ERBmania! - Korak In Pal-ul-don

TARZAN VS. THE MOON MEN
Tarzan Issue #17, December 3, 1997
Dark Horse Comics

Jim "The Red Hawk" Hadac

Cover: John Totleben
Inside front cover: credits

Story: Tarzan vs. The Moon Men
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Thomas Yeates
Inker: Al Williamson
Colorist: Sam Parsons
Pages: 22

Characters: N'dingra, N'daza, future Muviro, Korak, Tarzan, present Muviro, N'diri, Jervis, Jane, Meriem, Juluka, Terkoz (dog), Julian, Orthis, Nah-ee-lah, Julian the 20th--The Red Hawk

Synopsis: The setting: Africa, south of the Uziri country. The time: the mid-1920's. A chimpanzee couple is gazing down upon a human couple together in the jungle. The man is N'dingra, a tall Waziri warrior wearing a white-plumed headress. The woman is the lovely N'daza, who is married to another man. They are having a secret rendezvous. N'dingra takes the woman to a cavern that he found and which he realized is known to the chiefs. He lights a torch and then shows the woman "the bones of Nu,the Eternal One, and the head of the long-toothed lion, Oo, whom he slew." They then see the bones of an unidentifiable creature--four-legged, but with a man's head. Then both Waziri hear a loud rumble, and a strange figure appears. The woman cries out that it's "a ghost with glowing eyes." The "ghost' picks up the skull of the unknown creature and bellows, "VA-GA!" The two Waziri flee out of the cave into the jungle, but the ghost follows. When N'dingra turns to fight the ghost, an arrow is fired striking the ground between the two. They are told to stop by a figure holding a bow and arrow in the trees, and another figure leaps down to face the ghost. It's Tarzan, who struggles briefly with the intruder and knocks him down. It's his son, Korak, who is in the tree aiming his bow. Some Waziri arrive on the scene, and among them are Chief Muviro and N'diri, the angry husband looking for his wife. Tarzan and the Waziri face the stranger, who removes his sunglasses. All see that he resembles Muviro. The stranger reveals that he,too, is Chief Muviro. He states that he is descended from the present-day (1920's) Muviro, whom he came from the cave to find. Tarzan says that the cave of Nu is "a portal into time." He then takes the two Muviros and the other Waziri back to the Greystoke Plantation, while Korak travels through the trees overhead. At Tarzan's estate, the butler Jervis offers the Waziri warriors mint juleps, while Tarzan and Korak go inside with the two Muviros. They are greeted by Jane and Meriem, Jane sitting at the piano with a little African girl. The future Muviro meets the girl, Juluka, and calls her the "song-giver." Tarzan, Korak, and the Muviros then sit in the study, where Tarzan's dog Terkoz is. Then, using a device he carried with him--and putting water on the top of it, the future Muviro is able to show the others the future. In that future, a great leader, Julian, seeking to reach Mars, crashes on the Moon. The spacecraft had been sabotaged by the twisted genius Orthis. Julian becomes a hero in a lunar war and also finds his bride, the Moon Maid, Nah-ee-lah. After repairing his craft, he returns home with his wife. Orthis stays behind to organize the Kalkar race as a great army. He then leads the Kalkars in an invasion of Earth, the planet being defenseless as the Earth people had disbanded their military forces.The future Muviro states that the Kalkars take over the white men's cities, while the Waziri thrive in their forest. Centuries pass, as the Earth sinks into barbarism, and Julian's descendants lead rebellions against the Kalkars. It's Julian the 20th--the Red Hawk--who pushes the Kalkars out of America into the sea. The Kalkars then invade Africa. After the coastal cities are conquered, the Waziri continue the fight. When the Kalkars find a Gridley Wave machine, they are able to contact the Moon. New ships are built and reinforcements are sent, including the horrible Va-Gas. The Waziri of the future face destruction. So Tarzan and Korak decide to go to the future and join the war against the Moon Men. They don't want the "present" Muviro to come because, if he dies, there may be no future chief. They will take N'dingra, who's in trouble anyway. Tarzan, Korak, the future Muviro, and N'dingra enter the cave-and leave it to find themselves in the future. They discover that the Kalkar city has been built on the site of the Greystoke Plantation. Tarzan realizes that the Gridley Wave machine the Kalkars found was his. Suddenly, they come under attack. Korak fires his Enfield rifle, as the others react.

