Tarzan Annual No.1

[1973] Annual. Original price 65p.
80 pages. Colour, tone & B&W.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Cover painting by George Wilson.
r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #144 (Aug 1964).

Contents:

 2 Dennis Miller photo (uncredited).

 3 Title Page illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited). / Indicia.

 4 Tarzan and the Golden God of Makulu prose story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 Major Disaster Untitled w: (uncredited). a: (uncredited).

10 Safari Quiz illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

12 Tarzan and the Witch-Doctor prose story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 Lost in Pellucidar w: Gaylord Du Bois, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. a: Doug Wildey.

r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #180 (Oct 1968).

38 Turchuk the Mighty w: Gaylord Du Bois. a: Alberto Giolitti.

r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #171 (Sep 1967).

59 The Jungle Pit w: (uncredited). a: (uncredited).

r: UNKNOWN.

67 Tarzan and the Zoo Trappers prose story (uncredited).

74 Jungle Round-Up illustrated feature (uncredited).

Note: Full title given on the cover is Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan Annual No.1.

As nice as this is, it doesn't quite live up to the amazing painted cover. The recognition of actors other than Johnny Weissmuller is refreshing, and as we are presented with a photograph - albeit monochrome - of Dennis Miller, hopes that a feature on the lesser actors to have approached the role were understandably raised. Only to be dashed. The continued dismissal of Tarzan history, when publications featuring the character are read in volume, is a sore point that hasn't been rectified.

I want to know how, and why actors were given the roles, the unique challenges each film presented, and if questions were ever raised regarding the oft-leveled accusations of racism. Nowhere in the annuals do we get the sense that more than a moment's though is allocated to Tarzan as a cultural icon (for good or bad), flinging the reader into as many rip-roaring adventures as possible so that uncomfortable thoughts are pushed aside. This exists outside of the separate from the magazines, comics, films, and other appearances, only ever casting the briefest of glances at other representations.

The books, as you might gather, are ignored almost entirely.

Restarting the numbering is a bold move, signifying a change in direction. This is a fresh start, though without the freshness which is promised - it is a slightly cheeky declaration that all which has gone before is, somehow, not as important. It is possible to argue that younger readers might not have been aware of the prior annuals, though it smacks of a haughty attitude to the previous annuals. History, once more, being consigned to irrelevancy.

I'm not sure if Major Disaster is an appropriate strip for a Tarzan annual, containing so slim a skeleton on which to hang a few gags, but at only two pages it isn't too intrusive. It isn't, unfortunately, very funny, which would have gone a long way to making the inclusion make sense. A Safari Quiz suffers greatly from being overwhelmingly pink - possibly from having ran out of green ink - though the illustrations are nice enough.

The illustrations for Tarzan and the Witch Doctor, the second text story in the annual, features illustrations which appear to depict an older Tarzan, which don't quite work as well as they ought to. A certain vitality and aggression in his posing would have helped sell the notion better. It is a very brief story, thankfully, as it doesn't deliver enough of the central elements which makes the character appealing.

Lost in Pellucidar should be amazing. Travelling to the Earth's core (okay, not literally, but to Pellucidar regardless) is an opportunity for some amazing visuals, opening storytelling possibilities which would be limited by his regular hunting grounds. It is, therefore, something of a let-down to have so much back-and-forth on whether Tarzan should be killed, no matter how serious the dialogue. It is fortunate that the monotony is broken by the appearance of a stegosaurus. Yes, you read that right.

There are more dinosaurs to follow, and the turgid pacing which opens the story is replaced by a frenetic sequence which ends with the dramatic moment of... Well, Tarzan saying that he's going home. Really? This is the absolute best strip with which to represent the character? Turchuk the Mighty is little better, with the noble savage looking downright goofy in a parachute. Great toy opportunity there, but for storytelling it falls far short of expectations.

Closing with the rather attractive, though awfully-coloured, Animal Round-Up, the primary feeling this annual presents is one of exhaustion with the character. The short page count doesn't allow for more than a handful of features for a character whose rich history should allow for a wealth of material, and when one feature is a non-fiction wildlife one, there is little that could have been done to save this from utter mediocrity.

I like Tarzan. If you are reading this thinking otherwise, the fault lies entirely with the title. I want to be wowed, but there isn't anything here with a sense of amazement, wonder, or exuberance. I want to know what the jungle smells like, to have the heat represented, to hear what sounds are present, but the narratives are so stilted as to prevent immersion into Tarzan's world.

Aside from the photograph which opens the annual there is no further exploitation of the film incarnations of Tarzan - it is somewhat frustrating to know that there is so much more to the character than we are given, and enough people were alive at the time of publication to make interviews with those involved a very interesting proposition. What we get is less original, solid and competent enough package for those interested in Tarzan or British annuals of the seventies.

A complete let-down for those looking for classic tales though.

[1972]

Tarzan Annual

[1974]