By the time Dell Comics entered the realm of Tarzan of the Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughs' greatest creation had become a small industry. Tarzan had conquered printed prose with twenty novels in evidence by ERB, and had conquered comic strips under the guidance of talents like Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth. Tarzan was a steady entertainment on the big screen with decades of films on the roster. And there had been Tarzan comics but mostly they were reprints of the strips. When Dell picked up the character and tried it out in the venerable Four Color series they created new stories and featured new artwork by an talent who would be associated with the character for many years to come -- Jesse Marsh.
Tarzan debuted at Dell in Four Color #134 in early 1947. The story was written by longtime comic strip scribe Robert Thompson and Marsh drew the Ape Man for the very first time. The story is humdinger as are most all these early Dell outings. They are fitted with enough plot and doings for a small movie feature, and likely that was the idea. "Tarzan and the Devil Ogre" has Tarzan meet a woman looking for her lost father who himself was seeking gold. Tarzan and D'Arnot join the safari to find and rescue this man led by a white hunter who turns out to be untrustworthy. The expedition ends up in forbidden territory in which a savage tribe worships a powerful "ogre". There is death and destruction before Tarzan is able to finally save not only himself but some of his allies.
Four Color #161 was released later in 1947 and again Thompson and Marsh are the creative team. This time Tarzan and D'Arnot are again helping a father and daughter in a lost safari find their way to the lost city of Tohr. They encounter many dangers but none so ferocious and cruel as the woman who leads the people of Tohr and who uses ancient sacrificial practices to enforce her rule. This one had all the elements one would expect of a Burroughs novel and some hair-raising action to boot. This apparently was an adaptation of a radio script by Thompson.
Dell decides pretty quickly that Tarzan deserves his own title and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan #1 is on the stands by early 1948. In this story by Thompson featuring more handsome Marsh art Tarzan meets the "White Savages of Vari'". This is another lost civilization of brutish men led for the moment by an evil witch doctor. The rightful queen is a prisoner, but Tarzan soon brings his will to bear and the situation is changed but not without significant violence and conflict.
The second issue of Tarzan brings on a new writer in the Dell standby Gaylord Dubois. This time it is a young boy seeking his father and Tarzan helps him to do just that. There is still that epic feel to the story and more significant interplay with the animals of the territory. Apes play a big part in this story. The presence of a young lad in the yarn was paving the way for a change in the nature of the stories that Dell planned to tell. Dell also had initiated in the first issue and continued in this one a feature which listed many of the words from "Tarzan's Ape-English" dictionary. These words presented in alphabetical order offer up the names of the creatures along with some very handsome Marsh illustrations. It should be noted that not only the front covers, but the back covers as well of these Tarzan comics featured original art Marsh not repeated in the book. Wonderful stuff, a solid package.
"The Dwarves of Didona" is the story from the third Tarzan comic and introduces a new family situation for ERB's King of the Jungle. Jane is brought into the story (though never named) and "Boy" makes his first appearance. The family live in the treehouse much as they did in the classic MGM movies and it's a very homespun atmosphere. Dell was intent in their comics to make sure they were producing family-friendly material and the introduction of this kinder and somewhat gentler Tarzan certainly served that desire. Tarzan has to go to a hidden island inhabited by deadly dwarves when his son Boy accidentally ends up there after being carried by witless baboons.
"Tarzan and the Lone Hunter" introduces the region of Pal-Ul-Don to the pages of Dell's Tarzan universe. This territory of strange people and dinosaurs is very popular in the novels with Tarzan making more than a few excursions to it. Here a lone member of the strange race from the territory comes to Tarzan to seek his help in finding his mate who was chased by outlaws and seemingly escaped but might well be dead. Tarzan obliges. The cover showcases a nigh Eden-like atmosphere for Tarzan and his family.
"Tarzan and the Men of Greed" is a title that could fit many a jungle yarn starring ERB's King of the Apes. In this instance Tarzan is forced to lead an expedition to the lost city of Opar. Despite the fact the savage men of Opar are all dead along with their queen La, the greedy men run afoul of savage apes who guard the vast treasury of gold. Only Tarzan and his family return. The deadly violence is cleverly hidden by Marsh in his panel designs, but the story makes little secret of what happens to the men.
"Tarzan and the Outlaws of Pal-ul-Don" brings back the strange territory. This time Tarzan and Boy head there, crossing a desert and some forbidding snowy peaks to enter the land of roaming Triceratops and Sabre-tooth Tigers. They are seeking to rescue Jane who has been kidnapped by the aforementioned outlaws. Tarzan enlists of the help of his many allies in the land he rescues Jane from the clutches of the criminals. Boy is along every step of the way.
In "Tarzan in The Valley of the Monsters" Boy and a friend Dombie launch a balloon which haplessly floats into a strange valley filled with dinosaurs. Tarzan and Dombie's Dad used a plane to try and catch up to the boys but all of them end up crashed in the deadly valley. They find allies in people who live among the dinosaurs but when they are able to at least escape the valley enshrouded by a volcanic cloud.