Remarks: This story, featuring both Tarzan and Korak, is set in the mid-1920's, placing it between "Tarzan and the Antmen" (1923) and "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle" (1927). It also connects Tarzan and Korak with the Moon Maid series (and, so, indirectly with Barsoom) and is connected to "The Eternal Lover" as well. The story of the future follows the events as related in the Moon Maid trilogy--up to Julian 20th's triumph. Then, according to the future Muviro, the Kalkars invade Africa. We learn that the Kalkars build a city on the site of the Greystoke plantation and find Tarzan's Gridley Wave machine, but we don't learn what happened to Tarzan or Korak (or Jane or Meriem) in the future.They should still be around (if the immortality pills are still working). Tarzan is depicted with long hair and a headband, rather like Elmo Lincoln, but with a brief loincloth and very tanned. When he goes off to the future, he has a grass rope over his shoulder. Korak is depicted as shorter, leaner, and with brown hair- and still looking like a teen-ager-as in the Gold Key Korak comics, but he has longer hair and is very tanned in this story.

TARZAN VS. THE MOON MEN
Tarzan Issue #18, 1998
Dark Horse Comics

Cover: John Totleben
Inside front cover: credits

Story: Tarzan vs. The Moon Men
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Thomas Yeates
Inker: Al Williamson
Colorist: Sam Parsons
Pages: 22

Characters: Tarzan, Korak, Chief Muviro, N'dingra, Go-va-go, Shah-ne-lah, Or-tis, Cha-ron

Synopsis: A battle rages in an Africa of the future. Strange pale bestial creatures are attacking Tarzan, Korak, and two Waziri warriors,Chief Muviro and N'dingra. When Tarzan asks what the creatures are, Muviro replies, "Va-gas." There are also flying men (U-gas). One of them aims his rifle at Korak, while the Son of Tarzan is firing his rifle at a Kalkar. N'dingra hurls his spear up at the flier to bring him down.Then,while fighting one Va-ga, the ebon warrior is stabbed in the back by another one of the lunar monsters. Tarzan leaps upon the foe, dispatching it with his knife. N'dingra dies, and the three surviving Earthmen know they have to fight to keep the Va-gas from claiming the body, as they eat human flesh. When a flier swoops down on Korak to spear him, Tarzan snaps the Moon Man's neck. Muviro fires a semi-automatic weapon to bring down another flier. The battle seems to have ended, but the Earthers turn to see the Va-gas forming up on a ridgeline. They are under the command of a huge Va-ga, "Jemadar" Go-va-go. Muviro says that Go-va-go commands both the Va-gas and the flying U-gas, while the Kalkar "jemadar" is Or-tis. Or-tis, he says, prefers to have the Va-gas do the fighting. Tarzan tells Korak and Muviro to carry N'dingra's body away into the jungle. The jungle lord will make a stand with his bow and arrows to hold off the horde while the others escape. He stands over the bodies of dead enemies and aiming his great bow, the apeman roars, "Hear me, Go-va-go, I am Tarzan of the Apes, slayer of lions and killer of many men!" He then fires an arrow at the feet of the Va-ga commander. The enraged Va-gas charge. But, then, thunder booms and lightning flashes. The Va-gas turn and flee. Tarzan joins Korak and Muviro,who explains that the Va-gas believe storms are caused by a devil named Zo-al. Elsewhere, a very pale brunette beauty is feeding her pet--by giving a small monkey to a snakelike creature (a "rympth") to eat. She is Sha-ne-lah, a princess and daughter of Or-tis, jemadar of the Kalkar City. She is feeling bored, as a dark-haired man, her father, Jemadar Or-tis, enters her palace room. They go to look out the window and watch the Va-gas return, traveling on all fours. Or-tis holds them in contempt, calling them "superstitious beasts." But he tells his daughter they have to rely on the "savages." He then goes to the spaceport in the city, as the Va-ga reinforcements are about to descend. He remarks that with the fresh forces, he'll be able to reconquer "Amerika." Meanwhile, in the forest, Africans are joining Tarzan. Korak asks what the winged creatures he sees in the trees are. Muviro replies that they are pests from the lunar ships and that they now infest the jungle. Korak shoots down one of the batlike creatures with a well-aimed arrow. Tarzan tells Muviro that he needs five of the best warriors. At the spaceport, Or-tis and Go-va-go welcome the reinforcements under the command of a fierce old jemadar, Cha-ron, who is hailed by the Va-gas as "Jemadar of Va-nah" (the Moon). He complains that the new world is very hot. Or-tis assures him that there is a more agreeable climate in Amerika and that is where they should go. Cha-ron says that he has brought gifts from "allies on Barsoom (Mars)." These include a cage holding a four-armed white ape. After Or-tis leaves, Go-va-go tells Cha-ron that Or-tis suspects nothing. They can proceed to usurp the Kalkars and make Earth theirs. At the gates of the city, the guards are permitting two armed men in Kalkar garb to enter with a batch of prisoners. They don't notice that the helmeted "Kalkars" have sun-bronzed faces. As the group moves through the city, they see a Va-ga beating an African man. They can see that humans are being used as slaves in the Kalkar city. Then, they see a Kalkar whipping an ape. A face under a helmet looks up showing surprise. It's Tarzan, as he sees that the Moon Men have captive "mangani" (great apes). The group moves into the spaceport where great rockets are standing and being unloaded. A guard calls out that slaves are not permitted into the area. At the sound of the voice, Go-va-go, who is with Cha-ron, turns. He sees that one tall figure is the enemy who challenged him out in the jungle, obviously someone he can never forget-Tarzan! He orders the guards to "Kill them!"

