Saturday, July 16, 2022

Korak - Son Of Tarzan Volume Two!


In the second volume of Dark Horse's archival Korak Son of Tarzan which collects the final issues drawn by Russ Manning we find a sprawling range of different adventures. There are magical dragons and deadly dinosaurs as well actual space-spanning aliens. These are brisk easy-to-read yarns that entertain with aplomb. There is also an incredibly detailed essay up front by Stephen R. Bissetted but leave off reading this until after you've enjoyed the stories as there are some few spoilers. 
 

From the seventh issue we get the book-length adventure "Challenge of the Avengers" which has Korak assist a stalwart Tuareg youth who is searching for his sister who has been has been kidnapped by another tribe. This fellow uses a strange mace to attack and defend and Korak helps him discover how to use the weapon with wisdom. There are many different threats in this story from soldiers to lions to the threat of dying from thirst. 


"Lair of the Dragon" from the eighth issue is another feature-length tale, this one having Korak assist some Peace Corp workers who have crashed in strange territories. They discover an Arabian Knights-like society which is plagued by a water behemoth and a ruler who is surprisingly selfish when he seeks to make on the Peace Corp workers a new member of his harem. As it turns out slaying the dragon was only the beginning of their troubles. 


"Men from the Underground" in the next issue is a truly weird story about a society hidden beneath the sands. Discovered when Korak led a group seeking new oil reserves this society does not cotton to strangers as hiding is their best defense. It's all Korak and his allies can do to escape from these frightened men who hide from the world. 


"When the Rhino Charged" is the first story which begins with Korak's stalwart companion Akut getting shot. He is tended to by a brave woman who has set up a hospital of sorts in a remote city of strange stones. Later she and her charges are put upon by invaders who are turned away when films of animals charging are used in quite creative ways. "The Pit" is the second story and has Korak rescue a young woman from a pit used to store potential slaves. Before the story is done Korak has turned the tables on these slavers with the help of the local ape clan. 


The eleventh issue of Korak is Manning last from his initial run on the series which will struggle to find a replacement until the arrival of Dan Spiegle. "Invasion from Pal-Ul-Don" is a story about exactly what it says, when after a terrific flood the denizens of the prehistoric lost land find their way into the modern jungles. The highlight for me was the terrific fight between a T-Rex and a Triceratops. "The White Pygmies Strike Back" is a bizarre story of Opar in which La and a gang of the Terrible Men try to enter the city now run by a pygmy tribe. Korak enters Opar for the first time and meets La for the first time. He saves her but she and her cadre are driven away. This story seems at odds with the Opar that I know from the ERB stories. 


Russ Manning returned to draw issue twenty-one of Korak Son of Tarzan and he illustrates Korak's strangest adventure yet. Korak and Akut are abducted by aliens and transported to a distant planet where true to form Korak finds a damsel in distress and assists her and her people in throwing off the menace of the aliens. All this while trying to dodge deadly giant ants. Korak is able to steal a spaceship and return home where he and Akut leave it in the swamp. More like a classic Korak tale was "The Lost Apeling" in which Korak rescues an albino ape from captivity. 


The volume closes out with a three-part Manning illustrated saga starring Korak titled "The Deadly Motion Picture". It's actually a reformatted tale from the comic strip series in which Korak assists a film crew and especially its beautiful but reckless star. These appeared in three issues of DC's Korak series and by accounts Manning was not happy at all at this use of his work. (I'll discuss the original briefly tomorrow). 


And that's a wrap on Manning's tenure on Korak Son of Tarzan. He left the series for the best of all possible reasons. He was about to take over the main show -- Tarzan of the Apes for Gold Key. More on that next week. 

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