Official Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine Site
Since 1996 ~ Over 15,000 Web Pages in Archive
Presents
Volume 2387
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ECLECTICA v.2009.04 |
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Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, wrote for System Magazine. He was turned off by the fact that writers like him, with no business experience, were supposed to provide advice to business managers in the journal. He began sending stories out to be published, first science fiction stories, then the Tarzan stories, in order to be able to leave the magazine and make it as a writer on his own.
COLLECTIBLES
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"Who hasn't wanted to become a superhero?" University of British Columbia professor E. Paul Zehr asks in Becoming Batman. . . . I realize that for a large percentage of the (male) population, this is a pressing and valid concern. There's just something about superheroes that men can't stop believing. "It's my goal to use my extensive knowledge of science and martial arts to explore the scientific possibility of becoming Batman," says the neuroscientist, kinesiologist and black belt martial artist. Merging all kinds of nerd-doms, Zehr has written the newest escapist fantasy for freaks and geeks everywhere. . . .
Not all superheroes are doing so well, however; poor Tarzan has seen more popular days. In On Tarzan, English professor Alex Vernon charts the rise and fall of the - stop me if you've heard this one - vine-swinging aristocratic orphan raised by apes. Surprise, surprise: Like the works of Conrad and Kipling, Burroughs's original 1914 Tarzan of the Apes (and its, count 'em, 23 sequels) is all kinds of racist, sexist, imperialist, colonialist.Vernon excels at historical context, weaving Tarzan's countless reincarnations into everything from the Nazis to Vietnam. He links Tarzan's literary birth, at the apex of the greatest immigrant influx in U.S. history, to the United States' "fantasy of the self-made man ... the narcissistic orphan fantasy of early adolescence, maybe even of the perpetually adolescent America."
Vernon is always quick to point to the flaws in his own arguments, reminding us that from Oliver Twist to Harry Potter to, uh, Batman, orphan stories have reigned supreme for much longer than the United States has. So while Tarzan is and is not a metaphor, he also "is a noble and a savage. He is and isn't an immigrant. ... He is and isn't educated. ... He is and isn't a youth, is and isn't a mature adult."
So what is he? Vernon can't make up his mind. And with a vast wealth of material from which to pick and choose - from the n-word-happy original series and follow-up comic book to the hyper-censored 1950s films and the Disney kid-friendly cartoon (you might say the movie never ends, it just goes on and on and on and on) - Vernon can explore it all without any definitive results.
My favourite chapter to giggle through by far is a homoerotic analysis called Monkey Business, hurling gems such as: "Male readers watch with Jane, admiring and maybe even desiring the muscles on that great big penis of a man." Just imagine how Vernon feels about those bananas.
Some arguments are sexier than others, but Vernon proves one thing: Tarzan is what we make him. Each reincarnation is evidence of its time, but also of Tarzan's timelessness for believers everywhere. The ability to invent - and reinvent - yourself is an alluring fantasy fit for kings of the jungle and boys at home.
Though you might not find him in a loincloth, wise guy Tony Soprano has murdered his way into boy-crushes everywhere. Hailed as the "greatest work of American popular culture of the last quarter century" by The New York Times, HBO's second-favourite show has, like The Godfather and Goodfellas, a special place in the heart of male worship. Film and TV scholar Dana Polan examines the mass appeal of this modern antihero in his creatively titled analysis, The Sopranos.When not fighting crime, Rosemary Counter writes a pop culture column on http://www.shedoesthecity.com.
Best Essays Interviews & Articles from the Archives of Writers Digest Magazine:
Legends of Literature:
by Phillip Sexton (Editor)
Hardcover: 320 pages ~ Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (13 Sep 2007) ~ List Price: $19.99For more than 85 years, "Writers Digest" magazine has chronicled the work, opinions, and personalities of the 20th-centurys greatest literary minds. This collection reprints some of the best essays, interviews, and articles published in the magazines history.
For every lover of great literature...
For more than eight decades, "Writer's Digest" magazine has chronicled the work, opinions, and personalities of the 20th century's greatest literary minds. At the same time, it has recorded the evolution of U.S. culture itself, through times of war, social upheaval, technological change and more, all through the lens of art."Legends of Literature" brings together the most fascinating of these essays, interviews, profiles, and articles, exposing contemporary readers to long lost reflections and opinions on writing, many belonging to some of the greatest creators of their generation.In addition to articles on the craft of writing, readers will find intriguing profiles of famous and infamous authors as well as historically fascinating essays on how censorship, women reporters, WWII, and the evolution of the film industry affected writers and writing.Most of these articles haven't seen the light of day in decades and will be of interest to writers, history buffs, pop culture addicts, and anyone who loves literature.Inside you'll find articles by Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Erle Stanley Gardner, Orson Scott Card, John Dickson Carr, and Ray Bradbury; essays by H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, Hilton James, Ken Kesey, and Jack Kerouac; in-depth interviews with Kurt Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates, Carl Sandburg, and George Bernard Shaw; and so much more. Whether you're a writer, history buff, pop culture addict, or simply a lover of literature, there's only one word to describe them all: LEGENDS.
