lasted 10 issues.At first, Weird Worlds published series from Edgar Rice Burroughs that DC had the rights to...
(12 issues). The Korak comic was later renamed Tarzan Family, from 1975–1976 (7 issues), into which all the non-Tarzan Burroughs adaptations were consolidated. DC published several other Family titles concurrent with Tarzan Family, including Superman Family
Superman Family
Superman Family was a DC Comics comic book series which ran from 1974 to 1982 featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Superman comics...
(1974–1982), Batman Family
Batman Family
The Batman Family was a DC Comics comic book series which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Batman comics...
(1975-78) and Super-Team Family
Super-Team Family
Super-Team Family is an comic book anthology series published by DC Comics in the 1970s that lasted for fifteen issues. The series published a mix of original and reprinted stories.- Publication history :...
(1975-1978).
During this period, the British arm of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
(owner of DC) published Tarzan and Korak for the British market.
Marvel Comics
In 1977 the series moved to Marvel Comics, retitled as Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle; Marvel also restarted the numbering rather than assuming that used by the previous publishers. Marvel issued Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle #1-29 (as well as three Annuals), from June 1977 to October 1979, featuring artwork by John BuscemaJohn Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
. Burroughs books adapted by Marvel include Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar and Jungle Tales of Tarzan. Marvel did not continue the Tarzan Family title, electing to issue a series on Burroughs' primary non-Tarzan character, John Carter, Warlord of Mars
John Carter, Warlord of Mars
John Carter, Warlord of Mars is a Marvel Comics series created in 1977 by Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane , based on the Barsoom series of Edgar Rice Burroughs and featuring the eponymous character....
, instead.
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics has published various Tarzan series from 1996 to the present, including archive reprints of works from previous publishers like Western/Gold Key and DC. Dark Horse and DC published two crossover titles teaming Tarzan with BatmanBatman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman is a "straight" team-up between Tarzan and the 1930s Batman to save an ancient city- during which the two form an effective team as they acknowledge their similar origins, despite such differences as Tarzan's willingness to use lethal force-, while Superman/Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle is a revisionist version in which Lord Greystoke grows up in England, while Kal-El is raised by the apes as "Argozan", although the two switch roles at the conclusion with Greystoke remaining in the jungle while Kal-El returns to the city, Greystoke stating in a letter to his parents that he feels as though he has found his true place. Tarzan also fought the Predators
Predator (alien)
The Predator is a fictional extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator science-fiction franchise, characterised by its trophy hunting of other dangerous species for sport, including humans and its fictional counterparts, Aliens....
in a mini-series called Tarzan vs. Predator at the Earth's Core.
Other publishers
During the timespan of the original comic book series from Western, DC and Marvel, a number of other comic book projects from other publishers also appeared.Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
briefly published a Tarzan comic in the 1960s titled Jungle Tales of Tarzan, adapting stories from that Burroughs book, on the mistaken belief that the character was in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
Watson-Guptill Publications published hardcover comic book versions of the first half of Tarzan of The Apes in 1972 and four stories from Jungle Tales of Tarzan in 1976. These were illustrated by Hogarth many years after he stopped doing the newspaper strip and had a level of penmanship rarely seen in comics or even illustrations. It had captions of text from the novel instead of speech balloons.
Between the periods when Marvel and Dark Horse held the licence to the character, Tarzan had no regular comic book publisher for a number of years. During this time Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986-1989. They were notable for the Blackthorne 3-D Series, their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products...
published Tarzan in 1986, and Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
published Tarzan comics in 1992.
There have in addition been a number of minor appearance of Tarzan in comic books over the years. Though not mentioned by name, Tarzan is referenced in Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
. Places and people from the original Tarzan novels are referred to, suggesting that Tarzan does or did exist in that universe.
In a fictional 1999 comic book story featuring The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
, the hero meets Edgar Rice Burroughs, and inspires him to create Tarzan. Warren Ellis in the comic book Planetary
Planetary
Planetary means relating to a planet or planets. It can also refer to:* Planetary , a comic book series by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday* Planetary habitability, the measure of an astronomical body's potential to develop and sustain life...
has a pastiche of Tarzan called Lord Blackstock.
Europe
Tarzan comics were the first publications put on the index by the German Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Schriften after its foundation in 1954.The European version of the Tarzan comic was published from 1983 to 1989 by Marketprint in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, and later translated and published in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. There were over 100 published episodes, each of which had 16 pages. In most of them Branislav Kerac
Branislav Kerac
Branislav "Bane" Kerac is a popular Serbian comic book creator, known best for his series Cat Claw. He was a drummer for the heavy metal bandGeroMetal.-External links:**...
was involved, either as the writer, penciller, inker, or complete author. He was also responsible for "The Kalonga Star," a five episode crossover between Tarzan and Kobra
Kobra (comic book)
Kobra was a Serbian comic book series from 1979, about a young stunt man who possessed extraordinary martial arts abilities, and his adventures around the world. The comic was created by Branislav Kerac....
. Other notable episodes were "Tarzan and Barbarians," "The Tiger," "The Boy from the Stars," and "Big race." Tarzan is considered to have been the longest running comic published in the history of Yugoslavian comics.