Tarzan - The New Adventures!

Tarzan of the Apes is one of the most iconic adventure heroes in all of the printed word. Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs over one hundred years ago, Tarzan has managed to find an audience in one medium or another ever since. Beginning in the pulps, and shifting quickly to novelizations, the character was elevated to even greater status by Hollywood adaptations and some of the finest comic strip and comic book adventures ever imagined. 

So, it only makes sense that Tarzan might try to conquer the internet. I cannot say that's happened, but certainly there's a plethora of Tarzan material available in digital form, and most of it now husbanded over at the Official Website of ERB Inc. It is there that new comic strip style stories began to appear written by Roy Thomas and drawn by comics greats such as Pablo Maros. There are new adaptations of the novels and fresh comic book escapades under the banner Tarzan - The New Adventures. 

I have to confess I don't much like reading comics online. It just doesn't work for me as effectively as having a printed book in my little meaty fingers. And with the publication the first two "New Adventures" being published by Dark Horse I get my chance to revel in these hot-off-the-presses Tarzan yarns. The strips assume only the novels as background continuity so that gives the creators greater flexibility while still keeping that Tarzan charm. 

Writer Roy Thomas and artist Thomas Grindberg kick things off with a wild and hair-raising romp that includes classic ERB tropes such as a lost city filled with strangely familiar residents from Greek mythology, as well as the more familiar city of Opar in which the enticing Queen La rules a population of savage wild men. Grindberg's muscular artwork is ideal for the Ape Man, his poses showcasing the clenched power of the ERB's most famous hero. 

When Grindberg had to leave the strip, Thomas arranges to replace him with Benito Gallego. Thomas and Gallego have worked together more than a few times on some Indy comic projects, but this is the one they were born and bred to make together. Gallego evokes the classic work of the legendary "Big" John Buscema with whom Thomas worked so closely on many a Marvel project including a heroic run on Conan the Barbarian. Thomas and Buscema worked together on Tarzan before as well when Marvel briefly acquired the license in the later 70s'. 

In this story another vintage ERB property is pushed into the larger Tarzan mythos with the descendant of the scientist who made The Monster Men. Also important to the story is the ERB novel Tarzan and the Leopard Men, since that cult raises its furry head as well. Tarzan is forced to confront a horrifying hybrid created using the arcane techniques Professor Arthur Maxon. These were some rousing reads. The format of pacing the stories as classic Sunday pages really worked to the benefit of both. Thomas and Gallego were moving on to a sequel to Tarzan the Terrible and visit to Pal-Ul-Don. I look forward to it. 

This one is highly recommended. 

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Sword Of Sorcery - New 52!

Sword of Sorcery collects the series of the same name. The series featured Amethyst, bringing back a world I looked at few years ago here. My interest in getting hold of this series was mostly the back-up features for Beowulf and Stalker, but I've always been impressed with the Amethyst stories. So let me begin there. 

We meet a young girl who is an outsider because she and her Mother are always on the go. We quickly learn she is a girl with grit, and then we learn she's not of this world. She was brought to Earth to hide her out by her out of her Aunt's clutches. She is a new world in which politics are brutally pursued by those in power, but she very quickly adapts to this new universe and to her new superpowers. This is a story well told of a young woman's coming of age by writer Christy Marx and artist Aaron Lopresti. These stories are gorgeous. John Constatine is a regular guest in the series and one of my favorite villains, Eclipso, makes a visit. The arrival of Eclipso changes the balances of power in this world and old enemies are forced to become allies to face him. 

Here are the covers for the series. For more on the back-up features check down below. 

And now for Beowulf and Stalker. 

For the first three issues of this series the back-up feature was Beowulf. It was full-blown reimagining of the hero as we are cast some undated time into the future, but it's a future in which at first glance one might think they were back in olden times of the Danelaw when the poem of Beowulf was inspired and composed. Quickly we learn differently as polished technology is in evidence. Beowulf it turns out is a super-soldier of some sort from the past and when he is called upon to help with the murderous Grendel, he responds with a berserker rage which leaves only the very young Wiglaf to lead him. When he's settled down, he gets to being more of a hero and confronts the dread secret of Grendel and Grendel's Mother. This one caught me completely by surprise and I enjoyed it thoroughly. As is evidenced by the above cover for DC Univers Presents, Beowulf found his way into the modern world of the New 52 as well. 

As for the Stalker, his revised story begins in the past when a brutal king finds his wife dying and makes a deal with the Devil for a soul. But as usual the Devil finds a loophole which brings misery to Stalker. He is "gifted" with immortality to regret his choices and becomes a killer, both in war in peace. When the Devil reappears in the modern day to Stalker and promises him some resolution if he will only find a certain girl, Stalker agrees and does the job quite quickly. But as usual with the Devil there is a twist which causes Stalker to revolt against him. It ends poorly. 

