Marvel Super Special #29: Tarzan of the Apes

Spring 1983 - I thought we'd talk about another, more famous, jungle hero who starred in their own Marvel Super Special--Tarzan of the Apes!

This particular choice of subject confuses me a bit--not why they chose Tarzan, one of the most famous fictional characters in history, but what exactly was the purpose of this story appearing in this book.

By Marvel Super Special #14, the series devoted itself entirely to movie adaptations good (Raiders of the Lost Ark), bad (Xanadu), and ugly (Howard the Duck). This particular Tarzan story was obviously tied to the then-bold idea behind Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan movie (sort of a Tarzan Begins for those who have never seen it).

But its not a straight adaptation of the movie--this is Tarzan's origin story, no more, and it never goes near any of the other events in the movie. Maybe Marvel figured all the talk talk talk of the second half of the movie wouldn't work as a comic, so they just went for the action and excitement-filled origin story.

In any case, they couldn't have picked a better team--they got Mark Evanier and Sharman DiVono to adapt Edgar Rice Burroughs' story, and Evanier's frequent collaborator Dan Spiegle to do the art. They also hired another frequent Evanier partner, Jo Meugniot, to do the color, which as we'll see in a moment, made for a gorgeous-looking book.

Most everyone knows the basic elements of Tarzan's origin story, so there's no real need to hit every detail here. But the story opens aboard the sailing vessel the Fuwalda, with the aristocrats Lord and Lady Greystoke aboard, along with some classic scurvy pirates.

Spielgle renders these guys perfectly, with deep, creviced faces, so they all look like woodcuts:

"...arr, me hearties!"

Anyway, there's a mutiny, a fight, some gunshots, and the Greystokes are left stranded on a remote island, all alone. Or are they?:

The Greystokes try and survive on the island, scrounging around for food and shelter. They're pretty good at it, and eventually have a son.

Two deaths then occur simultaneously--Lord Alice passes away, and a tragic accident claims the life of the great ape Kala's baby, leaving her heartbroken.

Kala hears the young baby's cries for food, and the apes investigate, and Lord Greystoke is killed. Kala takes the baby in her arms, and begins to care for it, even giving it a name:

Tarzan grows up, learning to survive in the jungle, never realizing he isn't one of them. When he discovers his parents' cabin, he begins to attempt to read their books and learn of these strange beings.

When a fight for dominance breaks out between Kala and another ape named Tublat, Tarzan takes him on and kills him, declaring to all that can hear that he is a great killer and to be respected, breaking out first famous Tarzan yell, the first of many.

Jo Meugniot's coloring is on the mark--sometimes we lush, beautiful greens and reds, other times using moody softer tones that mesh perfectly with Spiegle's art:

I particularly love this sequence, too; Spiegle's layout and Meugniot's coloring are perfect. I love the abstract white tree used as a way to frame the various actions:

Tarzan meets another like him, and sees that he is more like this tribesman than his ape brethren, and starts to learn to read and talk English.

Tarzan then fights and kills the mighty lion Sabor, who has preyed upon the apes for a long time. Using a bow and arrow stolen from the tribe, he kills Sabor, and declares himself mightiest of all.

The ape Kerchak challenges that claim, but Tarzan kills him, making him the Lord of the Apes:

...that's how the book ends, a fine a spot as any.

The whole package is really quite good, writers Evanier and DiVono hitting all the significant moments in the story, and like I said the art and coloring are top-notch (and I haven't even mentioned the gorgeous cover by Charles Ren!).

A fine addition to the canon of Tarzan comics.