Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 2 (v. 2) [Hardcover]

Joe Kubert (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2006 | Series: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years (Book 2)

A stunning, five-part adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Return of Tarzan highlights this archival collection, which reprints Joe Kubert's Tarzan comics, issues #215 through #224. With color restoration based off of Tatjana Wood's original colors, this beautiful hardcover is a must-have for fans of pulse-pounding adventure tales and students of the graphic narrative. 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 engaging pages of his career. Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 2, also includes "Death is My Brother," "The Renegades," "The Black Queen" and other dynamic stories inspired by Burroughs' classic books.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Joe Kubert's superb run on Tarzan in the early 1970s continues its superb (though expensive) reprint series from Dark Horse. Volume 2 encompasses issues 215-224, all written and illustrated by Kubert (except for partial issues pencilled by Hal Foster and Frank Thorne) with even greater confidence than the issues captured in volume 1. Man's inhumanity, either to his fellow man or to nature, is a common theme in issues such as "The Renegades," in which a band of thieves masquerades as Africans in order to loot treasure from the City of the Dead, or "The Trophy," in which a big-game hunter finds the tables turned. The centerpiece of the volume, just as it was with volume 1, is a multi-issue adaptation of an original Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. The Return of Tarzan is a sweeping five-issue saga in which Tarzan, in order to dispel the memory of Jane Porter, travels to Paris and then to the Algerian desert, continually crossing paths with the villainous Nicholas Rokoff. Eventually he travels to the fabled forbidden city of Opar, where he meets the high priestess La, a plot line that Kubert continued in an original story in the last issue of this volume. --David Horiuchi

From Publishers Weekly

Best known for his work on Sgt. Rock, Kubert has lent his lean, gritty skills to a number of popular titles over the years, including this legendary run on Tarzan in the 1970s. This second volume of reprints is chock-full of entertaining and appropriately over-the-top action, from shark wrestling and treasure hunting to, well, ape wrestling. There is even a complete five-issue story arc based upon Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Return of Tarzan, featuring the hero in his cheetah-print underwear gallivanting around Europe. Tarzan himself is a classically satisfying hero, combining an unwavering sense of honor with sheer animal ferocity—not to mention a knack for getting captured that rivals only Batman's. Kubert's slightly hammy prose is always entertaining, and his use of thick, solid black lines lends a thrilling expressionist element to every panel. Contrasted with the volume's crisp color reproductions (based on Tatjana Woods's original colors), the stark shading techniques stand well apart from most of today's adventure titles—especially in the cover illustrations, all of which are included here. Kubert's Tarzan is the ideal entertainment for a lazy afternoon, and this collection finds the artist and his hero at their best. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593074166
• ISBN-13: 978-1593074166
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,358,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPERB KUBERT REPRINTS CONTINUE!, May 25, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 2 (v. 2) (Hardcover)

The second volume collecting the Tarzan comics of Joe Kubert reprints issues 215 - 224 of the run originally published by National Periodical Publications AKA DC Comics. Although DC comics is never named and even the DC logo has been removed off the cover reprints. The legendary Joe Kubert not only drew the books, but he wrote, edited, and even lettered most of them himself...talk about a one man band! Kubert was born to draw Tarzan. Clearly his earlier work on Hawkman in the golden age showed be had the technique to handle high adventure and action and he doesn't disappoint. His distinctive, fluid style lends itself to Tarzan's power and grace. As mentioned, Kubert illustrated all of the stories in this collection with the exception of issue number 216 that was handled by Frank Thorne, best known for his work on Marvel's Red Sonja.

The highlight of this book is the five part adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' story, "The Return of Tarzan." This was Burroughs' second Tarzan novel that first saw print way back in 1915 in the pages of New Story Magazine. This global-spanning adventure stretches from Paris, to Algeria and back to Africa where Tarzan has to rescue Jane from the primitives of the Lost City of Opar. Kubert's adaptation was very faithful to the original story.

Other stories in this volume include:

"The Mine", where Tarzan encounters a group of slavers who are forcing the natives to work in mines against their will. Tarzan demands the slaves be freed but soon he's overwhelmed and finds himself trapped in the mines with the rest of the slaves and has to lead them on a harrowing escape.

In "The Renegades" a group of white men disguise themselves as African natives to stage a brutal attack on a missionary hospital to steal supplies. The men are treasure hunters out to loot the tomb of a lost city and Tarzan is out for revenge. "Renegades" contains some Indiana Jones type elements in a story that was written many years before "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was release.

"The Trophy" finds a wealthy big game hunter who journeys to Africa to appease his boredom. He recklessly hunts and kills several animals and then sets his sights on Tarzan's black lion companion Numa. But Tarzan soon turns the tables and the hunter becomes the hunted.

Kubert provides an introduction to the book and gives the reader some valuable insight into the development of the stories. The book also provides a brief biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Outstanding work! This is the essence of pure adventurism and one of literature's most beloved characters. Many thanks go to Dark Horse Comics for keeping this material in print for a new generation of fans to enjoy.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best comics ever created, July 30, 2008

By 

Andromeda "Palimino" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Volume 2 (v. 2) (Hardcover)

This book reprints the middle of Kurbert's DC run on Tarzan. Dark Horse does an excellent job on the reproductions of these classic comics. They do not use glossy paper, but a paper akin to that used in the DC archives, which gives a much closer look to the original comics, and avoids that awful sheen that does a disservice to the original art. The reprint colorist also does a very good job.

This collection includes a story that Kubert did with Hal Foster, and it is interesting to compare the two masters, tho stylistically they are different, but who cares, it's a rare thing to see Foster and Kubert side-by-side. The collection includes Kubert's adaptation of "The Return of Tarzan," which he did an excellent job on. I almost like it better than the novel. Kubert's work on Tarzan is good solid adventure story telling, not to deep thematically, but more literate than most action comics, and his plots avoid illogical turns. His stories are well paced, well structured, have no gaping holes, balance action and idyllic nature scenes, are peppered with beautiful women, and are full of realistically drawn exotic animals.

Kubert writes an informative introduction to this volume. Kubert reveals that while he was working on Tarzan he was taking figure drawing classes, so he could sharpen his skills. The figure work on Tarzan was a highlight of the comic, especially the way he used hatch marks to shape musculature. And no one can draw a jungle as lush as Kubert. The scenery is almost magical - the trees are living behemoths. Kubert made it seem completely plausible that Tarzan could travel in the trees much faster than a person could walk on the ground, and yet never lost the flavor of realism that the strip needed to stay vibrant. The upper story of the forest that Kubert illustrates is a complex world with a strong latticework of massive tree trunks and limbs.

Kubert's use of blacks is impressive, and adds to the lushness of the design. His trees seem alive because of the use of blacks. Dark Horse realizes the importance of having a deep, rich black tone for Joe's work, and they provide in their reproductions by using a rich black ink. Kubert also is highly imaginative in his design of the lost city of Opar, and in fact, in all the lost cities that come up in the Tarzan comics, with a good mix of classic ancient austerity and ornate details.

All three of Dark Horse's volumes feature good reproductions and informative Introductions, containing incredible work by Kubert, some fine yeoman work by Frank Thorne, and interesting guests like Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth. I highly recommend all of these volumes.