Jungle Tales of Tarzan (#6) - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Well, I've kept you waiting long enough.  Those who've been faithfully following this latest resuscitation of Comics And... no longer need endure sleepless nights in anxious suspense.  I can now finally reveal the mystery Tarzan novel I hinted at two weeks ago.  

Deepest, darkest African Cannibalistic Tribe drumroll please...  

Jungle Tales of Tarzan

Did anyone guess?  Probably not.  You only had 12 to choose from out of the 24 novels, which you can view in all their Neal Adams and Boris Vallejo cover glory here.

I finished the book just over a week ago and have been eager to write about it ever since.  Let's take a swan dive past a towering tropical waterfall and plunge into its textural depths.

Of the 8 (now 9) Tarzan novels in my collection (turns out I'm missing 3 Adams covers), I picked this one because it most closely coincided with scenes depicted in a large portion of the 1984 Greystoke movie.  Here was a young, unattached, savage Tarzan, untouched by civilized man.  I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this return foray into the exploits of ERB's jungle hero.  

I know I've at least read the first novel, and maybe the second (his origin stories) [decades ago!], and I've dabbled in various Tarzan extensions like Russ Manning's newspaper strips, Joe Kubert's & John Buscema's DC & Marvel Comic adaptations, and Filmation's late70s cartoon.  And I remember seeing some old B&W movies when I briefly lived in Kansas (which Tarzan I was watching I'm not entirely certain, but I'm pretty sure it included the signature yell, Jane, Boy, and Cheetah [the chimp] - Weissmuller, perhaps?).  So while I've long had a fondness for the Jungle Lord, I've been a casual fan at best, not having delved deeply into the original texts. 

There's a reason why Tarzan became so popular.  Sure, commercialization helped cement his stature in 20th Century Pop Culture History (I'm guessing greatly diminished now over 100 years later - from pop to niche).  But none of that existed initially, only words on a serialized page, which is evidence of Edgar Rice Burrough's skillful imagination and writing.

A quick "musing" aside, if you'll indulge me.  I'm really enjoying reading (almost) voraciously again, something I never thought I'd recapture from my teen years.  Turns out you just have to pick up a book!  Who knew?  I find reading before bed is the best time.  But I noticed when finishing John Wyndham's short story collection last night, that much of my reading enjoyment comes from a lifetime exposure to TV and movies!  I wouldn't be able to visualize most of the descriptions and scenes, if I didn't have that background context. Crazy, huh?  TV helps you read (and not in the Sesame Street/Electric Company way).  "Okay, Class.  Your assignment tonight, is one Twilight Zone episode and two chapters of our book."  Maybe I'll share that tidbit with my English teacher son-in-law.

You get a similar thrill when reading the original 007 Ian Fleming novels.  (I reread them all after a 35 year gap a few years ago and Man, are they good.)  However, much like Fleming, ERB's writing in the late 1910s includes language, depictions, and attitudes that are of a bygone era, which may not be tolerable for some modern audiences.  I'm not much for political correctness, but when the main protagonist reviles "The Blacks" as ignorant savages (a superstitious cannibalistic tribe), and worse - demeaning them as inferior, etc., I feel I must issue a disclaimer.  Not only that but the narrator also references the "high breeding" of Tarzan's English forebears as the source of his intelligence.  Even I find it a bit off-putting.  In Tarzan's defense, the Gomangani did murder his beloved (ape) mother, Kala, earning them his everlasting hatred and scorn.

The novel consists of 12 chapters and there is a connective narrative throughout, but the chapters also serve as short stories with each having a natural ending versus a cliffhanger. This is most likely the result of the original serialized publication, but I'm very curious if the "regular" novels will be similar in anyway. I'll remark on the various tales below, but if you want a more comprehensive summary, I suggest you visit this site. 

The traditional origin story consist of his parents' shipwreck, the death of his father at the hands of Kerchak, his meeting with Jane, and discovery that he's an English Lord.  These tales detail his "true" Origin, dealing with the formation of Tarzan's personality and character.  While still being adventurous, we see Tarzan's struggles with understanding the world around him beyond just the things seen in the physical world. We also see his full savagery, such as when he sinks his teeth into his prey!