And that wraps up my look at these Adventure heroes. Out of the batch we got one true hit (Warlord) and one impressive run (Claw the Unconquered). The rest fell to Earth pretty quickly, though I am delighted to know that the folks at DC have not forgotten them even after all these decades. 

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Ends Of The Earth!

Wonder Woman - Ends of the Earth collects issues twenty through twenty-three of the third volume of Wonder Woman in which our amazing Amazon confronts the evil of DGurth, a form of the devil first introduced in the pages of Stalker- The Man Who Lost His Soul. She has as sidekicks in this battle the aforementioned Stalker alongside Beowulf -Dragon Slayer and Claw the Unconquered. 

Wonder Woman is drafted by Stalker when he snatches her soul. She is then compelled to travel to a strange territory where she attempts to get Beowulf to help. 

Wonder Woman seems to be possessed by the same magic that corrupted Claw. Beowulf agrees to fight with her against the greater enemy. 

We get glimpse of the terrible world Wonder Woman dreams of now that she's soulless and possessed by the Claw magic. She names Stalker "Elpis" which means "Hope". The quartet seek an Oracle for guidance. Then they enter the land of DGurth where a traitor reveals himself. 

And then much to my everlasting disappointment, the battle shifts to Washington D.C. I'm not against the setting change, but only Wonder Woman travels with the shift. The warriors she's spent three issues assembling are left behind and only appear again in the aftermath. I realize that this Wonder Woman's book, but for gosh sakes why spend all that time and then not use them more substantially. Now to be fair to Simone, I have left out certain plot points so as not to spoil some of the surprises in the story. 

Also included in this collection is issue twenty-four of the series which changes gears and has nothing to do with the previous plotline.  I must confess I was led down by the stories here. They were not badly crafted, indeed the artwork by Bernard Chang and Aaron Lopresti is quite good. But the story spent a huge amount of time gathering a group of heroes and then bing-bang-boom they are disappeared. 

But we're not done yet these heroes pop up again a few years later and this time they get their own stories. That's for next time when we wrap this up with Sword of Sorcery. 

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Kong The Untamed!

Prehistoric cave folk fascinate us. We only know them from fragments of their bones and in some cases a few remnants of tools and drawings on cave walls. That said, there have been quite a few cave man heroes over the years. Kong the Untamed was DC 's 70's attempt to give life to the genre. Under a fantastic Berni Wrightson cover, we see the birth of Kong and the tragic expulsion of his mother and the babe from the Cro-Magnon tribe. 

The saga of Kong was written by Gerry Conway and drawn in its first three issues by Alfredo Alcala. It's his usual lush style and well suited to this type of story. Kong the Untamed was just one of several titles that DC launched in the mid-70's to take advantage of the popularity of Conan the Barbarian at Marvel. 

Where Kong went an earlier effort by Howie Post had walked before. DC's most famous caveman is Anthro and in later attempts at continuity he is linked to Kong. Anthro's stories were much more light-hearted than the savage story Conway and Alcala tell. 

The 70's proved an interesting time for fans of cave man lore. Charlton had been publishing Pat Boyette's Korg:70,000 B.C., which was based on a TV show of same name. 

As mentioned with the passage of time, Kong the Untamed is one of the few characters from this wave of adventure comics to get a page in DC's Who's Who. 

Kong is a resilient young man, who is able to do something no one in his former tribe had been able to do --make fire. But that was small comfort for the pain of losing his mother and his banishment. As it turns out the Neanderthal who is prominently featured on the first cover becomes a fan of Kong and the two team up to live in the cruel outside world. Berni Wrightson drew both the first and second covers -- both outstanding. 

Kong and Gurat find a hidden valley after an earthquake and in that valley. they find dinosaurs. This undermines the realism but amps up the action. Bill Draut takes over the cover art duty. 

Kong is now living with a more advanced culture, but one ruled by a cruel matriarchy. Something in Kong's noggin thinks this is not right. Gurat turns up again. But issue four though Alcala was gone and was replaced by the team of Tony Caravana and Jo Ingente Jr. 

The story takes an even more dramatic turn when the dino-riders who rescued Gurat attack the matriarchal culture that is drawing so much disdain. David Wenzel and Bill Draut draw the final issue which isn't a cliffhanger but does leave many of its long-term plot threads unresolved. 

Kong the Untamed was a pleasant surprise. The Alcala art is always great, but the story was unusually reasonable, though as with any series there are lots of coincidences to make the machine hum efficiently. Conway seemed to be headed somewhere with this one, but it's hard to tell how far down the road he got. 

Next time we go to The Ends of the Earth with Wonder Woman. 

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Beowulf - Dragon Slayer!

