One of my early writing influences was Edgar Rice Burroughs. I was inordinately impressed by how many great stories he wrote. Whether they dealt with Mars, Venus, a land filled with dinosaurs at the Earth's core, or one of his stand-alone novels, his books always impressed me.
I thought: if I ever become a writer, I want to be like Edgar Rice Burroughs.
While I may have been aware of the older Tarzan movies, the only one that might have been on my radar was the one starring Bo Derek. Of course, I wouldn't be seeing that! So I think my only experience with Tarzan, up until High School, was Saturday Morning Cartoons.
After exhausting the bookstore and library's available Edgar Rice Burroughs Science Fiction and Fantasy titles, I decided to take a chance on this series. After all, Edgar Rice Burroughs had written them. And they sported some awesome covers.
Some of my High School friends belittled my reading choice, seeing the novels as kid stuff. But a few asked if they could borrow them after I finished reading them.
Three years ago, I happened upon artist Neil Adams's booth at Wondercon 2019. I told him how much I enjoyed the cover art he supplied for this series. He kindly took the time to explain how he made them.
These classic scenes looked so lush to me I had assumed they were oil paintings. But (if I remember correctly), he said that he painted these on a piece of metal. This metal sheet was then used to print the image onto the covers.
Sadly, Neil Adams passed away last month. He left behind an army of fans who loved the comics he wrote and drew. As I wasn't into superhero comics in High School, this was my introduction to this giant of the comics field. Perhaps it also introduced my friends who borrowed these novels to his work.
These Tarzan novels are readily available (for free) online. The pages of my copies are yellowed. The print is small and the lines are spaced close together. Yet I find it hard to give them away.
Farewell, Neil. Thanks for all the great art.
Dragon Dave
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