"Tarzan's First Love"

Tarzan experiences his first crush, and it's for a she-ape in his tribe named Teeka.  But he has a rival suitor for her attentions, Taug, a former childhood playmate, now turned sullen bull-ape.

Tarzan's attraction for Teeka is totally credible, given his love for his mother, and his belief that he too is an ape.  However, by the end he understands that he is a man, echoing some of the feelings Adam had in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2:18-20

"The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found."

"The Capture of Tarzan"

Tarzan unconsciously gets captured by the native tribe he hates; who both fear and revere him.  "This is a job for Tanor!" The elephant.

This story depicts of one of Tarzan's classic film abilities, communicating with certain animals, which nearly obey him.  Every animal has the same name for their particular class (all Lions are called "Numa"), except apes; they have unique names.

The verse above goes well with this story too.

"The Fight for the Balu"

Tarzan risks his life against a panther to save the child (Balu) of Teeka and Taug.  The outcome not only brings victory but understanding.

Tarzan's motives are often misconstrued by his tribe, which can lead to humorous (Taug's dangling punishment) or tragic (Balu's peril) results.

"The God of Tarzan"

Tarzan discovers God.

As part of ERB's world building, we learn how Tarzan "reads" the books his parents left behind.  The final sentence makes this a teachable and profound classic.

"Tarzan and the Black Boy"

Tarzan abducts a boy (Tibo) from the nearby village so he can have his own Balu, eventually incurring the worship of some and the wrath of others.  

First appearance of the witch-doctor, Bukawai, whose face is half-eaten away from leprosy.  Despite being a sharp-toothed savage, Momaya's fierce loyalty to her son is something to behold.  The start of a mini-trilogy.

"The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengence"

Bukawai kidnaps Tibo to his liar of hyenas to extort payment from the tribe, but Tarzan ruins his plans.

We learn about the inner workings of Mbonga's tribe and the motivations of several side characters.  A compelling read even though Tarzan only appears at the beginning and end of the tale.

"The End of Bukawai"

The flashback origin of Tarzan's grass rope allows him to turn the tables against the arch-fiend.

ERB's fear equals hatred theme is masterfully played out.

"The Lion"

Tarzan gains keen insight when his practical joke backfires painfully.

Tarzan may be fearless, but he can make costly mistakes.  We get so much more than just action as Tarzan is always pondering things.

"The Nightmare"

Tarzan makes a poor food choice which leads to a crazy dream.

Intense dream sequences can often be storytelling cop-outs (Bobby Ewing), but here Tarzan must wrestle with unreal perceptions for the first time.

"The Battle for Teeka"

The lesson learned from "The Lion" is forgotten, and Teeka falls victim to wandering bull-ape (Toog), who desires to make her his mate.

Epic ape battles and blasts from the past.

"The Jungle Joke"

Tarzan dons the Lion skin again to torment the Gomangani, before pulling the ultimate switcheroo.

Entertaining, but Tarzan is a little too cruel here.

"Tarzan Rescues the Moon"

Tarzan must fight against members of his own tribe after defending a brave Gomangani warrior, but in the process elevates his stature among them.

Tarzan is shown to have the ability to transcend his own prejudices.  A satisfying conclusion of all the tales, pulling various threads together and establishing a solid foundation for future adventures.

Okay, I have to admit that trying to remember highlights of what I liked in each story was more of a chore that I wanted it to be.  But this book is so good that I felt I had to reveal some of the gems inside.  One of the things I like about blogging again is sharing these thoughts and opinions, because otherwise they're just stuck in my head and I'll eventually forget them, making the experiences more ephemeral and somehow less worthy of my time.

I just barely started another novel, Tarzan and The City of Gold (#16), last night. I waited until I could start writing this post as I didn't want the new story to crowd out the old.  However, I'm a little leery that the other novels won't measure up, and fearful that I may have already wiped out on the Tarzan wave.  I hope not.  We'll see.