REMARKS: The Va-gas are featured prominently in this issue. They were introduced in "The Moon Maid" (1926). When Julian 5th first saw a Va-ga in the inner lunar world of Va-nah, he described it as a "small horse-like animal." Va-gas are three-toed quadrupeds which lack tails and ears and the males can weigh up to 250-300 pounds. Their skin color is lavender or a light purple. They are described as having very broad faces, broader than human faces with "profiles [which] were singularly like those of the ancient North American Indians." Interestingly, my image of the Va-gas had come from the J. Allen St. John and Roy Krenkel depictions, which show the Va-gas as being centaurs. Joe Jusko also depicts them as a kind of centaur. But,as Duane Adams points out in the Glossary of the Moon in Erbmania!, Burroughs made a sketch of a Va-ga, and it was not a centaur, but a quadruped. In Adams' Art Gallery, you can see he is faithful to the original Burroughs image. Thomas Yeates also adheres to Burroughs' conception, as this issue's cover clearly shows, although Yeates' Va-gas are larger than originally described--and they have ears!

--my thanks to Duane Adams and the information and artwork he has provided in The Glossary of the Moon in Erbmania!--

TARZAN VS. THE MOON MEN
Tarzan Issue #19, February 4, 1998
Dark Horse Comics

Cover: John Totleben
Inside front cover: credits

Story: Tarzan vs. The Moon Men
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Thomas Yeates
Inker: Al Williamson
Colorist: Sam Parsons
Pages: 23
Characters: Muviro, Tarzan, Korak, Go-va-go, Cha-ron, Or-tis, Shah-nee-lah, huge ape-like creature

