During the Silver Age of Comics my favorite Tarzan imitation was
Marvel Comics' Ka-Zar. There was a Ka-Zar who appeared in a pulp
magazine of the same name published by Martin Goodman's Manvis
Publishing for three issues. October 1936 , January 1937 and June 1937.
In 1939 the Ka-Zar character was adapted to the comic book page for
Timely Comics also published by Martin Goodman. And he made his first
comic book appearance in Marvel Comics No.1 alongside the original Human
Torch and the Sub-Mariner. The character like the one that Buster
Crabbe played in the movie KING OF THE JUNGLE (1933) was raised by lions
and not apes.
The Silver Age Ka-Zar was a pretty one-note character (as were most
Tarzan imitators). He premiered in X-MEN No.10 (March ,1965) and was
more or less a Tarzan ala' Weissmuller in the Savage Land, a
Pellucidar or Pal-Ul-Don type of lost world beneath Antarctica.
Where Tarzan had his golden lion Jad-bal-ja , Ka-Zar had a pet sabretooth tiger Zabu. So if you liked Tarzan vs. Dinosaur stories you
might think Ka-Zar was pretty cool. I myself especially liked when he
would cut loose against an enemy while exclaiming "Mightier than the
Mastodon! Swifter than the Cheetah! Mighty is Ka-Zar, Lord of the
Jungle!" or some variation of that phrase.
Ka-Zar would guest star in Daredevil, Spider - Man, and The Hulk. And would get his own features in Astonishing Tales and Savage Tales. He would eventually receive a comic book title of his own. All of these titles were eventually canceled. As I said before Ka-Zar was pretty much a one-note character. And just how many times could you watch a television show about a jungle hero fight a dinosaur before you changed the channel? But then something remarkable happened with the premiere of the comic book KA-ZAR, THE SAVAGE (April 1981).
In KA-ZAR,THE SAVAGE No.1 we're introduced to a Ka-Zar that we've
never seen before. One who is less "savage". Like Tarzan, Marvel's
jungle king was an English lord who grew up in the wilds. Here he's been
Americanized to the point that he resembles Ron Ely's Tarzan from the
1960s television series. Only wittier. He and Shanna, the She-Devil
(Marvel's answer to Sheena of the Jungle) banter like William Powell and
Myrna Loy in THE THIN MAN. This was a much more fun take on the
character. And a much better read. The only problem I had with the new
take on the character was how to reconcile it with what came before.
I had my own theory. Unlike Tarzan, Ka-Zar didn't come to the Savage Land as a baby. He was a preteen. One who probably watched Weissmuller, Lex Barker, and Gordon Scott movies. He might have read comic books starring Kaanga, Ki-Gor and Thun'Da. In short he was playing a role. Acting out how he thought a "King of the Jungle" would act.
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Sugar is looking especially voluptuous here.I would have loved to have seen an adaptation of TARZAN AT THE EARTH'S CORE on the silver screen.
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