Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips Volume 3 (1971-1974) (The Library of American Comics) Hardcover – 29 July 2014

The late Russ Manning, a master of his craft, with his strips given here the quality presentation they deserve. My collection of previous cut & paste comic book formats on poor quality paper have now become well yellowed and, now, thankfully, redundant.

Dream coming true.

Awesome.

Spectacular and fantastic.This is for the first time that there have been arrival of such quality publication on Tarzan in India.Amazon deserves kudos for such spectacular service .I felt nostalgic as I turned the pages and transported myself back to the seventies when we were dependent upon local vernacular translation of the classic Rus Manning.

Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic hero, "Tarzan," shares the adventure spotlight with his teenage son, "Korak," in the third volume of IDW's already cherished collection of classic comic strip art, "Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips (1971-1974)." This penultimate book in the planned four volume reprint series presents the fortunate reader the final two daily comic strip tales of the Lord of the Jungle and four full color Sunday stories of "Tarzan," his beautiful wife, Jane, and "Korak," traversing the amazing lands of Mr. Burroughs' imagination; written and illustrated by Russ Manning, one of the greatest artists to bring the iconic character to life in comic form.The book opens with a rewarding and very illuminating historical essay, "The Day the Tarzan Dailies Ended," by Henry G. Franke III. This fully illustrated article answers many questions about Mr. Manning's work on the wondrous newspaper strip he created, as well as other "Tarzan" projects he produced. Of special interest to American fans is the section of the essay which discusses the graphic albums Mr. Manning created exclusively for Europe. These alternative form comic books have long been works of wonder and mystery to "Tarzan" and Russ Manning admirers in the United States. For years we longed to know how many there were and when we would get the chance to enjoy them. Mr. Franke describes their history in great detail as well as the challenges Mr. Manning struggled through in their creation. For the record, the names of these graphic albums were: "Tarzan in the Land that Time Forgot," "Tarzan and the Pool of Time," "Tarzan in Savage Pellucidar," and "Tarzan and the Beastmaster." The first of these graphic albums, "The Land that Time Forgot," was the only one in the series published in an English language edition for England and the European market. This Manning adventure and "The Pool of Time" were finally brought to American audiences in trade paperback form by Dark Horse Comics in 1996. Tantalizingly, the article reproduces a pair of pages from "Savage Pellucidar" in English! Regretfully as of the writing of this review, the wait continues for the remaining albums to be published for English speaking lovers of Mr. Manning's work. Mr. Franke's essay is an invaluable look into Russ Manning's efforts to produce high quality comic art on the legend of "Tarzan."That effort is on full display in this volume of reprints. Mr. Manning creates some of "Tarzan" and "Korak's most exciting comic strip adventures within the book's 295 pages. A majority of this tome's tales involve the "Tarzan" family in some of the most amazing environments envisioned by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The book opens with "Korak and the White Water Runner," a black and white daily strip continuity first published in newspapers from August 2 - November 20, 1971, in which the son of "Tarzan" attempts to help a crew of documentary film-makers.Then in "Tarzan Returns to the Earth's Core,", the last daily strip story arc from November 22, 1971 through July 29, 1972, Mr. Manning produces an intense sequel to the 1930 Burroughs' novel, "Tarzan at the Earth's Core." "Tarzan" and "Korak" go on a mission to return a frightening creature called a Mahar to the dangerous realm of Pellucidar, an amazing inner world located in the center of the Earth. The concept of Pellucidar comes from a series of novels and short stories Mr. Burroughs wrote over a 40 year period. It is a primitive underworld landscape in which a lost branch of humanity fights to survive against the menacing winged Mahars; races of intelligent apes, Sagoths; sentient reptile men called Horibs, not to mention monstrous dinosaurs, deadly living remnants of the ancient beasts that ruled the surface of the Earth millions of years before the coming of the human race.The section of the book devoted to the color Sundays begins with another adventure that serves as a companion to another Burroughs novel of the jungle lord. From January 24,1971 to April 2, 1972, Mr. Manning took newspaper readers on an epic quest: "Tarzan Returns to Pal-ul-Don." Inspired by the twin novel tale of "Tarzan the Untamed," first published in book form in 1920, and more specifically, "Tarzan the Terrble," from 1921. In this tale, Jane Porter Clayton, the beloved wife of "Tarzan," is lost after traveling with a pair of friends, Samantha (or "Samie")and Carla, to the edge of the mysterious land called "Pal-ul-Don." As Jane tries to explain to her friends:"Pal-ul-Don has stayed as it was millions and millions of years ago! Tarzan believes it is in a special time space of its own!" But she also warns them, "...this is no place for idle curiosity! The danger (in Pal-ul-Don) is death...terrible and certain!"Much to the women's regret, Carla's curiosity gets the better of her...and thus, for "Tarzan," a brave, very dimiutive comrade named Joiper, and the trio of ladies, an adventure of desperate rescue and constant danger begins. In this story, readers again see the imaginative mind of Mr. Burroughs visualized by a comic master as Russ Manning brings such concepts as the dark-furred, tailed race called the Waz-don to life, along with the albino winged men of Pal-ul-Don...and more deadly dinosaurs!In "Korak and the City of Xuja," a story continuity from April 9th through September 17, 1972, the teenaged jungle prince encounters a young family, Scottie, Dina, and their daughter Debbie, who are seeking to escape modern civilization and instead face the threat of a strange lost city inhabited by a primitive people touched by madness."Jad-Bal-Ja of the Apes," first published on September 24,1972 to October 21, 1973, then returns the reader to "Tarzan's" exploits in Pal-ul-Don on a more than year long tale that shows this timeless land at its most elemental."Korak and the Igotha" concludes this action packed collection with the son of "Tarzan" meeting a cultured but crass African seeking his help to return to his native village. In this story arc first printed in newspapers from October 28, 1973 to March 17, 1974, the heroic "Korak" faces human brutality just as dangerous as the threat of dinosaurs or lions. But "Korak the Killer," as he came to be first known in the jungles of Africa, is up to the challenge.This volume of comic strip reprints is a translation of pulp fiction at some of its most fantastic, and Mr. Manning revels in showing "Tarzan" in these extraordinary environments. He is a storyteller at the peak of his powers and the reader will be swept away by the intense action this book contains. It is quite simply a pure joy to turn each page of this tome and experience each new dramatic set piece Mr. Manning creates."Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips Volume 3 (1971- 1974)," like its two previous volumes comes with this reviewer's highest recommendation. Enjoy the bliss!

