The Canon ERBU look of Tarzan is a mind screw!

For the first tale in the now-largely canonised Tarzan: The New Adventures, Tom Grindberg designed an ugly-cute Tarzan on a mishmash of Jesse Marsh and John Coleman Burroughs (via Ramona Fradon and Sal Buscema), and then Benito Gallego came along with a Tarzan that’s as ugly cute as Shrek. Even after the ERB Universe line launched in 2019, Chris Peuler made a Jesse Marsh-Mac Raboy crossbreed, about as teen audience alienating as Baki the Grappler, yet one of the most accurate takes of the ERBU canon Tarzan by far. Rather tellingly, Rick Leonardi, Shane Foley, Mike Wolfer and Joe Jusko are amongst the few other artists who actually blend them properly for official Tarzan works. 

This why Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc’s own ERB Universe and its original canon prefer these otherwise different styles being blended into something else. It makes sense with many of the oldies being the preceding ‘godparent’ styles to most of the newer ones.

Jesse Marsh (both first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics and later comics for Dell Comics and Gold Key) + Barbara Schwinn Jordan = John Buscema 
It must’ve helped that Big Hairy John had a well earned reputation as not only a gentle giant, he also was one of the world’s heaviest ever Marvel comics artists for that matter too! His Tarzan also comes in many variants, ranging from a lightly Conan-like yet somewhat brutish buff-cake to somewhat handsome but too leggy and buffed up. 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Milton Caniff = Frank Frazetta 
Frank Frazetta’s usual Tarzan is usually the most realistically over the top in this list, though he is a bit too swollen in some parts, especially his tits, yet remains a good old buff-cake who otherwise isn’t brutal enough to be a literal apeman. 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Alex Raymond = Mike Hoffman 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Paul Reinman = Boris Vallejo 
Boris Vallejo’s Tarzan is somehow more over the top than either Frazetta’s or Manning’s own Tarzans combined, and so Joe Jusko’s early Tarzan somewhat followed suit by being overtly bodybuilder-like, though not as much as Boris Vallejo’s way too buffed up beast. 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Burne Hogarth = Rick Leonardi

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Jack Lehti = Erik Marcus Gist

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + John Coleman Burroughs = Tom Grindberg 
Tom Grindberg’s otherwise 70s style take on canon Tarzan is perhaps the most over the top variant of any old school take to ever exist, since he also seems a bit too buffed up in the otherwise typically human torso. Usually stern yet not quite as scary as Kory Fuhrman’s take.

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Mac Raboy = Chris Allan Peuler 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Jack Kirby = Benito Gallego 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Roy Krenkel = Tony DeZuniga 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + John Celardo = Gary Gianni 
Gary Gianni’s Tarzan seems a bit too leggy yet still not as brutally scary as Kory Fuhrman’s own take. 

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics) + Nick Cardy = Joe Jusko
Thankfully, Joe Jusko’s Tarzans do come in various sizes, but his early Tarzan is quite infamous for being a bit too buffed up in the torso to an extent. 

Jesse Marsh (both first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell Comics and later comics for gold key) + Dan Spiegle = Kory Fuhrman 
Kory Fuhrman is perhaps amongst the guys who’ve done a scary brutal take on Tarzan the best.

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell comics) + Bob Lubbers = Rafael Kayanan

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell comics) + Rubimor = Roy Alan Martinez

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell comics) + Dan Barry = Mark Wheatley

Jesse Marsh (first two ever Tarzan covers for Dell comics) + Sam Glanzman = Stevan Subic 




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