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.
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.
The British Tarzan weekly started in 1977. This week's artist is the wonderful Dan Spiegle.
Korak
continues to have a lean, athletic physique, broad shoulders and thin
waist, almost no clothing except for a leather loincloth over his
mid-section, a cute, boyish face, and full, thick, dark hair. However,
under Spiegle, Korak tended to have a shorter, more compact, gymnast's build.
He
continues to be a strong, athletic, teen-aged jungle boy. However, his
smaller size makes him even more vulnerable to defeat to larger, more
mature opponents.
He
continues to be an intelligent, enthusiastic teen-aged boy with good
natural instincts and a good heart. His youthful inexperience makes him
vulnerable to dirty fighting techniques or seduction. His youthful
enthusiasm may lead him into trouble over good but dangerous causes or
to otherwise confront dangerous opponents to prove himself.
This
week, a large, scaly humanoid creature emerges from a cave and causes chaos and fright wherever he goes. Korak tracks and confronts the creature, but is sent sprawling on his back.
Korak
shows his courage and resourcefulness by successfully tracking the strange creature. However, his reckless assault upon it left the callow young hero sprawling to the ground and vulnerable to a counterattack. Fortunately for
Korak, the creature only acted defensively and had no intention of retaliating against the son of Tarzan for his attack. Of course, this raises questions about Korak's youthful judgment in launching the assault without adequately ascertaining the creature's strengths and intentions.
Spiegle's artwork is excellent. Viewers get great artwork of Korak's
lean, athletic physique or cute, boyish face. My favorite scenes are when Korak confronts the creature and is easily defeated.
Favorite scene: page 6, panel a
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 my Korak in British Tarzans blog at the following link:
This week's adventures can also be found at the following link(s):
No comments:
Post a Comment