by Duane Spurlock
New Tarzan stories — there are periods when it seems Tarzan fades entirely from the popular consciousness; but in the 1990s, comics were the only likely way ERB fans were going to get new Tarzan thrills, and at that time, even that medium was offering little hope: Dell and Gold Key were long gone, DC’s ERB explosion from the 1970s was past, Marvel’s followup Tarzan series had petered out. Even the Tarzan comic strip was running in very few papers at the time — in fact, it was pretty hard to find.
Then, European comics publisher Semic teamed with U.S. independent comics publisher Malibu in the 1990s to publish new Tarzan comics. Leading the charge in overseeing creative development was Henning Kure.
Henning Kure (born 12/11/1953 in Denmark) is called “one of the founders of the modern Danish comic fandom in the early 1970s. In 1974, he was employed by the leading Danish publishing house for comics, Interpresse, where he was responsible for the selection of half of all foreign comics translated and published in Denmark until the end of the 1980s. He also promoted Danish comics by publishing the Valhalla series (by Peter Madsen) in 1979. In 1989, Kure left Interprese to devote himself to creating his own comics. His graphic novel Stormy Moors (“Storm over Heden”) is still in the works. He does a lot of writing, not only for comics (he has written the recent episodes of Valhalla) but also for film, theater and science. His children's book Troll Story is being made into a movie.” (The preceding info is from the Lambiek comic art web site.) Independent comics artist and writer Michael T. Gilbert (creator of pulp-influenced comic book hero Mr. Monster) is a scripter for the Walt Disney comics published by Danish publisher Egmont; Gilbert reports on his blog that nowadays Henning is his editor for Egmont.
Kure attended the 1992 (27-30 Aug. 1992) Dum-Dum — the annual convention of the Burroughs Bibliophiles, a club for Edgar Rice Burroughs fans—in Louisville, Kentucky. I interviewed him then, and the result was published in the club’s quarterly magazine, The Burroughs Bulletin (#13 [January 1993], p.23-35). It’s been a long time since that publication, and I bet nearly everyone here hasn’t seen it. So I thought I’d reprint it here. It’s interesting to see what Henning’s hopes for the character were at that time — unfortunately, the series lasted only about a year or so. Later the U.S. license for the Tarzan comics was picked up by Dark Horse.
And now, the interview . . .
Henning Kure is the editor of the new Tarzan comic book published by Semic International and distributed in this country by Malibu Graphics. He also wrote the second miniseries that appeared, a three-issue story titled Love, Lies, and the Lost City, and is working closely with everyone creating material for the book.
On meeting Henning, a native of Denmark, I was finally struck by the international appeal of Burroughs' most popular character. Henning is a slim, soft-spoken gentleman with a friendly smile. He speaks excellent English with a slight accent that movie-going Americans might compare to Arnold Schwarzenegger's. (I'm sure staunch proponents of BBC English would have shaken their heads in bewilderment had they overheard the combination of Henning's soft Danish accent and my Kentucky drawl.) Though Lord Greystoke is British and was created by an American, Tarzan is a character for the world.
Henning is immersed in Tarzan lore from years of reading and studying Burroughs and editing reprints of Tarzan comics for European markets. Henning's great love for Burroughs' creation is evident in the way he talks about Tarzan. Through the new comic book, he plans to share that enthusiasm with comic readers in the United States, Britain, and Europe.
In making Tarzan available again in comic book form, Henning is dedicated to the integrity of the character's presentation, and the Burroughs canon will serve as the foundation for the stories Henning will publish.
We talked together during the 1992 Dum-Dum in Louisville. At the time, only four of the five issues of Tarzan the Warrior had been published, and the first issue of Love, Lies, and the Lost City had just been released.
Duane Spurlock [DS]: It's exciting to see Tarzan back on the newsstands.
Henning Kure [HK]: Well, it's not really on the newsstands . . .
DS: That's true - it's the comic shops. That's as close as most comics get to newsstands now. What's your background in publishing, and what's your connection with Tarzan?
