Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales: Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (#5)

As mentioned last time, this is the other Tarzan novel in my collection that I bought new back in the mid-80s. And the opening chapters did seem familiar to me, but I know I never finished it way back when. But I did finish it yesterday afternoon and...Wow, what a great story!

Based on the back cover copy and the front cover Neal Adams image, you're told that Tarzan is going to venture back to the City of Opar and lose his memory, returning to his pre-civilization savage ways (aka Jungle Tales of Tarzan [#6]). I was imagining that he would possibly get involved with the Priestess La in his tabula rasa condition, similar to the way Superman was cozying up to Amazing Grace on Apokolips early in John Byrne's run (Superman #3, Adventures of Superman #426 & Action Comics #586). Boy, was I wrong! The story goes through so many twists and turns, and while La does have more than a cameo, the title is apt because it's all about the jewels...

Can we pause for a minute and admire the beautiful composition of Neal's cover painting? It's a great example of foreshortening and perspective. The figure of Tarzan is surrounded by black, which goes with his blacked-out memory. He stoops in a more bestial pose, approaching menacingly with his flashing knife (drawn very small), which signifies a reduction in his full prowess. La stands in the spotlight, bathed in the rays of her Flaming God (the sun), but further enhanced by the frame of the dank corridor. Although her figure is small (perhaps unintentionally being honest about her role in the story), it perfectly captures her personality, being both attractive and dangerous. She's surrounded by her ape-like Priests (who she hates) cavorting in a dizzying circle, each eager to become her mate. It's simply brilliant!

Where was I...

If you gave the book a title based on what starts the adventure, you could call it "Tarzan Makes a Bad Investment." The Lord and Lady Greystoke (Yes, Jane appears in this story) are broke! Imagine he bet all his wealth that there'd be no Government shutdown...oops. He should have bought LEGOs. Lucky for Tarzan, he can just go to the nearest ATM for some wealth redistribution in his favor. Only it's 1916 (assuming that the published date is the timeframe of the story too), and there are no banks deep in the African jungle for him to rob, except for the secret cache of gold and jewels in the City of Opar. Yes, Tarzan will be stealing, but he justifies this as morally acceptable because they don't know or appreciate what they have anyway, and are just wasting it, having it lie around in the dark, when he could use it much more effectively. Does that make Tarzan a "progressive" or just an opportunist? Oh well, "Finders keepers".

Hey, if my spelling goes wonky in this post, it's because I had to turn off Grammarly, which was giving me the stink eye every time it disagreed with a phrase I was composing. It wasn't even letting me finish it first! I later had to (sorta) turn it back on to find the spelling errors, but it made me figure out the solution -- sheesh!

Tarzan's stock market skills may have started his adventure, but that wasn't the start of the book. He doesn't even appear in the first chapter. No, that is centered on a Belgian officer named Lt. Albert Werper, stuck in the Belgian Congo, where the heat and stress are getting to him. So, he up and shoots his commanding officer in a fit of madness; thus, destroying his life in an accidental instant. He flees into the jungle, knowing he'll be executed for his crime, and joins up with the Arab bandit, Achmet Zek, where he'll start doing a whole slew of illicit and debased things that would have shocked and abhorred him in his previous life. "You only live twice, Mr. Bond."

Achmet's enterprises are constantly being thwarted by Tarzan, so they embark on a plan where Werper will make "friendly" with the Greystokes (under the non de plume, M. Frecoult, a hopelessly lost French big game hunter) while staking the place out for Zek to raid later. His timing is good because Tarzan is about to depart for his journey to Opar to replenish his funds. Werper ends up following him in hopes of getting some treasure for himself. Tarzan is accompanied by his loyal band of Waziri warriors to help him carry the gold ingots back to his estate. The Waziri are black, and if you remember from novel #6, Tarzan hates blacks, but that was a particular evil cannibalistic tribe that killed his ape mother, Kala. So, Tarzan is not a racist! Nor is ERB, as this quote attests:

"[They] rode together at the head of the column, laughing and talking together in that easy familiarity which common interests and mutual respect breed between honest and intelligent men of any races."

As soon as Tarzan embarks on this journey, he strips down to his more comfortable attire (his loin cloth, knife, arrows, and spear) and takes to the trees. Spider-Man isn't the only guy who feels better when he's swinging. His venture into the vaults of Opar is successful...initially. His safari heads back with the gold, and Tarzan picks up a handful of jewels that he stows in a sack. But then, when he pauses to reminisce*, an earthquake causes a chunk of rock to strike Tarzan on the head, and he tumbles back into the treasure chamber and oblivion.

*Now, I picked this book, specifically to begin what I thought was a trilogy of Opar novels, thinking this was its first appearance. However, Tarzan's recollections seemed awfully vivid for an untold backstory, so off to Google I searched, and it turns out that he first visited Opar in book #2! (Oh, well.) And let's talk about Opar itself. Wasn't that the place where King Solomon got his finest gold? Well, kinda sorta...that was OPHIR, not OPAR, but still probably the inspiration.

1 Kings 9:26-28

King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

Werper was also in the treasure room when Tarzan was struck, hoping to scurry off with his own horde after Tarzan had left. Tarzan isn't completely bestial; he can converse fluently in French, English, and of course, Mangani (the ape language). The entrance has collapsed, so they now must traverse upward through the temple of Opar, something Tarzan would've avoided originally. They encounter La and her priests, who initially try to sacrifice Werper to their god. La really loves Tarzan and wants him to rule by her side, but he's not the least bit interested and doesn't even remember her. And she's the definition of a woman scorned.

One of the great things about these Tarzan novels is the interesting characters with complex motivations and conflicting emotions. La is no exception. She wants Tarzan, but also feels she must punish him for rejecting her. She might have been fine mating with one of her beastmen priests if she'd never met the perfect (looking) stranger.

Meanwhile, the Greystoke estate is ransacked, and the Waziri workers nearly all fight to the death, attempting to save Lady Jane. Only Mugambi survives (barely), but Jane is still captured. Jane is a very strong and capable woman, a fantastic female protagonist - worthy of Ripley herself, believe it or not. She's also beautiful and the desire of just about every male she encounters.

What follows is action on several fronts, with everyone trying to get something or something over on someone else. There's the gold, the jewels, and Jane. We have the Arabs, Werper, Abyssinians (Ethiopian warlords), Tarzan, La with her Oparians, and even some apes in disguise. People and objects pass back and forth like a game of hot potato. There are betrayals, backstabbing, misdirection, rescues, revenge, and almost-hads. It's quite a lot, but compellingly told. I don't want to spoil too much, and unfortunately, some of the fine details are starting to quickly fade, so you'll just have to read it yourself!

I loved the book, even though it was a little slow nearer to the beginning, but the last 30 pages -- very intense! I found the sentence structure more complex in some places, which made me need to reread passages, as I didn't quickly grasp all that was said at first. Sometimes reading Bible verses is the same way -- "What did I just read?" Anyway, you'll have trouble if you're a passive reader who's prone to skim. ERB's prose is rich; it's not utilitarian or overly direct (which can be cool too - see REH's Conan), instead it includes layers and commentary that flesh things out more without being wordy either.

And I really liked Werper's character arc and thought it was very convincing. There is an aspect of it that I might revisit in a future post (potential tease).

Well, four down, twenty to go -- I started book #9 last night!

Oh, I almost forgot (man, I'm tired) to show the comparison between my original 15th printing (1984) and the 18th printing (1990).