William L. Chester was not the first to “borrow” from Edgar Rive Burroughs but he was one of the better writers to create his own version of Tarzan. Kioga lives in a lost land in the Arctic. Chester substituted the forest and Native Americans for Tarzan’s jungle climes. Kirkus Review said of the first book: “Mad tale, in the Mowgli-Tarzan tradition. But good escape reading for the seekers.” The four novels appeared in All-Story‘s competitor Blue Book, which was the best illustrated of the general pulps. The first novel was made into a 12-part serial Hawk of the Wilderness starring Herman Brix, who had played Tarzan. Brix changed his name to the more anglophonic Bruce Bennett. It was re-issued for TV as Lost Island of Kioga.
1. Hawk of the Wilderness (Blue Book, April -September 1935)
2. Kioga of the Wilderness (Blue Book, April – October 1936)
3. One Against a Wilderness (Blue Book, March – August 1937)
4. Kioga of the Unknown Land (Blue Book, March – July 1938)
Illustrations by Jeremy Cannon
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) starring Bruce Bennett