HK: Right now I'm the producer of the Tarzan comic book, and I used to be the publisher and editor of the Danish branch of Semic International. I have a long career of being that - I was a publisher and editor for fifteen years. A couple of times I've tried to get Tarzan for publication before I initiated this incarnation of Tarzan. I came up with a proposal in 1986, and didn't get it at that time. So I had to wait until other contracts at that time ran out, etc. Meanwhile, I retired as a publisher. But I told Semic that if they eventually got the contract, I would come back to do Tarzan. And that's what I'm doing right now...It's on a freelance basis.
DS: I've seen some other Semic books, but not many — I think a Den book by Richard Corben...
HK: That's possible. Most of what Semic produces are reprint editions. Semic is a group of publishers all over Europe. The Swedish company is the monarch company; the big thing in Sweden is The Phantom, and Semic has been producing The Phantom comic book for many years.
DS: Do they offer a lot of American pop-culture type material, or is it primarily European-produced?
HK: It's both, but the American material is not the big thing. I handled all the American material for a while. I edited DC and Marvel reprints for Scandinavia.
DS: So you've seen lots of books cross your desk.
HK: Oh yes.
DS: What was your introduction to Edgar Rice Burroughs and, more specifically, to Tarzan?
HK: Well, only Tarzan, actually, because I never read any of the other stuff. I read some of the books when I was a kid, in Danish translation. I was always fascinated by the character. After having read the books, I followed some of the other material that was published. I saw the movies, but the movies were disturbing - they weren't the books, and it wasn't really Tarzan. Some of the comics that came out in Denmark — the ones by John Celardo and Burne Hogarth — that wasn't Tarzan, either. The character was not there, just a blank image. So what got my interest going again was the Russ Manning material — the Dell books and, later on, his comic strips. That seemed to be the real Tarzan to me, true to his spirit and to some degree true to the books.
But the Manning strips only went so far. They're designed for a young reader, and you eventually grow out of it. At least I did - I wanted more realism, more believability. I got that with Joe Kubert's art (I'm a dedicated Kubert fan!), and even more so when I got hold of Farmer's book, Tarzan Alive! I don't agree with it, but it's really a fantastic piece of work, and it certainly inspired me a lot.
Actually, Tarzan Alive! was the culmination of what was going on in the fanzines at the time. I read most of the articles in ERB-dom, and a lot of my ideas for the present comics were founded back then, on the basis of fan-generated ideas. I miss that kind of fandom — I had hoped to meet it here at the Dum-Dum, but maybe it doesn't exist anymore.
Well, the latest thing to kick up my interest in Tarzan was the Greystoke movie; again, I don't agree with it: I think they missed the whole point of Tarzan, but they got the character right. For once it was an actor playing Tarzan, not an image, as usually happens. And it was an actor who could make a believable character of Tarzan.
DS: It was a beautiful movie, but it missed...
HK: It missed the major point of what Tarzan is about. In the movie, he is dragged out of the jungle and meets civilization, meets Jane, but he gets fed up with it, and the natural consequence is that he runs screaming back into the jungle.
In the book, Tarzan leaves the jungle because he chooses to. And that's the all-important character trait. It's a conscious choice. He's not dragged out of the jungle because some explorer found him. He chooses to go to civilization because he's in love with Jane. And Jane, of course, embodies civilization. This basically sets up what I see as the core of the character. He's the lord of the jungle; he's Lord Greystoke. He is balancing these two worlds, and Jane is his motivation to go out of the jungle. Without her, he would just be an ape.
DS: I guess Semic got back in touch with you and asked if you were still interested in this project?
HK: No, the negotiations went on, and after some years, suddenly the breakthrough came-DC and whoever else was interested pulled out, and I got the deal. Semic said, ''Now it's here. You promised to do it."
DS: You work out of Denmark, and work is also being done in England.
HK: Yes, I work with writers and artists in Denmark, England, and Croatia, and in the States.
DS: Where does work first appear? Here in the States?
HK: Yes.
DS: Why is that?
HK: Well, that's what I want to do. Produce an English core edition, and then everybody else translates from that. That's the common language that everybody can relate to and translate from. That's the easiest way to do it. And that's the way I wanted to do it. I wanted to work with an American outfit and cater to an American market.
DS: Is Tarzan as popular — you mentioned that The Phantom was very popular in Europe — is Tarzan that well known in Europe?
HK: Oh yes, he's well known, he's known all over the world, but he's not particularly popular anywhere.