"Tarzan and The White Pygmies" picks up right after the last issue as Tarzan and Boy and their allies try to walk back home. They encounter a tribe of pygmies who are having difficulties with giant buzzards. Tarzan devises a scheme to help them help themselves in that regard. One note is that Morris Gollub takes on the cover duties with this issue creating an Eden-like image of Tarzan and assorted wild creatures. Gollub will create the next several covers.
"Tarzan and the Men of A -Lur" has the King of the Jungle involved in an uprising in Pal-Ul-Don between various important cities and their leaders. Tarzan calls upon his allies in that strange dinosaur-laden land to help. He also makes effective use of an enormous elephant that travels into the region. The Ape-English Dictionary nears its alphabetical end and is reduced to a single inside cover page. The other is used for a subscription ad for the comic.
"Tarzan and the Treasure of the Bolgani" is a truly strange tale in which Tarzan combats a city full of intelligent gorillas (Gorilla Grodd anyone?). These hostile apes enslave human beings to work for them by shrinking them in a strange device. Tarzan though while small retains his strength and becomes less vulnerable to weapons. He is able to lead a revolt against these strange creatures.
"Tarzan and the Sable Lion" begins with Tarzan battling and then to some extent taming a ferocious lion. Then he discovers that a village has been captured by slavers and just by chance so have Jane and Boy. Collecting what allies he can from the wild he goes to free the captives and wreak some hard justice on the slavers themselves.
"Tarzan and the Price of Peace" is all about love. Tarzan stumbles across a forlorn lover who tells Tarzan how he cannot afford to win the hand of the girl who loves him also. Tarzan intervenes and arranges for the couple to escape their village. As they are doing this they encounter more slavers and free the captives. Then all of these displaced people find a home on an isolated island when Tarzan is able to negotiate a peace with the existing tribe of Mangani.
Things change up with the thirteenth issue. Mo Gollub has move on from cover duties. Instead, a photo of Lex Barker the then current film Tarzan is used alongside the faithful Cheeta. Some Jesse Mash drawings help fill out the space. This shift was probably seen as wise to move more comics, but it's a shame since the covers produced by Marsh and later Gollub had been handsome indeed. This approach will be used for all of the remaining covers in this collection. There are two stories in this comic. The first is "The Knight of Lyonesse" and has Tarzan stumble across a young knight from the usual lost city who is hot to kill a Saracen and take his beard to win his honey. Tarzan saves the knight from baboons and helps him get his trophy without bloodshed when they break up a gang of slavers. This story reveals that La of Opar is not dead as had been reported in an earlier comic story. In "The Ape Hunter" Tarzan must stop a brazen American who wants to kill apes for sport. He of course doesn't get his way. The last remant of the Ape-English Dictionary appears on the inside cover of this issue.
Again, there are two stories, which will become standard. "The Lost Legion" is yet another lost civilization in the classic ERB tradition. This time it's Romans who have a city and are living much as they did long ago. Tarzan and D'Arnot with Boy tagging along are flying to map the Monster Valley they'd found some few issues before and crash, then are captured by an evil king. But soon they are able to ally with the rightful ruler and the tyrant is pitched out. "The Flying Chief" has some young folks in an airplane run afoul of a scheming tribal chief who wants to fly a plane. He does so but it turns out poorly for him when Tarzan gets involved. A new feature called "Jungle World" shows up, this again illustrated by Marsh.
"Tarzan and the Cave Men" reintroduces La of Opar. This time she is on the verge of being sacrificed by the males of the society but Tarzan saves her. With nowhere to go, Tazan recommends Pal-Ul-Don and off they head riding atop Tantor. When they get this land of dinosaurs they are waylaid by a caveman who captures La and takes her back to his village. There is a struggle for her attentions but Tarzan brings an end to that and La seems to have a found another place she can rule. "Tarzan and the Hunter's Reward" is another variation on the classic Romeo and Juliet theme with two young lovers frustrated by their culture. Tarzan helps bring about a happier ending.
The sixteenth and final issue from 1950 in this immense collection starts off with "Tarzan and the Beasts of Armor" Tarzan is flying to the Valley of Monsters and Boy sneaks aboard the plane. They end up fighting some mighty dinosaurs and saving a man from Pal-Ul-Don who tells them that his city has been taken over by white gangsters. Tarzan and Boy join the fellow and they head to the lost territory where Tarzan uses his wits and muscles to defeat the criminals. Then it's back to the plane and home. "Tarzan and the Giant Eland" is the last story in this collection and true to its title Tarzan finds and tames a giant eland which proves handy when he must save a native girl from ritual sacrifice.
I was much surprised by the nature of these tales. They were much more willing to engage ERB's mythology of Africa than I expected. Pal-Ul-Don and Opar are key parts of many of these stories, especially the former. I chagrined when the series suggested La was most likely dead and pleased as punch when she turned up for two more appearances. The use of Jane and Boy following the template of the movies was smart as well by DuBois and Marsh. It made the series familiar to young fans who came to the comic by way of the movies. And the use of ERB's mythic landscape supplied the same flush of familiarity for fans of the novels. These Dell Comics did a great job of making these Tarzan comics accessible to all fans of Tarzan.
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