Customer Reviews

Tarzan: Jewels of Opar

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having been a big, big Russ Manning fan as a kid I was delighted to find that there were high quality paperbacks of his work available. I ordered Tarzan In The Land That Time Forgot and Tarzan And The Jewels Of Opar at the same time. I got a real shock when they arrived because the printing in Jewels Of Opar was very dark. Every page looked like the scene was supposed to be set at night. The Land That Time Forgot was normal, realistic colour. I wrote to Dark Horse and asked them to replace it with a proper copy, but they wrote back and said they didn't have a proper one to supply because the whole print run got screwed up. I am a big dark Horse fan and I think they do exceptional work (Jim Silke's art is priceless) and I have since bought Tarzan of the Apes - Russ Manning's treatment of the first ERB novel - and Tarzan The Untamed - Manning's treatment of the seventh ERB novel. They are all absolutely fantastic (except the flaw in the print job on Jewels Of Opar). Russ Manning's sleek lines, eye for detail, and vibrant dynamism combined with ERB's colourful and exotic imagination are a delight. Queen La of Opar is pretty sexy dressed in a two piece leopard skin outfit and she is very hot for our poor amnesiac hero. She probably would have looked even cuter if her skin had been pink instead of ashen grey.

Only 4 stars because of the "print" problem which the other reviewers mentioned. I still have the original Gold Key comics, so I can verify that this reissue does indeed have a color problem. Nevertheless, if you are a Russ Manning fan these are all worth getting. The color's off, but the detail is still amazing. I have also just ordered the Magnus Robot Fighter volumes which he also drew, and pre-ordered Volume 3. I thank Dark Horse Comics for reissuing these masterpieces, and am hoping Russ Manning's "Korak" series is next. When these came out in 1966 or so, I was 11. I'd get my 25 cent a week allowance and buy a comic book at the little drug store (which had an ice cream counter) and a bag of french fries at the McDonalds across the street ("over a million sold!"). Wonderful memories for me, and to get these reissues is magical. Of all the hundreds of comic books that eventually disappeared from my collection when I was a kid, I still have the Tarzan and Magnus comics - I considered them (even then when I was a squirt) to be works of art.

I always loved Russ Manning's artwork when I was a comic collector. It's a shame that he died so young and before he really received the credit for his great artwork that he so deserved. And the problem was, in the sixties and seventies it was often hard to find. "Magnus," his futuristic series was published quarterly and so I could only look forward it four times a year. His Tarzan work was more plentiful, but even so, Gold Key Comics apparently did not have the greatest distribution in the world so I often would miss an issue. Thankfully, Dark Horse is collecting some of Manning's work on Tarzan in this volume and others like it.

This volume contains two adaptations of one of the best stories: "Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar." This is an extremely faithful adaptation. My only complaint is that the printing was very dark, which kind of hid the lush, beautiful artwork of Russ Manning. Another reviewer complained of this same problem so it must be common for the entire print run.

The Jewels of Opar is a very well written book, and is a definate must for any Tarzan fan. Tarzan is at peak performance in this book, in which he must revisit Opar. Any Fantasy reader will not be disappointed. Although having read the previous Tarzan novel is helpful, you need not have to enjoy this wonderful book.

Product description, price and fast service were all Great, earning Five Stars!

Regarding the book itself, it has an wonderful cover by Mark Schultz and the sumptuous interior art is by the inimitable Russ Manning. Buy It.