Let's Bungle In The Jungle!

Tarzan of the Apes is one fictional character who has benefitted from a bevy of talented artists taking a crack at illustrating his adventures. Hal Foster, Burne Hogarth, Jesse Marsh, John Celardo, Gray Morrow, Mike Grell, John Buscema, Joe Kubert, Bob Lubbers, Tom Yeates, and many more besides. But one name associated with Edgar Rice Burroughs' Ape Man in the 60's and 70's is Russ Manning. Manning brought his sleek stylings to the works of ERB by degrees. He broke in the Tarzan back-up strip Brothers of the Spear, then after a time switched over to Korak, Son of Tarzan. Eventually his break came, and he was shifted over to the main Tarzan book itself where he went on to adapt many of the novels to comic book form. The call came for him to take on the venerable comic strip and he made it his own for over a decade. 

This month the focus on the weekends will be mostly about Russ Manning and the work he did for Gold Key and for the strip. On Saturdays I will be looking at the Korak and Tarzan comics Manning produced and on Sundays the regular "Sunday Funnies" feature will focus on Manning long tenure on the strip itself which. I plan on learning a lot about one of my favorite artists as the month rolls along.

 

Other Manning creations might well show up at some point this month, such as rather combative denizen of the far future. 

As well as other takes on ERB's famous Ape Man, both authorized and unauthorized. 

Also, on tap this month will be a review of the many Tarzans who have portrayed the King of the Jungle. We took close looks at the MGM series with Johnny Weissmuller last month and we'll kick off with Johnny's Tarzan films for RKO produced by Sol Lesser who took over the license when MGM let it slip away. Lesser and later Sy Weintraub brought to the screen no fewer than seven different men in the role and I want to take a peek at all of them. 

Anticipate other ERB inspired creations and such to find a spot in this already crowded July -- or not. Stay cool. 

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