Comic book adaptions of The Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1919) seems like a no-brainer. Not only do the short episodes lend themselves to single issue versions, but the stories themselves were pretty good. (Comic publishers often used them when they needed more time to finish the next portion of a novel adaptation. One of these stories would buy them another month.)
Irwin Porges wrote in Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan (1975):
Previous attempts to write short fiction with the characters and settings drawn from ordinary life had resulted in stories that were mawkish and trite…But when Burroughs dealt with the purely imaginative and with material that interested and stimulated him, his writing, as demonstrated in “The New Stories”, could emerge with a sensitivity and philosophical subtlety not present in his longer works.
This “philosophical subtlety” has Tarzan do things that are smaller but more personal than his usual novel-length adventuring. He falls in love. He has a blood feud with a witch-doctor. He explores the idea of God. He suffers from indigestion and has a nightmare.
Making Choices
Not all the stories appealed equally. By far the mot popular were “The God of Tarzan” and “The Nightmare”. The least adapted were “The Witch-Doctor Seeks Revenge” and “Tarzan’s First Love”. Some of these tales push the limits for comic books. How do you deal with a human falling in love with a she-ape? How do you have Tarzan explore theism without offending the safe environment of the Comic’s Code? No comic book publisher wants to be branded obscene in a market that is primarily perceived as a children’s venue.
The first company to do comic book adaptations of The Jungle Tales of Tarzan was either Charlton or Bill Spicer in the winter of 1964. Gold Key did them sporadically between novel adaptations. DC and Joe Kubert used even fewer. Marvel did more but again in no clear order. Malibu used one story in 1992. Finally in 2015, Dark Horse adapted the entire book with multiple artists, creating the definitive version.
“Tarzan’s First Love”
Tarzan has fallen in love with Teeka. Taug is Tarzan’s rival for the she-ape. The two fight but a leopard gets in the way. Later Tarzan frees Taug from a trap and realizes he will never be Teeka’s mate.
Watson-Guptill – The Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1976) adapted by Robert M. Hodes.
Marvel – Tarzan Annual #1 (1977) adapted by Roy Thomas.
Malibu – Tarzan: Love, Lies and the Lost City #1 (August 10, 1992) adapted by Matt Wagner.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The Capture of Tarzan”
Tarzan is hanging out with his friend, Tantor, when a tribe of Africans capture him. They want to kill him because he is the ghost that haunts their forest. Tarzan escapes when he calls Tantor to his rescue. The ghost of Rudyard Kipling’s “Letting in the Jungle” can be felt in this story.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #1 (December 1964) adapted by Joe Gill.
Gold Key – Tarzan #169 (July 1967) adapted by Gaylord Du Bois.
DC – Tarzan #212 (September 1972) “The Captive” adapted by Joe Kubert.
Watson-Guptill – The Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1976) adapted by Robert M. Hodes.
Dark Horse- Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The Fight For the Balu”
Teeka attacks Tarzan when he gets too close to her new baby. Taug also gets mad and attacks Tarzan. Tarzan ropes Taug to tease him. When a leopard threatens the new balu, Tarzan kills it, proving his devotion for Teeka, Taug and the baby.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #1 (December 1964) adapted by Joe Gill.
DC – Tarzan #213 (October 1972) “Balu of the Great Apes” adapted by Joe Kubert.
Dark Horse- Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The God of Tarzan”
Tarzan sees the word “God” in one of the primers left by his real parents. He goes in search for God, asking apes, the local African witch-doctor, then fights a giant python. He has read “all good things come from God”. Then who created Histah the snake?
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #3 (May 1965) adapted by Joe Gill.
Gold Key – Tarzan #169 (July 1967) adapted by Gaylord Du Bois.
Watson-Guptill – The Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1976) adapted by Robert M. Hodes.
Marvel – Tarzan #9 (February 1978) adapted by Roy Thomas.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“Tarzan and the Black Boy”
Tarzan sees all the animals around him have babies. He decides he wants one and kidnaps a small native boy. The apes do not like it but Tarzan defends him. He eventually returns the child, then saves the boy and mother from a lion. The local witch-doctor vows to get even with Tarzan because the mother was going to pay him a hefty price to get the kid back.
