Saturday, May 9, 2009

Tarzan's Origin By Joe!


I finished reading Tarzan's origin story yet again. This time it was the comic book version rendered magnificently by Joe Kubert for DC many decades ago. When DC got the Tarzan contract from Gold Key, I was thrilled.


I liked Gold Key's version but I didn't get it regularly, and DC's renditon under Kubert immediately convinced me that the Apeman was a much more dangerous fellow than I'd fist believed from seeing Gold Key's sleek model. Here was a dark-eyed creature, not always human in those glances he snaked out from the grim jungle foliage. I was floored, but somehow or other I didn't get another issue of the comic until after the origin story was finished.


Even then my Tarzan buying was erratic. I was a devoted Marveloid and my money for other things was limited though later I did follow the adaptation of my favorite Tarzan story ever from the sequel The Return of Tarzan. Years later I gathered up the remaining chapters of the origin story and have filled in issues here and there, but I've never had them all.


Then I picked up the archives from Dark Horse on Amazon and I'm in deep. The colors are vivid, though frankly I think Kubert's work is well-served by the somewhat dimmer veneer of classic comic book pages. The story wasn't as I remembered it, since it was revised somewhat to feature an adult Tarzan in the debut issue, not an unreasonable thing to do. Eventually we get most of the classic love story.


It's a great read. I recommend it highly of course.


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