DS: Well, I know there hasn't been a comic book produced in this country for a few years...
HK: There has been so very much bad material produced; I think it has made people tired of the character.
DS: Has any of the European material appeared yet?
HK: No, the first material that will appear in Europe will be the Tom Yeates material (The Beckoning), which will start over here in November [1992]. So Tom Yeates' work will actually be out in Europe before it appears in the States.
DS: What sort of response have you received for the work so far? Have you been pleased?
HK: Oh yes. People are very enthusiastic — or have shown great enthusiasm about it. So far I have had positive response to the artwork and story. But I run into different tastes all the time, since I have chosen to use different artists and have different styles for various stories.
DS: Speaking of the art - Neil [Vokes, who is sitting nearby] did the art for the first five-issue series. For the second series, Peter Snejbjerg and Teddy Kristiansen.
HK: Yes, they are collaborating on the story I wrote, which runs for three issues, and in the first issue each does a back-up story on his own. So you can see what their artwork is like when they work together and apart.
DS: What I perceive - and I don't know that it's really true — is that most American comics sell well according to the artist on the book. What do you think, Neil?
Neil Vokes: I think in America, anyway, though I don't know about Europe. But in America, definitely more people buy a book because they like the pictures. That doesn't have a lot to do with the writing. There are core fans who like writers, but nine times out of ten somebody picks up a book because of the pictures.
DS: Well, I wondered how you determined to use two popular American writers for the two back-up stories in this first issue [of Love, Lies, and the Lost City] — Walt Simonson and Matt Wagner — and decided to use two European artists.
HK: These two writers were sort of tacked on to the project after the work was started, basically to get past the retailer barrier in American distribution, in which the retailer more or less decides the popularity of the book. They are the first customer to convince. Here at the Dum-Dum, I've heard a lot of complaints from people not being able to find the book. Burroughs fans can't get them in the comic book shops because retailers don't take enough volume.
DS: I've been able to buy a couple of copies of each issue, because I like what you're doing so far, and I'd like the book to succeed in the market. How are sales?
HK: So far they've been very satisfying. The first issue, which is the only result I have, sold out in its first two weeks. It's going back for a resolicitation. The standard of the direct sales market is that the first issue sells very well, the second sells about half that. Our second issue didn't do that: It dropped only 20 percent. So it seems like the character has stable support.
DS: In the first part of your three-issue story, I think it's kind of daring that Tarzan doesn't even show up.
HK: [Smiling] He will.
DS: Oh, I'm sure he will, but I think most mainstream comic publishers would have been afraid to launch a story without the title character appearing.
HK: To me, the main character in the first chapter is Opar. I always wanted to show Opar and what it looks like and how you get into it; so, basically we have this character who gets to travel the route Tarzan took to get into Opar in The Return of Tarzan.
DS: I was looking at these art samples - one of these is your artwork. Are you going to be doing any drawing for the book?
HK: No, no [modest grin], probably not.
DS: Well, I thought it was well done. Is that just because you don't have the time to devote to it?
HK: Well, I'm not a trained artist. I don't think it would look good. [Laughter] I could get lucky with this one panel, but that's totally different from drawing an entire book.
DS: Did you have a specific style you wanted for the art in the book?
HK: Not personally. Semic wanted a traditional illustrator style. They are in love with what Tom Yeates is doing and [sly smile] hate what Neil is doing [laughter all around]. No, actually it's more the science fiction element of the story Neil's illustrating that they hate. To me, each style has its value. I think it would be interesting to have many different styles. They hate the Danish artists' work, too.
DS: Really? This sample reminds me a lot of Matt Wagner's style.
HK: Oh yeah, but they would hate Matt Wagner, too. They are traditionalists, and they have a market that is very conservative, so they have a reason for being traditionalists. They have to go out to the mass market. This is more sophisticated comic book reading. I was just hearing from some of the old fans here, who aren't used to reading comic books, who have difficulty with some of this material because it's not...
DS:...it's not normal novel-type prose...
HK: Yes, it's for comic book readers. Of course, that's the main group I have to appeal to, I have to appeal to American comic book readers. If I had to appeal to Edgar Rice Burroughs fans only, I would need a different set up. I wouldn't have enough readers to carry the book.
