As I started to listen, my husband walked into the room and I asked, "Did you ever read the Tarzan books?" He said, "Of COURSE! I read all of them. There are like 30 of them." Well, I could straighten him out on the exact number because you had just told us. I've known the man for 47 years, been married to him for 41, and at last guesstimate, we have 3k books together, but I never asked about Tarzan. I guess I will have to get up to speed.
I love the Tarzan stories so much! Tarzan had such an influence on the cultural landscape of the day. I can't get enough of that character and probably have too many of the books on my shelves. 😆
I have been meaning to read Edgar Rice Burroughs books for a long time. I even bought his entire works for my Kindle. Then, while working on my genealogy tree, I came across Mr. Burroughs! He is my 6th cousin twice removed. We descend from the same Rice family (Edmund Rice arrived in MA in 1638). So, thank you, Michael! I will finally be getting to my cousin's books!!
I wonder how many people have not tried the books based on the image of the character the have from the movies. This was great. I want to take this opportunity to thank you again for introducing me to these spectacular books. About to start book 6, and having a great time with them.
As a kid, I remember being a fan of the Tarzan movies that were shown on television, even though they were a lobotomized version of the character. I was especially drawn in by Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, which seemed to have some kind of a perverse sub-text. I had no idea what to do with a woman at that age (haven't changed that much, really) but I was just fascinated with the exotic Acquanetta, who portrays the queen of the Leopard Cult.
@@jeraldbaxter3532 I always assumed she had overthrown the forces of darkness and become reigning Queen of the Underworld, but hair spray is good, too.
@@russworks2882 Well, the Reigning Queen of the Underworld would need a really strong hairspray, to keep her coiffure in place while conquering all those demonic legions. But maybe that was her plan - develop Armageddon hairspray, then conquer Hades. I wonder if she also spent time at Maybelline and Mary Kay, for the full effect?😉
Thanks for the terrific tour of the Tarzan books. I will have to move on to _The Return of Tarzan_ sometime this year. As for the recurring “lost” theme, I think that, for every lost city, there’s probably some nudge saying, “Come on. Think. Where was the city when you last had it?”
Tarzan is a great character by a incredible story teller, as shown by how many Tarzan knock offs there are and how many people steal ideas from E.R.B. or steal ideas other people stole from Burroughs.
Thanks for doing this overview. I finally started reading Tarzan and Burroughs during the pandemic and had the whole “where has this been all my life?!” Moment. I read the first few Tarzan’s and have wanted to do some videos. I’ve gotten most of the black cover paperbacks and just need a few more. Then I plan to move on to the Barsoom novels. I find it absolutely insane that there aren’t current in print paperbacks for any Burroughs material. His influence on modern fiction at large is so incredibly massive. I’m very curious about the new ERB editions which look great but as you said are very pricey.
Wonderful! The black Tarzan printings are the ones I remember from my youth. I'm building a collection of them now, along with other Edgar Rice Burroughs works.
Your history of these books is kind of like mine. Except I read Tarzan way before I read John Carter. The Tarzan books just happened to be at my grandma's house and I read the first one out of boredom one day and loved it!
I have mentioned this before ... but ... I never understood how ERB was okay with the way Hollywood chose to portray his most famous character. They took a complicated and fascinating character and stripped him of everything that made him Lord of the Apes.
Everyone who loves Tarzan should also read Philip José Farmer's Tarzan related books, especially his Khokarsa cycle which explores the origins of Opar.
I’ve only read the first two books in the series and was surprised how much I enjoyed them. The books, as is typically the case, are much better than the movies. Thanks for sharing!
This is a reminder that I really need to get back to Tarzan once I get back around to finishing the Chronicles of Amber. So many excellent books await me!
Great overview of the Tarzan books. I pretty much agree with your all of your assessments of the individual books. I'll just point out though that the Ace edition of Tarzan at the Earth's Core was actually painted by Frazetta--not Krenkel.
I remember enjoying the 60s Tarzan tv show as a kid and then years later the movie Greystoke. But i dont remember if i ever saw the Weismiller and other actors Tarzan movies. Never read the books though.😮😮😮
I'm similar in that I gravitated to the Barsoom books first. I started my Tarzan read last year, but it is seldom that I stick to a series and just read all of them at once. I need to get back to Tarzan.
