Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 3 [Hardcover]

Joe Kubert (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2006 | Series: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years (Book 3)

Writing, drawing and editing a monthly Tarzan comic-book series in the 1970s, Joe Kubert was able to illustrate the adventures of his childhood hero and produce some of the most inspiring pages of his career. Dark Horse Books is proud to present this final collection in a series of Joe Kubert's complete Tarzan comics. Joe Kubert's Tarzan Volume Three features an incredible, four-part adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1934 adventure novel, Tarzan and the Lion Man. Tarzan attempts to protect two beautiful actresses and a Hollywood production crew from the many dangers lurking in Africa's jungles... and from a deranged geneticist who calls himself "God." This volume also includes six pages of Kubert's original Tarzan notes and thumbnails from the early 1970s, the Tarzan stories "Moon Beast," "The Magic Herb," and "Ice Jungle," and a Korak, Son of Tarzan, tale, "Leap into Death," which was inked by Russ Heath.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the last 10, early 1970s issues of Tarzan that Kubert wrote and illustrated, the ape-man aids a young tribesman during his test of manhood, faces off a fierce moon beast that is plaguing a village, is captured by pygmies to sacrifice to a prehistoric lizard creature, and helps a brother and sister searching for a rare, lifesaving jungle herb. Also, in a four-issue-spanning adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan and the Lion Man, Tarzan secretly replaces a look-alike actor portraying a jungle king in an on-location movie shoot. Although most closely associated with war comics, Kubert seems born to illustrate Tarzan. His gritty, full-bodied style is as suited for the tooth-and-claw jungle milieu as it is for the World War II battlegrounds of Sgt. Rock. Thanks to Kubert's artistry--and that of Russ Manning, who drew Tarzan for Gold Key Comics before DC acquired rights to the character--the ape-man retained his viability in comics long after movies, TV, and other media had virtually abandoned him. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593074174
• ISBN-13: 978-1593074173
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Joe Kubert jumps ahead to an adaptation of "Tarzan and the Lion Man" for Volume 3, August 3, 2006

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Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 3 (Hardcover)

The good news is that for Volume 3 of "Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years," editor-writer-artist Joe Kubert adapts another one of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels. The bad news is that it is not one of my favorites. "Tarzan and the Lion Man" was the 17th of the Tarzan novels and while it afforded the opportunity for ERB to lash back at what Hollywood did to his creation, the story has to do with an actor who is a Tarzan look-alike and talking apes that talk English. This one is a lot more like ERB's science fiction stories than his usual jungle adventures for the Lord of the Jungle, and while it is a faithful adaptation, it is not one of ERB's best. Volume three includes issues #224, #226-235 (#226 was an issue illustrated by Russ Manning), and while there are plenty of good stories here, this collection does not have anything great enough to justify rounding up this time like I did with the previous volume:

But before we get to the adaptation there are a bunch of one-shot stories: "Moon Beast" (#225), with one of my favorite Kubert covers (a cobra coming out of the eye socket of a skull), finds a strange creature terrorizing the village of B'tunga. Zohar, the medicine man, tries to convince chief Mengo that Tarzan is the Moon Beast. The trial to find out consists of Tarzan being tossed in the viper pit, but that is not exactly how things work out. "Ice Jungle" (#227) has Tarzan decided to be the unseen guardian for you Tulum, the son of Chief Zama, who must go the ice jungle and return with the necklace of fire. Along the way they run into J. Pellington Stone, III, a rich kid sent on safari by his father to become a man, and a tribe of snow apes. "Trial by Blood" (#228) is a bad day for Tarzan. The vine he is swinging on breaks and drops him in front of a saber-tooth tiger, and then he is captured by a tribe of pygmies that want to sacrifice him to a terrible lizard. "The Game" (#229) begins with Tarzan playing a practical joke on some of his great apes, and then becoming part of a more deadly game by Zorina, the albino queen who wants the pale-skinned Tarzan (which is "white skin" in the language of the great apes) to do her evil bidding. Fat chance, lady. After a little introduction of Tarzan musing about one day having a son, "Leap Into Death" (#230) tells a story of Korak, the son of Tarzan, pencilled by Kubert but inked by Russ Heath (if you did not ee the credit you would never think it was Kubert's pencils).

