In a previous post I mentioned DC’s predilection for gorilla covers in a piece on Arthur J. Burk’s “Manape the Mighty”. Well, it’s about time I came back to this and discussed said comics. I also mentioned a kinda sequel in Weird Terror #10, March 1954. But it was DC in their SF anthology comic Strange Adventures that really went to town with Burksian apes.
And this should be no surprise. Julius Schwartz, editor of the comics, was an old fanzine/Pulpster from the 1930s now boss at DC. He believed a gorilla on the cover sold more copies. He also had several veterans from the Pulps to look to for stories: Gardner F. Fox, Otto Binder, Edmond Hamilton and John Broome, all appeared in the Pulps before moving to comics. These men must have had fond memories of old Arthur J. Burks and his Manape.
“Evolution Plus!” (Strange Adventures #8, May 1951) was written by Gardner F. Fox. Fox borrows an old idea from Edmond Hamilton, the Evolution machine. It is also a little like Manly Wade Wellman’s “Back to the Beast” from Weird Tales. People are astounded to see a talking gorilla. It is actually a man who has used an evolving machine that has back-fired and devolved him into an ape. Being of a criminal sort, he had avoided jail his whole life to end up in a zoo.
“The Challenge of Man-Ape the Mighty!” (Strange Adventures #32, May 1953) was written by John Broome. Captain Comet flies to Africa to help out an old friend, Professor Sarcon. Sarcon has discovered a race of psionic gorillas. One of the super-gorilla does a brain-swap with Comet and the Cap has to follow in ape form to get his body back. The use of “Man-Ape the Mighty” seems awfully close legally to Burks’ work. That hyphen makes all the difference I guess…
“The Guilty Gorilla!” (Strange Adventures #39, December 1953) was written by John Broome. This is the sequel to the last one, with Captain Comet putting the gorilla on trial for murdering Sarcon. The ape escapes and finds allies among the criminal element. Comet bribes them into revealing where the gorilla is hiding.
“The Gorilla World!” (Strange Adventures #45, June 1954) was written by Otto Binder. On a world of intelligent gorilla, Albert and Cora Dawson want to be zoo exhibits. Turns out back in the human world, Albie played a fake gorilla in a freak show. The couple prefer being themselves. The imagery, if not the plot, in this one really reminds me of The Planet of the Apes, which Pierre Boule would write nine years later and would be filmed in 1968.
“The Gorilla That Challenged the World!” (Strange Adventures #55, April 1955) was written by Edmond Hamilton. Ed gives us one of his favorite themes: evolution. A scientist, Dr. Jonas Mills, invents an evolution serum that makes his gorilla super-intelligent. The gorilla gives him the antidote that retards his mind. The gorilla escapes, disguised as a man. He goes on a crime spree until he is found out.
“The Jungle Emperor!” (Strange Adventures #56, May 1955) was written by Edmond Hamilton. This is the second half of the last one. The super-ape brands himself King Gorilla and tries to take over the world. Dr. Mills is back to even the score. He gets the antidote into the gorilla king by burning it. The vapor turns the super-ape back into an animal.
“The Gorilla Conquest of Earth!” (Strange Adventures #69, June 1956) was written by John Broome. A time traveler goes back to 1,500,000 BC to a world where men are beasts and the apes rule. He helps the humans to rebel against their ape overlords before returning to his own time. No one would believe if he hadn’t done this, that humankind would not be the dominant species on the planet.
“Secret of the Man-Ape!” (Strange Adventures #75, December 1956) was written by Otto Binder. An alien from a human world is turned into an ape so he can spy on gorillas on an ape world. Too bad he gets caught by humans, for he’s on the wrong planet, Earth! The alien has a fondness for books but ends up being killed in a car crash.
“The Gorilla War Against Earth!” (Strange Adventures #88, January 1958) was written by Ed Herron. The humans have a talking gorilla that wants to take over the world. One of the scientists studying the animal isn’t really what he appears to be. He’s actually an alien. The gorilla is a fake, made by voice throwing by the alien. The saucer men want our nuclear bomb but fail to get it.
“The Amazing Trial of John (Gorilla) Doe!” (Strange Adventures #100, January 1959) was written by John Broome. Scientists working with gorillas get a new animal. One that escapes, but finally surrenders to the police. He is put on trial. He explains how he was a jungle creature that discovered aliens who were gorillas. They trained him then returned him to Earth. Radiation poisoning is slowly killing him. The gorilla is allowed to end his days in the jungle.
“Secret of the Super-Chimp!” (Strange Adventures #102, March 1959) was written by Gardner F. Fox. This one is an outlier. No gorillas but a chimp. It didn’t feel right to leave this one out though. A race of tornado-like aliens watches Earthmen on a giant TV. They see scientists using a chimp with super-abilities to venture out into space. The chimp ends up being turned to stone by a strange rain. The human companion returns home. The aliens decide to leave Earth alone.
“The Human Pets of Gorilla-Land!” (Strange Adventures #108, September 1959) was written by John Broome. The title for this one suggests Leslie F. Stone’s “The Human-Pets of Mars”, which has no gorillas in it. A race of aliens sell the giant gorillas on having human pets. The astronaut who ends up in a glass cage has to convince his owner of his true nature. The gorillas quickly nab the aliens who are swindlers. The gorillas get a parrot for a pet.
“Challenge of he Gorilla Genius!” (Strange Adventures #117, June 1960) was written by John Broome. Van Horne is a scientist under review for stealing research. He locates a genius gorilla at the zoo. The ape is the source of his work. The animal can speak and use telepathy to read his mind. When the ape escapes, Vam Horne has to kill it before it can reveal his crimes. All is revealed in court, and the man the ape receive equal credit.
“The Flying Gorilla Menace!” (Strange Adventures #125, February 1961) was written by Gardner F. Fox. Giant, flying apes come to Earth from a passing asteroid and begin destroying missiles and planes. Turns out aliens from Acrix have fled the apes. One of them, who falls for a handsome scientist, helps create a fear gas. The gas scares the apes back to their asteroid.
“The Gorilla Witch!” (Strange Adventures #186, March 1966) was written by Dave Wood. A one-eyed man uses African sorcery to create a potion that gives apes intelligence. It also turns him into a gorilla (still has the eye patch). The apes form an army to take over but fail. The witch ape ends up in a cage in a zoo.
“The Apes With Bizarre Powers!” (Strange Adventures #198, March 1967) was written by an unknown author. By 1967, Strange Adventures was largely a superhero comic. In this one, there are flying fire apes to oppose our hooded hero.
“The Mod Gorilla Boss!” (Strange Adventures #201, June 1967) was written by an unknown author. Another superhero tale featuring Animal Man. This time we get a mob boss who is can turn himself into a gorilla. I miss the old days of evolution formula and time travel.
Conclusion
The DC ape villain transformed from these separate tales into the character of Gorilla Grodd in the The Flash comics beginning with The Flash #106 (May 1959). After 1959, the number of ape tales in Strange Adventures begins to fall. Maybe because the idea has been well used or because John Broome was funneling his ape energies into The Flash? No matter. The gorilla monster from the Pulps is well represented here. We have the brain-swap, the formula that devolves a man, time travel and even several aliens, both gorilla and non-gorilla. Strange Adventures, more than any other comic, was an extension of the old SF Pulps. That super-apes should be here is only appropriate.
