Korak is the Honorable Jack Clayton, son of English Lord John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke, also known as Tarzan, lord of the jungle. He is the hero of a 1915/6 magazine serial and 1917 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs and a 1920 silent movie serial, as well as a character in several other Tarzan stories from 1914 to 1924. He experienced a revival in 1964 as the star of his own comic book series and as a major character in various Tarzan comic books, pages, and strips from 1966 to 1978.
As depicted in the comic books, pages, and strips, Korak has a lean, athletic physique, broad shoulders and thin waist, almost no clothing, a cute, boyish face, and full, thick hair. He is also an intelligent, enthusiastic teen-aged boy with excellent natural instincts and a good heart.
Korak
strives to emulate his legendary father but lacks his strength,
maturity and experience. Therefore, he is both more likely to enter
into dangerous situations and more vulnerable to being defeated.
 |
| Korak in Sunday Tarzan (2/2/1969) |
As the star of his own comic book series in 1964, Korak is a capable, young hero. His adventures were somewhat similar to those of his father Tarzan, but independent from them.
In 1966, ABC released the TV series Batman, featuring the frequently imperiled youthful sidekick Robin the Boy Wonder. As a fan of seeing cute, young sidekicks in trouble, I watched every episode.
Russ Manning took over the Sunday Tarzan pages in 1968. His Korak tended to have a tall, lean, swimmer's build. While the son of Tarzan continued to have somewhat autonomous adventures, the slender, handsome youth seemed to be getting into trouble more frequently and more easily. Moreover, in the Sunday Tarzan pages, Korak tended to suffer from more frequent comparisons to his legendary father.
In 1966, ABC released the TV series Batman, featuring the frequently imperiled youthful sidekick Robin the Boy Wonder. As a fan of seeing cute, young sidekicks in trouble, I watched every episode.
Russ Manning took over the Sunday Tarzan pages in 1968. His Korak tended to have a tall, lean, swimmer's build. While the son of Tarzan continued to have somewhat autonomous adventures, the slender, handsome youth seemed to be getting into trouble more frequently and more easily. Moreover, in the Sunday Tarzan pages, Korak tended to suffer from more frequent comparisons to his legendary father.
Previous to this week's adventures, while searching for his father at the edge of the jungle, Korak follows a herd of elephants into a hidden cleft where he discovers a mystery involving a glowing, red wig. After avoiding an elephant stampede, our young hero returns to the cleft to investigate the mysterious wig further.
This week, Korak carelessly falls from the cliff, landing on his head, and rendering himself unconscious while the owner of the red wig approaches the helpless son of Tarzan with a knife.
Korak continues his hero role this week. After demonstrating his speed and athleticism in escaping the charging elephant herd, the son of Tarzan makes a careless mistake placing himself at the mercy of an unknown enemy. In his boyish curiosity and youthful eagerness to discover the mystery of the glowing red wig, our hero fails to anticipate the precariousness of his cliffside perch. He falls, landing on his head and rendering himself unconscious and vulnerable to the owner of the mysterious wig, who had recently tried to stampede the boy to death. Fortunately, she is attracted to Korak and decides to spare the son of Tarzan. Unfortunately, she is too distracted by the youth's beauty to think about tying up the young hero as a lesson for him to be more careful in the future.
Manning's artwork is wonderful. Korak's lean, athletic, shirtless body is beautifully depicted as he carelessly falls from the cliff, lies on the ground unconscious and vulnerable, and gradually manages to regain consciousness.
Favorite scene: Panel D
Previous page: Korak in Sunday Tarzan (1/26/1969)
Next page: Korak in Sunday Tarzan (2/9/1969)
This blog is intended to raise interest in and appreciation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs character Korak. To see this story in context, you may find it in Hillman's ERBzine at the following link:
This week's adventures can also be found at the following link(s):
No comments:
Post a Comment