Au fur et à mesure au cours de ce siècle, plusieurs maisons d'éditions étatsuniennes font en sorte que l'intégralité de l'oeuvre du regretté Russ Manning (1929-1981) soit accessible à ses fans mais aussi à un nouveau public qui ne l'a jamais connu.Chaque année depuis 1982, au cours de la convention internationale des Comics ("Comic Con International", en étatsunien. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, pour une fois, l'anglais des USA sonne moins bien que la traduction française...) de San Diego en Californie, il est remis un "Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award". C'est assez dire le choc qu'a représenté la disparition de cet artiste à l'âge de 52+ ans, le respect et l'admiration que la profession voue à son art, mais aussi à sa manière de promouvoir les nouveaux talents (je découvre ici par exemple que Manning a "poussé" le Philippin Alex Niño à ses débuts américains) et de s'efforcer, de façon générale, de "produire du jeu", comme on dit au rugby ! L'introduction de ce 3è tome, sur ce point, est essentielle pour vivre de l'intérieur le processus artistico-commercial managé par Mr. Manning (1).Quant au "Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award", le premier à l'avoir reçu, en 1982, est un élève de Russ Manning dont on peut admirer le travail dans cet ouvrage, l'également regretté Dave Stevens (1955-2008). Steve Rude l'a reçu en 1984. 'Nuff Said!Les années 1970 se sont révélées difficiles aux USA pour les comic strips "sérieux" ou "d'aventures". En Europe, c'est différent, mais les "strips" sont souvent publiés sous forme "remontée", dans des magazines. Russ Manning et la société familiale qui gère les droits des oeuvres d'E. R. Burroughs, le créateur de Tarzan, élaborent de nouvelles stratégies lorgnant vers le modèle "franco-belge" des albums de 44 planches vendus en librairie pour la diffusion des albums de Tarzan.Mais, aussi immense soit le talent de Russ Manning, il ne peut pas travailler sans collaborateur et, même avec des collaborateurs, être présent sur tous les fronts : strips quotidiens, page du dimanche, comic book (1) etc. La contrainte économique autant que l'attrait de la nouveauté font que Russ Manning abandonne - pour toujours, mais il ne le sait pas à l'époque - le comic strip quotidien tout en gardant la "page du dimanche" et, donc, la production d'albums.De ce fait, ce 3è tome comprend la dernière année des "strips" quotidiens signés Manning, soit deux histoires complètes ('Korak and the White Water Runner' et 'Tarzan Returns To The Earth's Core') reproduites dans leur magnifique noir et blanc d'origine, et quatre aventures tirées des pages du dimanche ('Tarzan Returns To Pal-Ul-Don', 'Korak And The City Of Xuja', 'Jad-Bal-Ja Of The Apes' et 'Korak And The Igotha').L'équipe animée par Manning (Mike Royer, Bill Stout, Dave Stevens...) et Manning lui-même sont à leur top. Pour le plaisir du lectorat des journaux d'information concernés, les aventures mettent en avant, en alternance, Tarzan et son fils. Elles alternent aussi retours vers des univers déjà découverts et approches de nouveaux territoires et peuplades, dont une a inventé le "mulet", coiffure préférée des hard-rockeurs dans les années 1980 ! On se retrouve, on se sépare plus ou moins volontairement, on se cherche, on se perd, on se retrouve plus ou moins tous, mais prisonniers et à la veille d'être sacrifiés en l'honneur d'une étrange divinité...Les héroïnes et les héros principaux sont beaux. J'ai déjà dit à l'occasion d'une évaluation précédente que Manning avait inventé Adriana Sklenaříková, ex Karembeu, néo Ohanian. Il faut donc dire ici les magnifiques musculatures telles que dessinées par Manning, et, pour les jeunes personnages masculins en particulier, l'ampleur, la souplesse et la finesse de ces muscles ! Il n'y a que Manning pour dessiner les muscles ainsi! Et dans quelles actions ! C'est peut-être sa marque de fabrique !A nouveau, la Bibliothèque des Comics Américains et IDW comblent les fans de Manning (mais aussi ceux de Tarzan, si j'en juge par des évaluations des tomes précédents !) avec cet ouvrage excellement imprimé et on ne sait pas s'il nous tarde le prochain tome ou si l'on préfère attendre, car il s'agira hélas du dernier livre de la série !Pour le prochain article de fond en introduction, nous aimerions en savoir plus du processus de travail au sein de l'équipe mobilisée par Russ Manning. Ainsi, à l'évidence pour les planches de cet ouvrage, le deuxième panel des planches du dimanche est le plus souvent encré par le même collaborateur, qui n'est pas forcément celui qui a encré le reste de la planche. De qui s'agit-il ? et pourquoi lui donner à encrer toujours le même panel ?(1) Et maintenant, ladies & gentlemen, la partie la plus prétentieuse, ennuyeuse et pontifiante de cette évaluation : page 16, l'illustration n'est pas tirée d'une "édition finlandaise" d'un des albums de Tarzan, mais plus probablement d'une édition néerlandophone, imprimée en Finlande, dudit album !

