Superman/Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle (Superman and Tarzan) (Paperback)

~ Chuck Dixon (Author), Carlos Meglia (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A tiny space-pod rocketing from a doomed, little-known world crash-lands in mysterious East Africa, interrupting a vicious mutiny off the jungle coast. Who would know that this single anomalous event would disrupt the known course of time and space? It sets the lives of two legendary comic-book heroes — Superman and Tarzan — on very different paths. Orphaned Kal-El, last survivor of Krypton, is now the one raised by apes to become the mighty Lord of the Jungle. John Greystoke, heir to fortune and privilege, now becomes an adventuring wastrel draped in luxury, but not fulfillment. Fate will draw these men together in unexpected ways at the mythical lost city of Opar. Each man will face great danger, and discover his true destiny! Both heroes will be changed forever if they survive!

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (October 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569717613
• ISBN-13: 978-1569717615
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #789,710 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Otherworldly Jungle Action, September 12, 2002

By	Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Late 19th century: Aboard the ship FUWALDA a mutiny takes place that endangers the lives of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke of England, and his wife Lady Alice, who is pregnant. Black Michael, leader of the mutinying crew, is going to spare their lives and put them out on the harsh coast of East Africa, but at the last minute a falling star hurtles through the night-black sky and dissuades the superstitious sailors from such a barbarous act. The ship sails on to Capetown. Deep in the heart of the impenetrable jungle, a band of great apes discovers the tiny rocket ship and its child passenger. Kala, a mother ape who recently lost a child of her own, adopts the baby and names him Argo-Zan, which means Fire-Skin. All through his growing years, Argo-Zan exhibits strange powers that make him the lord of the jungle. He survives the death of his mother beneath the claws of a leopard, and learns of his alien origins from some mysterious place of hairless apes called Krypton. Finding no home among the great apes, Argo-Zan goes in search of his own kind. In England, John Clayton struggles to fit in himself. He doesn't feel like he belongs in the landed gentry and can't quite come to peace with himself-until the day he meets Jason Gridley, an explorer and inventor that is putting together an expedition to find the remains of a lost Roman colony deep within the jungles of East Africa. There, in the lost city of Opar, these two sons of the jungle will meet fate and love.

Chuck Dixon is a prolific comics author. He's scripted the ROBIN, NIGHTWING, and BIRDS OF PREY monthly comics series for years, and had stints on THE PUNISHER, MARVEL KNIGHTS, GREEN ARROW, BATGIRL, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, AIRBOY, and ALIEN LEGION. At present he is writing the WAY OF THE RAT monthly comic from CrossGen, as well as SCION and CRUX. Carlos Meglia has done work on SPYBOY, STAR WARS, and ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was the king of the action adventure story back in his day. TARZAN OF THE APES was published in 1912. Dixon plays homage to Tarzan's roots and world by keeping the timeframe of his graphic novel centered at that time. Dixon also plays fairly with Superman, whose sense of fair play, honesty, and honor come through despite his savage surroundings. At first glance, pairing the Man of Steel with the Lord of the Jungle might not seem natural or yet even possible, Dixon puts the overall story together well. Burroughs himself had a sense of the fantastic, and the stories he wrote about John Carter of Mars, David Innes of Pellucidar and Carson Napier of Venus-all men who journeyed to distant worlds (except for Pellucidar because it's at the core of the hollow earth)-seem well in keeping with Dixon's treatment of this similar theme. The stories of Clayton and Argo-Zan stay within the mythos of both heroes, and they come together in Opar, the home of Princess La, surely the most sultry and seductive woman Burroughs ever brought to the printed page. Dixon also captures the essence of the time period, reflected in Clayton's journeys around the world and his father's desperate wish for him to make something of himself. The artwork by Meglia at first grates a little because it is so stylistic, but gradually (within a few short pages) the striking colors, inks, and depictions become reader-friendly and take on a life of their own. Meglia has a good sense of the cinematic flow, and his hard-lined panels within panels really stand out. His full-page splash of Argo-Zan belting a stampeding elephant has to be seen to be believed.

Although the graphic novel is good, the feel is almost too familiar. The final resolution of the plots comes about rather easily. Rather than mull over the possibilities in their lives, both heroes seem to just know where they need to go and go there. Also, it would have been nice to see them talk to each other about their experiences a little while planning a new attack to rescue their lady loves and overcome Princess La.

SONS OF THE JUNGLE is a good addition for the graphic novel collector that favors quick-paced Chuck Dixon adventures or wants an excellent representation of the stylized art of Carlos Meglia. The tale is adventurous, easy to get into, and reads well.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars eh...., January 3, 2003

By	H_E_H (USA) - See all my reviews

This book could've been so much better!
The artwork is horrible. The art style made characters way too cartoony and 'zanny' and attempted to be cool and hip. Yuck. i doesn't work for me.

Chuck Dixon keeps a nice brisk pace to the story. The problem i found with story was it centered too much on Superman. John Greystoke did nothing in this story. It's more of a Superman story and I bought it being a Tarzan fan.

I just bought this book yesterday and read it in about 15 minutes. I'm debating whether to keep it or sell it.

The artwork will probably make me get rid of it. sorry....

i dislike writing low-star reviews.......

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, But Too Short, February 8, 2005

By	Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

With Superman's name first in the title and this being a DC Elseworlds book, one expects the main focus to be on Superman, and it is.

Just when the current Lord Greystoke and his pregnant wife are to be marooned by mutineers, fire streaks across the sky after Lady Greystoke calls on God. Seen as an omen, they are not marooned. Instead, the streak turns out to be the craft of infant Kal-El who is then raised by the giant apes.

Time goes by and Argo-Zan (Kal-El) learns he is from Krypton but always assumes all humans are Kryptonian. John Clayton mopes around England feeling as if he is out of place and missing something.

Clayton funds an expedition looking for signs of Romans in East Africa. Along on the expedition are American reporter Lois Lane and her assistant Jane Porter.

Well, the two groups do come together rather quickly as well as some other Burroughs favorites. Clayton proves himself to be the man of action his father always wanted and Lois finds a man who likes his steaks rare.

Not a bad blending of the two heroes (similar to Superman Batman Speeding Bullets) but Burroughs fans will be disappointed. Yes, there are Burroughs elements but not style. There are no cliffhangers or setbacks or unrequited love that made the original serials so popular. Instead, all the characters come together and suddenly everything is solved.

The art style is rather cartoonish. Think of the cook from Disney's Atlantis and you will get an idea of what to expect. I have seen worse art and this does not really detract from the story.

All in all a brief bit of fun but it needed to be filled out better to make the crossover more believable.