DS: You'd soon be out of business.
HK: That's exactly right. But even the hardcore fans will find something to be happy about, stylistically. And all of the stories, for the first time, are in line with what Burroughs wrote. We're not going to contradict the original stories.
DS: Mark [Wheatley, who scripted the first five-issue miniseries, and whose Insight Studios is handling much of the series' production work] said you've worked out a pretty tight chronology for Tarzan.
HK: Yes. That's what ties these stories together. The stories are taking place all over the world, at any time in this century. The first few are contemporary, and we make a point of taking Tarzan out of the jungle, to get rid of the image and focus on the character. Of course, he will be in the jungle as well, because he gets there eventually in almost any story. But what ties this together is the history of his life, and I've worked that out pretty well. Of course, all the Burroughs books are part of that history. The stories I produce will fill out the gaps, or explain the discrepancies, or go further into stuff that never was developed in the original books. You'll also see minor characters from the books pop up - or their descendants! Like the son of Mullargan from Tarzan and the Champion in the Tom Yeates story, or the granddaughter of some of the characters from Tarzan the lnvincible in Love, Lies, and the Lost City.
DS: I talked to Mark Wheatley earlier about Jane's role in the first miniseries as narrator...
HK: Yes, as I mentioned awhile ago, Jane is Tarzan's motivation for getting out of the jungle; therefore she is extremely important in the whole setup of these stories.
DS: So we'll continue to see a lot of her?
HK: She'll be there a lot.
DS: Burroughs created her as a strong character, but he just didn't let her take the stage very often.
HK: No, in most cases she served as the bait, or the damsel in distress, which doesn't reveal her character. She can be a damsel in distress, but there is more to her than that.
DS: Will Korak show up in this series?
HK: Eventually, yes. Everybody will show up [smiles].
DS: Has this been a good experience so far?
HK: I guess so [laughs]. I've been working about three years constantly on this project, and only now is it getting published. So a lot of frustrations have built up. I miss doing other things besides this. But I guess so. It's getting there.
DS: Will you be doing a lot of the writing?
HK: As far as editing is concerned, this Tarzan project will be it, my last editing job. What I want to do is indeed writing, but it'll probably not be on Tarzan. I've done this one Tarzan story [Love, Lies, and the Lost City], and I do have a few other stories I'd like to write, but it'll never be a lot. I would rather like to write for other editors than myself.
DS: Did you enjoy doing this one?
HK: Oh yes, that was fun.
DS: Right now, you're publishing in the United States and in Europe. All across Europe?
HK: Yeah, I think it's eight countries.
DS: What about other countries? Perhaps Japan?
HK: I don't have any plans for that right now. My only plans are to put this out and let everyone come to me [smiles].
DS: [Laughs] That sounds smart.
HK: That's what will eventually sell this product and keep it alive - that it is interesting and the quality is high enough to keep it going a long time.
DS: Have you been satisfied with the quality so far?
HK: Oh yeah, very much. Especially the quality of the storytelling, which is so important about this project to me. That seems out of focus here at the Dum¬Dum. What are really important to me are the story and the story lines, that's what keeps me going. I have had a number of stories in mind for ages, and that's the basis for what is coming out now. I've planned stories for the next two or three years. I've been traveling the States these couple of weeks discussing stories with writers all the time. So that's what I'm into. That doesn't seem to generate a lot of interest with fans initially, what the stories are about, but I think that's the important thing.
DS: It sort of gets lost in people's thinking, "Well, he's a character;" and everybody knows, or has some preconception about what that character is because of their exposure to the movies or just the uninformed popular notion based on those movies.
HK: Yes, that is true for many average readers. But the fans (or maybe "fans" is not the right word?) do the same thing. I've heard many presume the worst - without ever reading the stories. It's peculiar, but I also realize that I hadn't made a distinction between Burroughs fans and Burroughs bibliophiles. This is definitely a gathering of bibliophiles, more into what edition and so forth, rather than actually into the stories. I'm not being asked what I'm going to do with this character, it's more "when will it be out," "how many editions," "how do we get the European version," and stuff like that. Not about how I'm prepared to deal with Tarzan.
