''The Son of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...
, the fourth in his
series of twenty-four books about the title character
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
. It was written between January 21 and May 11, 1915, and first published in the magazine ''
All-Story Weekly
''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first ...
'' as a six-part serial from December 4, 1915 to January 8, 1916. It was first published in book form by
A. C. McClurg & Co. in March 1917 and has been reprinted numerous times since by various publishers.
Plot summary
In this novel, for the first and only time in the Tarzan series, the main character is not Tarzan himself but his son Jack, who becomes known as
Korak, first introduced (as a baby) in the earlier novels ''
The Eternal Lover
''The Eternal Lover'' is a fantasy-adventure novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story was begun in November 1913 under the working title ''Nu of the Niocene''. It was first run serially in two parts by ''All-Story Weekly''. The ...
'' (1914/15) and ''
The Beasts of Tarzan
''The Beasts of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the third in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. Originally serialized in '' All-Story Cavalier'' magazine in 1914, the novel was first ...
'' (1914). Korak would return as a supporting character in the later novels ''
Tarzan the Terrible
''Tarzan the Terrible'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the eighth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published as a serial in the pulp magazine '' Argosy All-Story Weekly'' in ...
'' (1921), ''
Tarzan and the Golden Lion
''Tarzan and the Golden Lion'' is an adventure novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ninth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published as a seven part serial in ''Argosy All-Story Week ...
'' (1922/23) and ''
Tarzan and the Ant Men
''Tarzan and the Ant Men'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the tenth in his series of twenty-four books about the jungle hero Tarzan. It was first published as a seven-part serial in the magazine '' Argosy All-Story Weekly'' ...
'' (1924).
The story begins 10 years after the conclusion of ''The Beasts of Tarzan''. During the past decade, Alexis Paulvitch, who had escaped Tarzan at the end of the last novel, has lived a hideous life of abuse and disease among tribal people in Africa. Now he is discovered by a European ship and taken aboard. In the months that follows, Paulvitch encounters the ape, Akut, (whom Tarzan had befriended in that previous story) at one of the ship's stops. Because of Akut's interactions with Tarzan, he is unafraid of white men, and Paulvitch, unaware of the previous relationship, sees an opportunity to make some money. He takes Akut to London and begins displaying him publicly.
After the trauma of the kidnappings ten years earlier, Jane has refused to return to Africa or to allow Jack to know anything about his father's past for fear that he might somehow try to relive it. Perhaps she instinctively knew that Jack was somehow very connected to Tarzan's old life, for Jack did have an avid interest in wildlife and he was extremely athletic. When the Claytons hear about the displayed ape, they forbid Jack from going to see it. But he sneaks off and does so anyway. John Clayton follows his son and is surprised to find the ape is his old friend, Akut, and begins conversing with him. Jack is amazed to see that his father could do so. John then tells Jack of his life as Tarzan.
Jack continues sneaking away to see Akut and begins to learn the language of the apes. Jack forms a plan to take Akut back to the jungle. Paulvitch, seeing an opportunity for revenge against Tarzan, agrees to help Jack. They escape to an African port where Paulvitch attacks Jack. Akut kills Paulvitch, and Jack, terrified, escapes into the jungle with him, thinking he will have to run for the rest of his life.
Like Tarzan before him, Jack learns survival in the jungle and encounters the Mangani apes, whom he can speak with because of his dialogue with Akut. Akut has difficulty pronouncing the name "Jack" and names him Korak, which means "killer" which seems appropriate since Jack has proven himself to be such.
Jack finds an abused girl of about 11 named
Meriem and rescues her. He begins teaching her to survive the jungle and they begin a sibling type relationship and live adventurously in the jungle for several years.
In the interim, Tarzan and Jane have begun living at their
Waziri estate in Africa again, not having any idea what became of their son. After about six years, Tarzan and Jane reunite with Korak (now about 18) and Meriem (now 16) and return to London where Korak and Meriem are married.
Adaptations
Burroughs' novel was the basis of the fifteen part
silent film serial of the same title, the first part of which was released in 1920.
The book has been adapted into
comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
form by
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...
in ''Tarzan'' no. 158, dated March 1967, with a script by
Gaylord DuBois
Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois (sometimes written DuBois) (August 24, 1899 – October 20, 1993) was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote ''Tarzan'' for De ...
and art by
Russ Manning
Russell George Manning (January 5, 1929"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VMMT-NZN : accessed 28 Aug 2014), Russell Manning, Dec 1981; citing U.S. Social Security Administration ...
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
also began an adaptation in its ''Korak'' comic, but adapted only the initial portion of the story, using it as the springboard for original stories featuring Korak's quest for a kidnapped Meriem. The comic book magazine ''Korak, Son of Tarzan'', generally focusing on other adventures of the protagonist, was issued from 1963-1975 by both publishers in succession, nos. 1-45 (cover dated Jan. 1964-Jan. 1972) by Gold Key and nos. 46-59 (cover dated May/Jun. 1972-Sep./Oct. 1975) by DC. The title of the magazine was then changed to ''The Tarzan Family'', and continued publication under that title by DC from 1975-1976 (nos. 60-66, cover dated Nov./Dec. 1975-Nov./Dec. 1976).
References
External links
*
Text of the novel at Project Gutenberg*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Son Of Tarzan, The
1915 American novels
1915 fantasy novels
American fantasy novels adapted into films
Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Novels first published in serial form
Novels set in jungles and rainforests
Works originally published in Argosy (magazine)
A. C. McClurg books