Gold Key – Tarzan #170 (August 1967) “Tarzan and the Native Boy” adapted by Gaylord Du Bois.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The Witch-Doctor Seeks Revenge”
This story is often combined with the next. The boy, Tibo, has gone missing. Tarzan tracks the culprit to a cave where hyenas are kept. The witch-doctor has taken the boy. Tarzan fights the hyenas and returns the child.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The End of Bukawai”
This story finishes the tale of Bukawai the witch-doctor. When Tarzan is knocked unconscious by a freak lightning strike, Bukawai captures him. He ties Tarzan up in a cave and leaves his hyenas to eat him. Tarzan frees himself, fights off the hyenas. Tarzan takes Bukawai and ties him up. The hyenas end the witch-doctor’s life.
Bill Spicer – Fantasy Illustrated #3 (Winter 1964) adapted by Bill Spicer.
Marvel – Tarzan Annual #1 (1977) adapted by Roy Thomas.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The Lion”
This story is the one Neal Adams illustrated on that cover above. Tarzan and Taug save another ape from a lion. Later Tarzan sneaks into the native village and takes a lion skin. He pulls a joke on his ape friends by pretending to be a lion. The apes nearly kill him as a result. This story sets up “A Jungle Joke” later.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #4 (July 1965) adapted by Joe Gill.
Marvel – Tarzan #12 (May 1978) adapted by David Anthony Kraft and Roy Thomas.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The Nightmare”
Tarzan is hungry and steals some cooked meat. The food gives him a nightmare that includes a snake with a man’s head, a giant vulture and a burning lion. Later Tarzan thinks he is still dreaming when he encounters a gorilla. He has to fight for his life. Gold Key adapted the story in one page called “Terror By Night”.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #3 (May 1965) adapted by Joe Gill.
Gold Key – Tarzan #194 (August 1970) “Terror By Night” adapted by Gaylord Du Bois.
Watson-Guptill – The Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1976) adapted by Robert M. Hodes.
DC – Tarzan #214 (November 1972) reprinted in #257 (January 1977) adapted by Joe Kubert.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“The Battle For Teeka”
Tarzan is in his cabin looking at some old bullets, when he hears rivals apes have kidnapped Teeka. He and his fellow apes go after her, fighting the invaders. Things don’t look good until Teeka throws the old bullets. The shells explode, scaring off the bad apes.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #2 (February 1965) adapted by Joe Gill.
Marvel – Tarzan #14 (July 1978) “The Battle For the She-Ape” adapted by Roy Thomas.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“A Jungle Joke”
When cannibals capture a lion, Tarzan substitutes himself, wearing the lion skin from “The Lion”. He scares the natives, allowing the real lion to escape.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #4 (July 1965) adapted by Joe Gill.
Gold Key – Tarzan #170 (August 1967) adapted by Gaylord Du Bois.
Marvel – Tarzan #13 (June 1978) “The Changeling” adapted by Roy Thomas.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
“Tarzan Rescues the Moon”
Tarzan saves a young black man from the apes. He also witnesses a lunar eclipse. Shooting arrows at the Moon, he believes he has rescued the lunar sphere by his actions.
Charlton – Jungle Tales of Tarzan #2 (February 1965) adapted by Joe Gill.
Gold Key – Golden Comics Digest #4 (August 1969) adapted by Gaylord Du Bois with art by Mike Royer and John Celardo.
Marvel – Tarzan #7 (December 1977) adapted by Roy Thomas.
Dark Horse – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Jungle Tales of Tarzan (2015) adapted by Martin Powell.
These comic book adaptations of The Jungle Tales of Tarzan demonstrate the enduring quality of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ short story writing. A novelist by economic necessity, for ERB was a practical businessman no matter what he wrote, his shorter works are often forgotten. He would later write short tales of Pellucidar, Barsoom and Venus for Ray A. Palmer and the Pulps at the end of his career.
For myself, this was the first Tarzan book I read. The shorter sections allowed me as a young reader to navigate Tarzan’s jungle, preparing me for the novels. Of course, I immediately went out and bought all the black Ballantine cover editions my twelve year-old self could afford. (Neal Adams covers all. Later Boris Vallejo.) I have to wonder how differently it would have worked out if ERB had never written these stories.