The fan-boy in me would go up to the editor — given this rare chance of a personal confrontation — and ask: 'What do you think of The Great Korak Time Discrepancy?" — or some such thing. It doesn't happen here. Where have all the real fans gone? Why aren't they here? Nobody is really concerned with whether I'm going to ruin the character or not — he's been ruined every time anybody has done anything with him, so far. Nobody has actually, in my opinion, taken the character or the work of Burroughs seriously. They have tried to avoid that, or just lifted out the image of the character and then disregarded what makes that image work.
DS: As an aside - speaking of image, I was talking to Mark about the double cover. [The first issue of Tarzan the Warrior had separate illustrations for the front and the back covers. One was printed upside down, so both could be used as the front of the book for display purposes just by flipping it over. One cover was by Mark Wheatley's partner, Marc Hempel, and the other was by English artist Simon Bisley. Hempel's cover was much better than Bisley's, I thought.
HK: Oh yeah, definitely. It was not Bisley's best work. He dashed in at the very last moment. Another artist was commissioned to do that art, which was basically a piece of work to draw attention to the book, but the other artist didn't deliver, didn't keep his promise; so Bisley actually jumped in and did a fast job at the last minute to save us. You can't complain too much.
I didn't necessarily want Tarzan in the raincoat by a race car, but I wanted Bisley to show the civilized Tarzan, Tarzan out of the jungle, although Bisley's spontaneous urge was to do Tarzan in the jungle. I guess if I had let him do the jungle piece, we would have gotten a more interesting piece of work. A lot of the Bisley fans bought the book anyway, and it did the job. It drew attention to the book.
I don't think the readers were that much concerned about the Bisley cover, but the hardcore Burroughs fans just hated it. But again, it was done to get through the retailer barrier. Bisley is a name the retailer will recognize. It's catering to the collectors market, which is the only outlet to reach the readers.
This might even be the clue to my question about where the true fans have gone, the ones who read before they collect. Today you buy collectibles - comic books that are never opened, trade cards, etc. - for which image is more important than reading experience. It's the collectors who dominate this Dum-Dum, even. I always wondered why an ERB fan organization would invite, as guests of honor, the very people who have ruined Tarzan - the mediocre actors, etc. - even artists like Burne Hogarth, who - for all his artistic integrity and indisputable greatness - has been a primary force in turning Tarzan into an image rather than a character. Hogarth's storytelling {and he has told about this, himself, many times!} consisted in changing the backgrounds for a lot of dramatic - but senseless - poses. It's exactly what is happening in the modem superhero comics - and they're unreadable! The storytelling qualities, as developed for the comics media by giant talents like Will Eisner, seems lost — or at least quite unappreciated.
Hogarth and the Tarzan actors are probably all very nice and well-meaning guys, but still - as a fan -- you should be angry at them for what they have done or participated in doing to Tarzan. Instead, they're invited as guests of honor! Is it because they create . . . collectibles?
DS: You were talking about the importance of the stories for Tarzan, and I agree - just as an example of how true that is - there is an adaptation [by Harold and Geraldine Woods] of Tarzan of the Apes for young readers published by Random House, their "Step Up to Reading" series. Well, I gave a copy to a friend who has a young son. He and his wife read a chapter a night to their boy at bedtime; he was saying how some of the beginning-reader books are good for teaching the kids words, but they're boring. The Tarzan book was full of adventure, and his son just loved it. I think that points up just how important the story can be. These are good stories, and I think some people forget that.
HK: Yes, and good characters, too. Tarzan is a good character-that is what makes a lot of the stories. "How is this particular character going to deal with this or that situation?" That's what interests me, because it demands character development rather than image posing. And character development is what will make it all relevant to read, and eventually what will make you care.
DS: I think you've done a great job so far. And it's exciting to see Tarzan comics being published again. Everyone involved seems very dedicated to what the character is, and you should be proud of what you've done.
HK: Thank you. I am.
Links:
Interested in reading the Burroughs novels that tripped Henning's switch? You can find a listing of ERB's Tarzan books at The Pulp Rack's Book Rack by clicking here; a listing of the Barsoom books by clicking here; and a listing of the Pellucidar books by clicking here.
Posted by ds at November 17, 2008 08:18 PM
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