During the time Dark Horse Comics had the Tarzan license, they put out several reprints and new comics with Tarzan. Some of these were crossover mini-series with other characters. But they also did a 20-issue comic with six storylines. Since then, this comic series was reprinted by Dark Horse as Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan Omnibus in 2015. It also includes the one-shot comic Tarzan: A Tale of Mugambi.
I had noted in my review of the Tarzan comic story The Beckoning (published by Malibu Comics and later collected by Dark Horse) that this was developed as part of a planned series of comics by Semic International. Some of the stories in this collection were also part of those plans.
First up, the one-shot A Tale of Mugambi (1995). This was developed by Semic. It is a series of stories about Tarzan, told by his best friend Mugambi. A bit of a different take on who and what Tarzan is.
Moving to the Tarzan comic. The first six issues have the story “Tarzan’s Jungle Fury.” It’s set shortly after Tarzan’s return from Mars in the Tarzan/John Carter mini-series (which has never been collected). In returning, he has brought back the spore of a plant that may bring about our doom. Jane is infected by the plant, and Tarzan goes with a strange woman to find a cure. Meanwhile, his friend Paul D’arnot gets pulled into things as well. They find a couple of warring lost cities and learn where they came from. But can Tarzan stop the threat, much less save Jane and Paul?
The next six issues comprise “Legion of Hate.” Set in 1943, Tarzan must contend with Nazi soldiers, a lost tribe of Amazons he has previously dealt with, and worse a mystic gem that can control others. Can he overcome this threat and free Africa from all this?
The next six issues actually have three related stories, all set in 1909, and all developed by Semic. They were later collected into a trade paperback collection. They are “Le Monstre,” which has Tarzan going up against the Phantom of the Opera in Paris. Then, in New York City where he meets and “teams up” with Dr. Watson and Nicola Tesla, in “The Modern Prometheus.” Tarzan meets with Frankenstein’s Monster, who is trying to stop Edison from using Frankenstein’s secrets. And finally, still in New York City, in “Tooth and Nail,” Tarzan deals with Mr. Hyde.
The final four issues have Tarzan and friends go up against the Moon Men. A descendant of Muviro, chief of the Waziri, comes back from the far future to enlist their help. We get a brief overview of what happened in the Moon Trilogy, with the defeated Kalkars at the end of the final story having fled the Americas to invade and conquer Africa. And they soon called for reinforcements from the Moon including the Va-gas. So Tarzan and Korak travel to the future to help.
Overall, this is a good collection. There are several great talents involved with these stories including Bruce Jones, Thomas Yeates, Timothy Truman, and Al Williamson. If you look around, you should be able to find a copy. And I wish Dark Horse would reprint some of the other series they did.
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