Good evening sir Michael, Roger, Mr Clock Fantastic show, I have now added two very nice Ballantine Editions to the collection, Tarzan and the lost City and Tarzan the Invincible. But just a Question...could Roger hale from one of these Lost Cities? Cheers Al The Goldkeyfourcolorkidownunda
ERB Inc's editions are also available in audiobook, a cheaper way to read this particular edition of Tarzan books. I really enjoy these editions for their afterwords, a fascinating peak behind the curtain of ERB's professional and personal life during that era I haven't finished the series yet but my top 5 Tarzan books as of now are: 1) Beasts of Tarzan 2) Tarzan the Untamed 3) Tarzan of the Apes 4) Tarzan the Invincible (La's final appearance in the series) 5)Tarzan Triumphant
Oh, man! I had no idea about those authorized hardcover ERB Inc editions! Those look magnificent. You forced me to check those out, and I wound up ordering the first three books in the series. Now I'm gonna have to collect them all, and invest in yet another bookcase!
Most of the Tarzan books I've read were in the second phase. I love the mix of science fiction and adventure. My favorite is Tarzan and the Ant Men. Very interesting gender role study. Reminded me of other sci-fi satires from that era, like Capillaria.
Thanks for this comprehensive guide to the Tarzan books by Burroughs. I admit I have yet to be really captured by Burroughs, though I've read At the Earth's Core and Princess of mars. I thought they were solid and fun but they didn't excite me as much as, e.g., Robert E. howard or Leigh Brackett, the latter especially being influenced by Burroughs. Still though I'd like to read more, and you got me kind of interested in Tarzan here. Speaking of Joe Lansdale, I have read a bunch of short stories and had an awesome time with them, and I just noticed this morning while opening my window to the online world that there's a brand new, very large, collection that just came out from him from, i think, Subterranean Press.
To be perfectly honest, I read the first Tarzan book back in 2019 and didn't really like it all that much. But your enthusiasm for Burroughs continually intrigues me. Perhaps I should go back and give it another read. If nothing else, those black bordered Ballantine editions are very tempting. 🤣I have to stop myself from going on eBay and buying a bulk lot. Lovely video! 😊
Do the covers of the books, especially those brilliant black border ones, reflect the content of the story or are they just straight out of the artist's imagination?
Me Tarzan You Lame Edgar was so displeased with the movie series he made a Tarzan serial. Didn't really take off but Edgar met his new wife making it so works out. Interesting how half the book descriptions were Tarzan runs into trouble.
Michael, another great video. I got lost in the worlds of Tarzan and Conan when I was a kid. Have you heard of that relatively new channel Mystery and Mayhem? RUclipsr’s name is Jim. He’s got similar tastes as yourself.
sadly roy krenkel never did a "tarzen at the earth's core" (many prelims tho as Roy does), that one you have is frank frazetta. I think it was one of Frank's first covers? i'd have to look it up.
Frazetta: "This painting was a vast improvement over my first Ace cover (Tarzan and the lost empire). Some of my sense of design had started to show through. I'm beginning to loosen up. I had painted this originally on a cheap piece of illustration board and the board started to bend into a half-moon shape. I tried to straighten it out and it cracked in half. It was faster to repaint it rather than try to repair it." (ERB Lol 1984)
Kreegah Tarzan bundolo! First introduced to T in the Ron Ely TV series in the 60s. Then it was the Gold Key and DC comics which led to the novels. All that before I ever saw a Johnny Weissmuller movie.
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar - "I need money, so I'll steal gold from the natives - they aren't using it anyway". This was out of character for a man who usually treated "primitive" people with respect. I agree 100% about the "middle period" of the books. They're hard to beat for sheer imagination even if you can only find so many lost cities or kill so many monsters before you start repeating yourself. There have also been a huge number of Tarzan stories (several decades worth) in comic books and comic strips. My favorites were the ones drawn.by Russ Manning in the 60s. Finally - there's a theory (I don't know the source) that La of Opar was actually Barsoomian.