Synopsis: Tarzan and Korak (in Kalkar garb), and Chief Muviro and five stalwart Waziri warriors are discovered infiltrating the Kalkar spaceport. The Jemadar Go-va-go orders his Va-gas and Kalkars to attack. The Earthmen open up with firearms. Tarzan roars "KREEEGAHHH!" The tide of Lunarians breaks on Tarzan's "thin red line." Tarzan uses his rifle as a club until it snaps on a Kalkar skull. He tell Korak to help capture the leaders. Tarzan leaps upon the Va-gas while Korak charges with his WW1 Enfield. Tarzan, wielding a sword, faces Go-va-go, but the Kalkar Jemadar Or-tis orders the winged U-gas to attack. The ape-man is involved fighting off the fliers. He calls upon his son and Muviro to retreat into the jungle while he holds off the foe. Korak and the Waziri battle their way out of the city, their fight attracting the attention of a feminine presence on a balcony above the fray. It's Sha-nee-lah and she enjoys watching the powerful and agile form of the Son of Tarzan fighting with a sword. She commands some U-gas to bring "the young one" to her. Korak, spotting the raven-haired beauty above him, learns from Muviro who she is. He swiftly climbs a tree to swing out to the balcony. When an U-ga flier attempts to intercept him, Korak kicks out to smash him down to earth. As the jungleboy swings onto the balcony, the "Moon Maid" is excited to see him. Korak throws her over a broad shoulder and swings off...Tarzan is still heroically battling on when all hear a shout-"STOP!" All turn to see the youth holding his sword to the throat of the lunar princess. Korak says he will free the girl when the Earthers depart. Or-tis tells his men to lower their weapons, but Go-va-go argues against it. Tarzan tells Korak he has done well, and his son replies,"... the mango doesn't fall far from the tree." The Waziri leave, but as Tarzan and Korak (still holding Sha-nee-lah) turn to leave, Go-va-go hurls his spear at Tarzan.More spears are thrown and catch the jungle lord with their hooks. He goes down, but orders his son to take the girl and escape. Korak reluctantly obeys as the Moon Men close in on the big tarmangani. They take Tarzan prisoner as Or-tis angrily demands the ape-man be exchanged for his daughter. Go-va-go says "perhaps." That night a disheartened group of warriors, including Korak, sit around their fire. Suddenly, they hear a scream. The caged princess is being pelted with rubbish by Waziri women. Muviro commands them to cease. Korak asks if she's all right. They talk and it is apparent the pale Moon girl is strongly attracted to Korak. She admits she fears the Va-gas allies and suspects they are hatching a plot. If she is freed, she offers to have Tarzan released and that the Kalkars will ally with the Earthmen against the Va-gas. Korak tells her to get some sleep. Meanwhile, Tarzan is in a dungeon, chained. He rises to his feet as Go-va-go lets a hairy monstous creature in. He says it's "an amalgam of apes from Earth and Barsoom--created by our scientists using arcane techniques revealed to us by the masterminds of the Red Planet." The monstrosity roars and advances on Tarzan.

Remarks: This issue continues the depiction of Tarzan and Korak along with the Waziri warriors as a great fighting team. They are shown as a very deadly fighting force against superior numbers, operating as an effective commando or special-forces unit able to fight with a variety of weapons. Tarzan and Korak together are especially formidable, both possessing superhuman speed, strength, and fighting skills. I have to state that it's unfortunate that ERB never showed the father and son fighting together in any of the books. In "The Son of Tarzan," Tarzan of the Apes and Korak the Killer come together only near the end of the story when Tarzan rescues Meriem from Tantor. Korak lies tied up. "'Jack!' cried the white giant, kneeling at the ape-man's side. 'Father!' came chokingly from the Killer's lips.'Thank God that it was you. No one else in all the jungle could have stopped Tantor.' ....Korak laid his hand affectionately upon his father's shoulder. 'There is but one Tarzan,' he said. 'There can never be another.' " (pgs.249+250, "The Son of Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, ACE pb) Definitely one of my favorite scenes in all ERB's canon... Korak makes his next appearance together with his father in spectacular fashion in "Tarzan the Terrible," saving his father- from being a human sacrifice--with one true shot from his World War 1 Enfield rifle. That's the closest they come to fighting together in any of the books. In "Tarzan and the Golden Lion," Korak stays behind while Tarzan sets off with fifty Waziri on his third trek to Opar. If only Korak had gone along then ..or on the O-220 to Pellucidar..or...At least in this story of Tarzan vs.The Moon Men, we can see some of the awesome combat potential when Tarzan and Korak team-up against a common enemy.