Thursday, May 23, 2019


It's pretty common for a comic character like Spider-Man or Batman to spend some time outside of their usual locales, often for just an issue or two. Seems like it would be a lot more work to do with Tarzan, though. From 1975, Tarzan #242, "Tarzan and the Castaways, part 3: Mayan Sacrifice" From an original story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adaptation and pencils by Joe Kubert, finishes by Franc Reyes.

Tarzan rescues a girl from the aforementioned Mayan sacrifice in about four pages, before we get back to the castaways. The details are a little vague, but that's what happens when you come in late: assorted animals had been captured by a greedy hunter, probably leading to Tarzan's involvement, but their ship had crashed on an island that had been settled by Mayan explorers four hundred years prior. Tarzan had to save his animal pals--Tantor the elephant was there, as well as a couple orangutans that aren't named, but he does kill an angry tiger--while keeping the innocent castaways alive and making sure the smugglers and mutineers get theirs. He seems to have things pretty well handled, although a girl is surrounded by hyenas and wild dogs at the end here.

Would hyenas and wild dogs pack together? Is that what I'm having trouble believing? Actually, I didn't like the tiger-killing scene, but they were the jobbers of Tarzan's book: I picked up another random issue the same day, #228, and sure enough, he kills a sabre-tooth in that one. ("Trial by Blood!", story and art by Joe Kubert, maybe a smidge borrowed from King Kong.) I know Tarzan isn't acting out of malice, but I don't like to see animals get hurt for no reason. I'd probably read a comic with animals killing poachers, if anybody wants to get started on that.

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