Russ manning was the king so to speak with his Tarzan in comics. A few years back IDW published in 4 books all his daily and sunday comics. I had to import them to the netherlands (expensive..) but wow.. when your a fan i suppose you got those books too :-) for those who dont have them: try to get them!!
Thank you! I read the comics and watched the movies through out my childhood, then in the 1970s, I started reading the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. I remember that the comics, as an added feature, would sometimes have bonus comic, also with jungle and lost city themes. My two favorites were: " Brother of the Spear," and another one, whose title I have forgotten, that was about a young, female scientist, who had a labratory in the ruins of a lost city. Can you offer any information on these? Thank you!
Those covers could all be Conan covers, all they need is a sword. Could these guys only draw one character? It's almost as bad as DC/Marvel art where the only difference in character is the colours of their silly outfits!
As I started to listen, my husband walked into the room and I asked, "Did you ever read the Tarzan books?" He said, "Of COURSE! I read all of them. There are like 30 of them." Well, I could straighten him out on the exact number because you had just told us. I've known the man for 47 years, been married to him for 41, and at last guesstimate, we have 3k books together, but I never asked about Tarzan. I guess I will have to get up to speed.
This paragraph fills me with joy for some reason. Nice!❤❤❤
I love the Tarzan stories so much! Tarzan had such an influence on the cultural landscape of the day. I can't get enough of that character and probably have too many of the books on my shelves. 😆
I have been meaning to read Edgar Rice Burroughs books for a long time. I even bought his entire works for my Kindle. Then, while working on my genealogy tree, I came across Mr. Burroughs! He is my 6th cousin twice removed. We descend from the same Rice family (Edmund Rice arrived in MA in 1638). So, thank you, Michael! I will finally be getting to my cousin's books!!
I wonder how many people have not tried the books based on the image of the character the have from the movies. This was great. I want to take this opportunity to thank you again for introducing me to these spectacular books. About to start book 6, and having a great time with them.
Yeah, I bet a lot of people passed up Tarzan because of those films.
Roger wasn't jumping up and down at the idea of chatting about Tarzan. Methinks he's a bit.......dead. 💀
A bit!
No, no. I caught him smiling twice.
As a kid, I remember being a fan of the Tarzan movies that were shown on television, even though they were a lobotomized version of the character. I was especially drawn in by Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, which seemed to have some kind of a perverse sub-text. I had no idea what to do with a woman at that age (haven't changed that much, really) but I was just fascinated with the exotic Acquanetta, who portrays the queen of the Leopard Cult.
Acquanetta? Didn't she retire from films and started a hair spray company? I think she made a fortune in the '60s and 70s.😉
@@jeraldbaxter3532 I always assumed she had overthrown the forces of darkness and become reigning Queen of the Underworld, but hair spray is good, too.
@@russworks2882 Well, the Reigning Queen of the Underworld would need a really strong hairspray, to keep her coiffure in place while conquering all those demonic legions. But maybe that was her plan - develop Armageddon hairspray, then conquer Hades. I wonder if she also spent time at Maybelline and Mary Kay, for the full effect?😉
Thanks for the terrific tour of the Tarzan books. I will have to move on to _The Return of Tarzan_ sometime this year.
As for the recurring “lost” theme, I think that, for every lost city, there’s probably some nudge saying, “Come on. Think. Where was the city when you last had it?”
😂😂😂
I know I left that city around here somewhere.
Tarzan is a great character by a incredible story teller, as shown by how many Tarzan knock offs there are and how many people steal ideas from E.R.B. or steal ideas other people stole from Burroughs.
Thanks for doing this overview. I finally started reading Tarzan and Burroughs during the pandemic and had the whole “where has this been all my life?!” Moment.
I read the first few Tarzan’s and have wanted to do some videos. I’ve gotten most of the black cover paperbacks and just need a few more. Then I plan to move on to the Barsoom novels.
I find it absolutely insane that there aren’t current in print paperbacks for any Burroughs material. His influence on modern fiction at large is so incredibly massive.
I’m very curious about the new ERB editions which look great but as you said are very pricey.
