Telos releases ‘Ape-Man’ an unofficial Tarzan guide

By John Freeman on July 23, 2012

In October 1912, readers of The All-Story magazine were enthralled by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ tale of John Clayton, an orphaned English lord given a simian upbringing in the African jungle who went on to reclaim his birth-right in civilisation while maintaining one foot in the savage land he had conquered. The character went on to appear in more than two dozen sequels by Burroughs as well as many adaptations.

Now, UK publisher Telos has released Ape-Man: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to 100 Years of Tarzan by Sean Egan, which traces Tarzan’s history in prose, film, comic strips, comic books, radio, stage, television, computer games and merchandise, charting the rise of one of the most popular and iconic characters in fiction.

Described as a comprehensive exploration of one of the most famous icons of the last hundred years the book includes the last ever interview with Danton Burroughs (grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs), plus exclusive comments from Michael Moorcock, Hugh Hudson, R A Salvatore and the oldest surviving screen Tarzan, Denny Miller, amongst many more.

The book also examines the massive changes in public attitudes towards Africa, race, hereditary peers and wildlife conservation that may finally deal Tarzan the fatal blow that any number of sinister safaris and high priests of mysterious lost cities failed to.

– Ape-Man: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to 100 Years of Tarzan by Sean Egan. 300pp. A5 paperback book. ISBN 978-1-84583-067-0 (pb) Paperback rrp £15.99

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.