Then we get to the featured story of Volume 3, a multi-part adaptation of ERB's novel "Taran and the Lion-Man." Part One (#231) begins with Tarzan rescuing Stanley Obroski from Hollywood, U.S.A., who was taken by narratives when filming "Lion Man" in the jungles. Obroski not only plays the title character, he looks a lot like Tarzan, which is going to come into play in this story. Meanwhile, the women of the film, female lead Naomi Madison and stand-in Rhonda Terry, have been captured by El-Ghrennem, who thinks the fake map from the movie will actually lead to the Valley of Diamonds. Part Two (#232) has the women captures by apes that speak English and are ruled by an insane English scientist who thinks he is god. At this point everybody thinks that Tarzan is Stanley, so the women are really going to be impressed by him, but really surprised too. Part Three (#233) is the out of the frying pan and into the fire as we go from "God" and his talking apes threatening the damsels in distress to a blonde-haired wild man. Part Four (#234) wraps up the story and gets to the ironic ending for poor Stanley Obroski. Finally we have "The Magic Herb" (#235), where Tarzan rescues a brother and sister, Tommy and Gail, whose small plane crashes in the jungle. Tommy is a victim of a rare disease and they are looking for a medicinal herb that grows somewhere in this area of Africa. The next thing we know there are lizard people standing between them and the flower, and there is something about the siblings that makes them seem untrustworthy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC 3RD VOLUME OF CLASSIC KUBERT, July 24, 2006

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Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 3 (Hardcover)

Joe Kubert has worked on a myriad of titles throughout his fifty plus years in the comic book industry but he's perhaps best remembered for his legendary work on Hawkman. However if you had to press me to pick my favorite Kubert work I'd have to say it was his work on Tarzan for DC comics in the 1970's. Kubert continued on a proud legacy of great artists on Tarzan that included Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth. Kubert may even be considered the definitive Tarzan artist. His work was ingrained with a sense of wonder and adventure that was also notable in his Hawkman work. Kubert seemed born to draw Tarzan. His style was so powerful and dynamic--a perfect fit for the "Lord of the Jungle".

This is the third volume reprinting Kubert's classic work and published by Dark Horse Comics. This volume, in archive format, features issues #225, and 227 - 235 of the Tarzan series from DC Comics from 1973 to 1975. Kubert is the writer, artist, and letterer on all of the stories. A true one man army! In issue #225, the B'Tunga tribe is plagued by the Moonbeast that comes during the night, killing the villagers. The tribe's medicine man Zohar blames Tarzan for the killings, hoping to gain control of the tribe from the current chieftain.

Issue #227 features "The Ice Jungle". A young warrior must prove his manhood by undergoing a rite that will take him to the mysterious Ice Jungle in search of the Necklace of Fire. Tarzan follows along to make sure the young man is safe.

Issue #228, "Trial by Fire" finds Tarzan capture by a race of Pygmy warriors. Tarzan and two Pygmy maidens are taken to an area outside of a great wall, much like the one from King Kong, to be sacrificed to the beast, a dinosaur like creature. Obviously influenced by "King Kong".

Issue #230 was the first of a run of 100 issue spectaculars that DC ran in most of it's books around 1974 & 1975. It was one of my favorite DC eras. These 100 page books contained a main story, a back-up feature, and also two or three golden age reprints of characters like Congo Bill and Detective Chimp. Of course, those are not reprinted in this Archive edition, but they are still great issues if you can find them. The book does reprint a story of Korak, Son of Tarzan with art by Kubert and Russe Heath.

Issues 231 - 234 reprint an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' story "Tarzan & the Lion Man". Tarzan meets an actor who looks remarkably like him who is in Africa to shoot a film where he plays the Lion Man. This vast, 78 page tale features a race of talking, intelligent apes and a blonde-haired jungle man that challenges Tarzan in a battle to the death! Wonderful story.

Kubert again provides an introduction to this volume. Simply magnificent! We should all bow down to Dark Horse for reprinting these fabulous stories!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tarzan: The Joe Kubert years, December 1, 2007

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J. Cassara "Kirby guy" (Asheville NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 3 (Hardcover)

Excellent packaging and reproduction of great material. After Foster and Hogarth, Kubert is the finest artist ever to illustrate the Jungle King. Thanks to Dark Horse for releasing these!