I have been following this series of reprints avidly since they first started issuing these books about two years ago. They are a real exceptional treat... these strips rank right up there with the best of Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth, mighty fine company indeed. Read these strips yourself, if you don't believe me! They had very limited exposure in the U.S. when they were being produced (I saw none of this stuff, and was a fan, albeit teenage, the whole time this was in production.) Russ Manning always had a special place in my heart for the Tarzan comics that he did for Gold Key just before his stint on the syndicated strip, those and his graphic novels put him up there with the greatest of ERB interpreters. This reprint series is a revelation and a testament to a really fine sequential graphic storyteller who was working right under our noses creating these comics masterpieces, and most comics fans had no idea. What a shame these strips did not get wider distribution when they were being created, but it makes them all the more scrumptious for consumption today. Really high production quality in these books, many thanks to the people at IDW for a really fine job.

Cette fois ci, je serai bref puisque tout ce que je pensais de bien de cette collection a déjà été dit lors des 2 premiers Tomes. Je me contenterai de resituer les parutions Française de ce volume.Bandes Quotidiennes 9997 à 10308 (le chiffre 10000 est symbolisé dans les bandes par la lettre M) parues dans :1) Nous deux2) Super Tarzan 1er série 28 à 30 (à partir de la bande 10023 jusqu’à la fin)Il n’y aura plus par la suite de bandes quotidiennesLes planches du dimanche 2081 à 2245 parues dans :1) télé poche2) Tarzan « géant » 16, 17,19 et 273) Tarzan « collection appel de la jungle » « Pal-Ul-Don le royaume du passé », « l’étrange citadelle », « le démon des abîmes » et « captif des Ighotas »A noter que « captifs des Ighotas » sera le dernier de cette collection s’arrêtant à la planche 2256.Enfin, si il faut rajouter quelque chose, je dirai que ce volume est mon préféré et si il faut mettre un Bémol, il serait peux être sur les couleurs qui sont un peu « palottes » sur certaines planches mais je persiste et signe : elle est superbe, cette collection….