Beowulf - Dragon Slayer adapts the famous Old English epic poem into comics form. It was not first to do so and far from the last. Michael Uslan and Ricardo Villamonte are the creative team on this effort. Save for Beowulf getting a strange superhero-like visual treatment (his helmet is supposedly a minotaur skull), the story begins much like it does in the original Anglo-Saxon poem. A monster named Grendel assaults the hall of King Hrothgar and when Beowulf gets wind of this, he heads out to help. 

Once again, this series was part of DC's attempt to grab some of the Conan the Barbarian business with a raft of heroes from various mythological settings. Beowulf stands up quite strong amongst this company which saw most all of them gone after a year. 

The one previous attempt to adapt the poem was Thane of Bagarth by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo over at Charlton comics. The setting of this back-up series for the Hercules comic was after the events of the Anglo-Saxon epic. The adaptation has quite a legitimate feel, not unlike that of Prince Valiant. But eventually it gives way to a science fiction influence. The same thing will happen at DC. 

Beowulf and his men along with Nan-Zee head off for a quest into Hell where they fight all manner of creepies and even a tame dragon and ultimately do encounter Satan. The point of this meandering lost on me, save that it prolongs the story. The upshot is that he is sent on a quest by Satan to find two things to perk him up sufficiently to defeat Grendel. 

The quest through Hell continues. Grendel is still threatening Hrothgar's kingdom while Beowulf and his compatriots confront sundry menaces including a serpent. It is from this serpent's venom that Beowulf derives some powers enough to face Grendel, almost. Now he must find called Zumak. 

Having survived the rigors of Hell, Beowulf and his band run into warriors dedicated to fighting Vlad the Impaler and they get swept up in that conflict. They discover that the Zuman is not there. 

The introduction of flying saucers well and truly jumps this little series off the rails. Not unlike the earlier Charlton series we get sci-fi tropes dumped into a Beowulf environment. Strange to say the least. In this instance we get Atlantean servants of the space gods who pick up Beowulf and Nan-Zee just in time for the to witness the destruction of the advanced city. Beowulf even meets another epic hero from an even earlier tradition. 

Cast adrift the pair eventually arrive in Crete where they are led to the famed Labyrinth in which they find a Minotaur and ultimately the Zumak. Beowulf is now fully-charged and ready for Grendel as he and his gal head for Heorot at last. Meanwhile Grendel who is plotting against Satan. The arrival of Ric Estrada on layouts made this the most readable issue of this benighted series. 

This little series was a major disappointment for me. I'd hoped they had told a good yarn about the great Anglo-Saxon hero, but that's not what happens. Uslan's script is meandering, and Villamonte's artwork is at times bewildering. The addition of Nan-Zee affects the story not at all, save that it gives Villamonte the chance to draw a chick in a bikini for the entire brief run. The character I'm most interested in is Grendel, who we do get at length dragging away victims and bellowing about his sad lot to Satan. One character called the Shaper is a magician and some of his spells are fun to decode as they are the same variety as what Zatanna uses. One reads "Happy Birthday Cindy".

But comics were not done with Beowulf. 

Beowulf is one of those pieces of classic literature to speaks to my fanboy heart. Not unlike the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, or the Nordic sagas, we have a story which bonds reality with myth in a way which makes it immediate and potent. The poem serves a lot of masters, but at its core it's the story of a noble man who wants to defend people from predators and who wants to make the society better. The story has not been adapted to comics all that many times. Classics Illustrated never touched it (to my knowledge). But the first time I ever chanced across the poem itself being adapted to comics was when Jerry Bingham produced it for First Comics as their initial graphic novel in 1984.

I've never been completely satisfied with the result. To be fair, I'm not a huge Jerry Bingham fan, always considering him a workmanlike talent who was able to produce pages which successfully evoked both Neal Adams and John Buscema without the immediacy or drama of either. But compared to the soulless stuff I see on the stands today, he was a master. Still, he was above average of the day, and I like his stuff more and more as the years grind away. It turns out Beowulf was a labor of love, produced by Bingham pretty much on spec and finding a home at First Comics when he bargained to draw some of their books for them. I like that a lot. 

Bingham discussed the "graphic novel" several years ago on his blog here. He discusses how he came to be aware of the poem and how he finally was able to bring this remarkable work to fruition. He also discusses some of it weaknesses, weaknesses I agree make it less than a work which was completely successful. To my mind it lacks the grit and necessary darkness of the poem, allowing superhero tropes to overwhelm a story which is at its core a horror tale. You can also see quite a bit of the artwork from the series.

But whatever the deficiencies might have been to my mind, Jerry Bingham was able to bring Beowulf to the page and then bring it to the newsstands and that's no mean accomplishment. I congratulate him and wish him well. He seems to have done well for himself outside the world of comics and for a guy who I considered a middle of the road talent has become quite a compelling painter. But when the name Jerry Bingham comes up for this comics fan, the first thing I will think of is Beowulf. I rather think he'd like that. 

Here are later adaptations of the poem that I've come across. 

(2006)

(2007)

(2008)

(2016)

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