You are going to like those Barsoom novels!
Wonderful! The black Tarzan printings are the ones I remember from my youth. I'm building a collection of them now, along with other Edgar Rice Burroughs works.
Your history of these books is kind of like mine. Except I read Tarzan way before I read John Carter. The Tarzan books just happened to be at my grandma's house and I read the first one out of boredom one day and loved it!
I have mentioned this before ... but ... I never understood how ERB was okay with the way Hollywood chose to portray his most famous character. They took a complicated and fascinating character and stripped him of everything that made him Lord of the Apes.
I suspect the money helped.
I've read the first Tarzan story several times but never tried any of the others. Your descriptions make me want to try more. Thanks Michael!
Great content mate keep up the hard work.....Robert E Howard fan 🇬🇧
yes! great work! keep this train driving, you make my day !
Everyone who loves Tarzan should also read Philip José Farmer's Tarzan related books, especially his Khokarsa cycle which explores the origins of Opar.
Tarzan is so much fun. I've only read the first seven, but I intend to finish the whole series at some point.
I’ve only read the first two books in the series and was surprised how much I enjoyed them. The books, as is typically the case, are much better than the movies. Thanks for sharing!
This is a reminder that I really need to get back to Tarzan once I get back around to finishing the Chronicles of Amber. So many excellent books await me!
Great overview of the Tarzan books. I pretty much agree with your all of your assessments of the individual books. I'll just point out though that the Ace edition of Tarzan at the Earth's Core was actually painted by Frazetta--not Krenkel.
My mistake. Thanks!
I remember enjoying the 60s Tarzan tv show as a kid and then years later the movie Greystoke. But i dont remember if i ever saw the Weismiller and other actors Tarzan movies. Never read the books though.😮😮😮
I'm similar in that I gravitated to the Barsoom books first. I started my Tarzan read last year, but it is seldom that I stick to a series and just read all of them at once. I need to get back to Tarzan.
Good evening sir Michael, Roger, Mr Clock
Fantastic show, I have now added two very nice Ballantine Editions to the collection, Tarzan and the lost City and Tarzan the Invincible. But just a Question...could Roger hale from one of these Lost Cities?
Cheers Al The Goldkeyfourcolorkidownunda
ERB Inc's editions are also available in audiobook, a cheaper way to read this particular edition of Tarzan books. I really enjoy these editions for their afterwords, a fascinating peak behind the curtain of ERB's professional and personal life during that era
I haven't finished the series yet but my top 5 Tarzan books as of now are:
1) Beasts of Tarzan
2) Tarzan the Untamed
3) Tarzan of the Apes
4) Tarzan the Invincible (La's final appearance in the series)
5)Tarzan Triumphant
Oh, man! I had no idea about those authorized hardcover ERB Inc editions! Those look magnificent. You forced me to check those out, and I wound up ordering the first three books in the series. Now I'm gonna have to collect them all, and invest in yet another bookcase!
I feel your pain....exact same thing happened to me.
Sorry!
Yep, I now have an official ERB shelf. When the official John Carter Bsrsoom editions hit ... well, I'm going to have to get all of those.
@@bookchaser1103 Me too!
Holy cow. My order of the first three authorized ERB Tarzan editions arrived today, and they are GORGEOUS! All that supplemental material is terrific.
Most of the Tarzan books I've read were in the second phase. I love the mix of science fiction and adventure. My favorite is Tarzan and the Ant Men. Very interesting gender role study. Reminded me of other sci-fi satires from that era, like Capillaria.
Thanks for this comprehensive guide to the Tarzan books by Burroughs. I admit I have yet to be really captured by Burroughs, though I've read At the Earth's Core and Princess of mars. I thought they were solid and fun but they didn't excite me as much as, e.g., Robert E. howard or Leigh Brackett, the latter especially being influenced by Burroughs. Still though I'd like to read more, and you got me kind of interested in Tarzan here.
Speaking of Joe Lansdale, I have read a bunch of short stories and had an awesome time with them, and I just noticed this morning while opening my window to the online world that there's a brand new, very large, collection that just came out from him from, i think, Subterranean Press.
