Tarzan Sunday Comic Strips by Archie Goodwin & Gil Kane

March 13, 2022|In Comics, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan has been a mainstay of the Sunday comics page since the 1930s and the work of Hal Foster. Notable artists over the following decades include Burne Hogarth and Russ Manning. I came along in the late 70s, enjoying the work of Gil Kane, and later Mike Grell and Gray Morrow, artists I was familiar with from comic books.

Archie Goodwin and Kane were on the Sunday strip for 83 weeks. During this time Kane did this illustration which was used as the cover of The Comics Journal No. 64.

Following that are the first three strips from the 1979/80 story “Refuge from the Rich and Famous”, which was reprinted in black & white by Blackthorne Publishing in their Comic-Strip Preserves: Tarzan, Book 4. Fresh colour by me.

New colour and book cover design by myself.


THE COVER

Comics Journal 64 Cover

As originally published.

Tarzan Gil Kane 1

A scan found on the web. It shows the extreme fading resulting from Kane’s use of non-permanent markers.

Tarzan Gil Kane 2

Restored art. Thankfully, while faded, the details were still there and were recoverable with a bit of redrawing. And for the Comics Journal, the art had been extended so that was re-created here as well.

Tarzan Gil Kane 3

New colour.

Tarzan Gil Kane 4

New book design. Remember, it isn’t a real book, but it is a real design.


THE STRIPS

Tarzan Sunday Strip 2543 December 9, 1979

Tarzan Sunday Strip 2544 December 16, 1979

Tarzan Sunday Strip 2544 December 23, 1979


MEANWHILE IN FRANCE

Tarzan Joe Jusko Gil Kane French Collection

This forthcoming French edition went a different route, commissioning Joe Jusko to do a painted homage to Kane’s illustration.