Read Phillip Sexton's article on LEGENDS at the Writer's Digest site:
http://www.writersdigest.com/article/Literary_Legends
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Contains the article: EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, INC by Dolph Sharp http://www.erbzine.com/mag3/0361.html |
Contains the article: ENTERTAINMENT IS FICTION'S PURPOSE By Edgar Rice Burroughs http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0057.html |
Included in the book is a 1932 article by Edgar Rice Burroughs on his creation Tarzan. "I wanted my readers to realize that man alone of all the creatures that inhabit earth or the waters below or the air above takes life wantonly; he is the only creature that takes pleasure from inflicting pain on other creatures, even his own kind. Jealousy, greed, hate spitefulness are more fully developed in man than in the lower orders. These are axiomatic truths that require no demonstration."
Here is some of what Burroughs has to say.
THE TARZAN THEME
By Edgar Rice Burroughs
Writer's Digest - June 1932
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0058.html"Necessity required him to fill for food and in defense of his life, the example of his savage associates never suggested that pleasure might be found in killing, and the chivalry that was in his bloodstream prevented him from imaging such pleasure.... His viewpoint toward death was seemingly callus, but it was without cruelty."
"Years ago, when I came to realization of the hold that Tarzan had taken upon the imaginations of many people, I was glad that I had made of him the sort of character that I had; and since then I have been careful not to permit him to let his foot slip, no matter what the temptation. I must admit that, at times, this has been difficult when I have placed him in situations where I would not have been quite sure of my own footing...."
"On the whole, however, I must have been more or less successful for all ages and both sexes continue to admire him; and he goes his bloody way scattering virtue and sudden death indiscriminately and in all directions."
"He may not be a force for good; and if he entertains, that is all I care about; but I am sure that he is not a force for evil, which is something these days."
A Journey to the Earth's Interior
by Marshall B. Gardner [1920]
http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/jei/index.htm
Subterranean Worlds: A Critical Anthology (Wesleyan Early Classics of Science Fiction) ~ Peter Fitting
VIDEO
Ray Bradbury's debt to comics and movies
http://www.erbzine.com/mag23/videos/ray.wmv
Thanks to Ted McKosky
From Tarstarkas.net
Jon Favreau recently Twittered the marionette mockup of Woola from the ill-fated John Carter of Mars film he was attached as director at one point:
Original concept design for the Paramount version of John Carter of Mars, by David Krentz.
LATEST ADDITIONS TO OUR ERB ARTIST ENCYCLOPEDIA
http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1002.html
Fibiger, Milan
Milan Fibiger: M.A.(Artist, book illustrator, rock musician) ~ Prague. Czechoslovakia
www.milanfibiger.com/web
EDUCATION
•1979-1983 SUP Praha (Publicity art)
•1984-1990 VUP (Illustration - profesor J. Salamoun)
•Artist of year 2002
•Artist of year 2003
•Artist of year 2007
Since 1995, he has regularly exhibited his work. He uses classical painting techniques. With the technique of the black-and-white gouache, he folows the unique expression of the illustrations of Zdenek Burian.
His ERB artwork was showcased in April 2007 at the Tarzan art show in France organized by Philippe Badré, one of the leading French experts on Tarzan.
Harry Borgman is an artist from Sawyer, Michigan, whose professional career has embraced both the commercial and fine art worlds. He has worked as an illustrator, graphic designer as well as art director. For many years he specialized in ink line drawings, These are sample illustrations that he did which illustrated Edgar Rice Burroughs' stories. Some of them were used as covers for the fanzine ERB-dom. He has been working on a series of comic book cover parodies and has turned some of his ERB art into covers. Visit the Harry Borgman Blogsite
Illustration was based on BEYOND THIRTY |
Illustration for TARZAN OF THE APES |
Cover of ERB-dom #26, June 1969 OUT OF TIME'S ABYSS |
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The 3-D art in the acclaimed Tarzan View-Master series was created by Montyne Montyne was a creative genius, a master sculptor/painter and performer. From the beginning he was devoted to the companion arts of painting and sculpture, ultimately fusing the two into an art form he called "dimensional painting." His contributions to the art world are revolutionary. See Montyne's View Master art in ERBzine 0840
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Dex (Giovanni Ribisi) shoves a pile of papers and comic books off his desk. These comics are the Buck Rogers Famous Funnies covers by Frazetta. |
Later when Dex is captured and Sky Captain is looking through the rubble Frazetta's work appears again. |
Back in 2004, Danton Burroughs attended the Press Preview for the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow written and directed by Kerry Conran At that time Conran
had been selected by Paramount
The film is now
in pre-production at the Disney/Pixar Studios
Danton was very
impressed with the production and Conran's work.
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ERBzine contributor Jairo Uparella of Cartagena, Columbia has been editing
an
The name of the e-zine is SOCKET and it may be accessed at:
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Studley Oldham Burroughs Playing golf in 1914? TRIBUTE PAGES: http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0053.html |
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Ref: The ERBzine Burroughs Family Tribute Series: Caryl Lee Burroughs ~ ERBzine 1637
A Visit With Lee Chase
http://www.erbzine.com/mag16/1632.html
The Return of Lee Chase
http://www.erbzine.com/mag16/1643.html
WEBJED:
BILL HILLMAN
I
have been reading Argosy for years and I shall continue to do so. However,
I will say this, that if Burroughs writes another novel and ends it like
he did "The Pirates of Venus," one of his stanchest (sic) supporters will
lose some degree of faith. I have read every story he ever wrote and I
don’t think he has an equal in his line.
