Tarzan by Archie Goodwin and Gil Kane

I’ve been reading comics for a long time and my knowledge of the mainstream is pretty deep.  Yet every once in a while I stumble upon something old that is new.  A perfect example is this, Tarzan Sunday newspaper strips by Archie Goodwin and Gil Kane—I had no idea that they ever worked on this character!  The strip above, from July 1979, kicked off a storyline titled The Runaway, about a spoiled brat who gets lost in the jungle.  It’s up to Tarzan to save his butt and teach him a few valuable lessons about life.



The strips all have storylines that played out over a few months of Sundays.  The other storyline I read, titled Zugor the Ape, features Tarzan in New York City.  I was blown away by the craftsmanship of these strips.  The stories by Goodwin are well paced and suited for an all ages audience.  The artwork by Gil Kane plays to his strengths, giving him a chance to draw plenty of action from interesting perspectives.  Take a look at the bridge sequence here, very smart use of angle shots in small panels.  Click on the link below for more Tarzan strips.  Nuff Said!

Link: Gil Kane Unchained page on Facebook

Neal Adams Tarzan Paperback Covers

If you were around in the 1970s, you might remember the Great Paperback Resurgence of the Pulp Heroes.  This happened early in the decade with the return of Conan and Doc Savage, followed by the Avenger, the Shadow, and then Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan novels.  The covers to the Tarzan novels were beautifully illustrated by Neal Adams.  In 1978, Sal Quartuccio released several Neal Adams portfolios containing these cover images.



This image was used as the cover The Beasts of Tarzan, showing the Jungle Lord’s companions coming out of the jungle to rescue him.  I like the look in Tarzan’s eyes—he can’t wait to unleash those beasts on his captors!



The original paperback cover, courtesy of the Dark Worlds blog.  I collected these paperbacks just for the covers alone, because I was such a fan of Neal Adams.



Looking at these illustrations, you can get a taste of the entire mythology that Burroughs had created for Tarzan.  The movie adaptations that have been make little headway beyond the origin story.  Nuff Said!

Link:  Dark Worlds Blog – lots of Pulpy Goodness.
Link:  Cap’N’s Comics Blog