"The Germ of Righteousness" and Balancing the Scales

Yesterday, I mentioned that there was something about Albert Werper's character arc that I wanted to expound upon.  And thanks to waking up early, and it finally being the weekend for me, I can give it a go. However, I'll have to provide more *spoiler* details about the story to do so, which means if you're inclined to read Tarzan #5, you might want to skip this post for now.

The Poet by todd webb (2025 Oct 02)

 

Happy 75th Anniversary Peanuts!

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Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (#5) - Edgar Rice Burroughs

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...

Tarzan and the Lion Man (#17) - Edgar Rice Burroughs

You've heard it said, "You can't judge a book by its cover".  Well, I can now say that the picture is fairly accurate, but what on earth does that have to do with the title?  This is one of two Tarzan books that I bought new from a bookstore sometime around high school (1984 printing), and I've always wondered about the incongruity.  That's because I never got around to reading it, but boy does it look nice still.  I figured the Lion Man must be this Gorilla-creature with the Don King haircut, thinking that the tawny colored hair was the only thing that could possibly relate to a lion. Having finished it last night, I now know the truth...

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) - Recommended!

 

Not going to say much, other than my wife and I really enjoyed this film today.  Nice romance with Twilight Zone vibes.  Recommended.  (Also beautiful colors and great accompanying music.)  Really, the only caution I'd give is the generous use of the F-word.

Bad Influences

 

Obviously, there's a story behind this...

Tarzan and the City of Gold (#16) - Edgar Rice Burroughs

 

The Tarzan wave continues!  I finished my second book, Tarzan and the City of Gold (#16) two nights ago.  Originally, published serially in 1932, this book comes 10 volumes after the last one I talked about.  For me it's been nearly two weeks, but for ERB (as a writer), a full 15 years has passed.  I have to admit I approached it with some trepidation, really wondering if I would still enjoy Tarzan out of his normal jungle context.  And the first sentence wasn't helping any...