To be perfectly honest, I read the first Tarzan book back in 2019 and didn't really like it all that much. But your enthusiasm for Burroughs continually intrigues me. Perhaps I should go back and give it another read. If nothing else, those black bordered Ballantine editions are very tempting. 🤣I have to stop myself from going on eBay and buying a bulk lot. Lovely video! 😊
How dare ANYONE challenge ANY of your assertions!!!😤🤬😠...... I mean....besides Roger.....😂
😊
Do the covers of the books, especially those brilliant black border ones, reflect the content of the story or are they just straight out of the artist's imagination?
Me Tarzan You Lame
Edgar was so displeased with the movie series he made a Tarzan serial. Didn't really take off but Edgar met his new wife making it so works out.
Interesting how half the book descriptions were Tarzan runs into trouble.
shipping to Canada doubles the price of anything on ebay, plus I am on a book buying ban
Does Canada have Hoopladigital? I read the first Tarzan book on their app on my phone. All you need is a library card and an email
@@RobynHoodeofSherwood ebooks are not hard to find, but I prefer paper books
Michael, another great video. I got lost in the worlds of Tarzan and Conan when I was a kid. Have you heard of that relatively new channel Mystery and Mayhem? RUclipsr’s name is Jim. He’s got similar tastes as yourself.
Mystery and Mayhem is the best!
sadly roy krenkel never did a "tarzen at the earth's core" (many prelims tho as Roy does), that one you have is frank frazetta. I think it was one of Frank's first covers? i'd have to look it up.
Frazetta: "This painting was a vast improvement over my first Ace cover (Tarzan and the lost empire). Some of my sense of design had started to show through. I'm beginning to loosen up. I had painted this originally on a cheap piece of illustration board and the board started to bend into a half-moon shape. I tried to straighten it out and it cracked in half. It was faster to repaint it rather than try to repair it." (ERB Lol 1984)
Kreegah Tarzan bundolo! First introduced to T in the Ron Ely TV series in the 60s. Then it was the Gold Key and DC comics which led to the novels. All that before I ever saw a Johnny Weissmuller movie.
Tarzan and the Foreign Legion was the first I read of the series. I think I've read them all since then. 😏
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar - "I need money, so I'll steal gold from the natives - they aren't using it anyway". This was out of character for a man who usually treated "primitive" people with respect.
I agree 100% about the "middle period" of the books. They're hard to beat for sheer imagination even if you can only find so many lost cities or kill so many monsters before you start repeating yourself.
There have also been a huge number of Tarzan stories (several decades worth) in comic books and comic strips. My favorites were the ones drawn.by Russ Manning in the 60s.
Finally - there's a theory (I don't know the source) that La of Opar was actually Barsoomian.
Russ manning was the king so to speak with his Tarzan in comics. A few years back IDW published in 4 books all his daily and sunday comics. I had to import them to the netherlands (expensive..) but wow.. when your a fan i suppose you got those books too :-) for those who dont have them: try to get them!!
I heard the word war ! Tarzan the Untamed and Tarzan and the Foreign Legion, could be the picks for me.
I could be wrong, but didn't Fritz Leiber write a 25th adventure (authorized) of Tarzan?
He did. ERB incorporated authorized several sequels but I wanted to focus on only Tarzan stories ERB wrote or had a hand in.
Thank you! I read the comics and watched the movies through out my childhood, then in the 1970s, I started reading the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. I remember that the comics, as an added feature, would sometimes have bonus comic, also with jungle and lost city themes. My two favorites were: " Brother of the Spear," and another one, whose title I have forgotten, that was about a young, female scientist, who had a labratory in the ruins of a lost city. Can you offer any information on these? Thank you!
I wish I could. Those sound fantastic!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Thanks! I have a knack for wanting the obscure and hard to find. I am enjoying your channel!
I’m having serious deja vu with this video. I could swear you’ve done it before and said the same things. 😂 not that I care very much.
Those covers could all be Conan covers, all they need is a sword. Could these guys only draw one character? It's almost as bad as DC/Marvel art where the only difference in character is the colours of their silly outfits!