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DELL #71 August 1955 ~ 36pp. - 10 cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting - Tarzan riding a zebra fighting off three hyenas with a stick
Inside Front Cover:  New subscription offer - free American eagle ring - Dell’s Pledge to Parents - black and white

1st story “Tarzan and The Plague of Lions” - 15pp.
Type -- Saves Lutor - Terribs - Gorgo

Tarzan and Gorgo ride into a battle outside of Gallugo City. They help the Gallugos push the attacking lions back into the swamp. Tee Anna tells Tarzan that the Cathneans have produced too many lions so they turn some of them loose. They now plague her city. She threatens war with Cathne unless something is done. The lions flee the swamp and head or Cathne. Tarzan dismounts Gorgo and goes to investigate. A garth with a lion in its mouth drops it on Tarzan. The garth hunts Tarzan. The Jungle Lord easily outwits the garth. He heads for the river. A gryf charges the ape-man. Tarzan dives into the water. The gryf follows. A crocodile lunges at Tarzan. The gryf kills the crocodile. A garth threatens the gryf over the gimla meet. Tarzan swims away and works on the problem of the lions. A Bolgani scares up a crane and throws a club at the ape-man. Tarzan pulls the gorilla underwater. A Terribs on his Gorobar approaches. Tarzan frees the gorilla, disarms the Terribs, and rides off on the Gorobar. They cross the Great Lake. Tarzan thinks that Lutor could be the solution to the lion problem.

Tarzan reconnoiters the coast of the island before landing. He watches a scouting party of Terribs being repelled by the Lutorian guards. At the other end of the island, he spies a group of Bolgani approaching on a raft. He shouts a warning to the Lutorian guards. The guards fire their heavy spear launcher, which turns back the gorillas. The guards take Tarzan to King Loban and Princess Loma. The King scours an old map of Lutor, seeking a way to protect his island. Tarzan offers him one hundred Cathnean lions. Four crocodile boats are sent up the Great Swamp towards Cathne for the lions. Tarzan and Princess Loma ride Gorgo to the City of Gold. King Jathon rides his lion-drawn chariot to meet them. Tarzan requests the king to round up the lions for Lutor’s protection. Jathon orders it to be done. The Cathneans blow horns to call the lions. The lions hear and respond. Suddenly, the sounds of garths disturb the lions. Jathon warns Tarzan that the garths could be a problem. Tarzan first poison arrow bounces off a garth. Gorgo butts a garth. Tarzan second arrow slays a garth. His third arrow enters the other garth. Gorgo pushes the dying beast into the water. With one hundred lions loaded on the boats, Loma prepares to leave for Lutor. She says that Tarzan has saved Lutor. End.

The featured story is a new story that has a very complex plot and features a tremendous variety of characters from previous tales: Gorgo, Gallugos, Tee Anna, Bolgani, Terribs and their Gorobars, Lutorians, King Loban, Princess Loma, King Jathon and Cathneans. Both this story and the second story start with a title panel making them an unusual six panel first page. Gorgo in his five previous appearances has been brown in color. In this story Gorgo is a dark bluish gray. The same color as M’bogo, the giant buffalo in Dell #68.2. It makes one speculate that M’bogo was supposed to be Gorgo but somehow the name was incorrectly given. In the first ten pages Tarzan must fight or avoid lions, a garth, a gryf, gimla, Bolgani, and a Terribs. Whew! This non-stop action is well worth the price of the entire issue. The Terribs, upon seeing Tarzan and the gorilla fighting, cry out “Sopu!” The translation word that follows sopu is meat. But sopu means fruit. The writer should look at the Ape-English dictionary when using the ape language. The city of Lutor looks very much like the city of Cathne four pages later. The towering cityscape has become a generic image for Marsh. The heavy spear launcher is a new weapon and ingeniously applied. The crocodile boats are turning into quite a fleet. King Loban who was drawn as a young man for several stories has once again turned into an old man with white hair and beard. Princess Loma has such long blonde hair that it is amazing how she gets it all tucked up under her helmet, but some how she manages to do it. King Jathon sports yet another new helmet (he must have quite a collection). Yet, curiously he abandons all helmets during the lion round up. Instead, he wears a blue skullcap. The water scenes are nicely done with an interesting one of Tarzan floating on his back. It is a great story idea that ties together many diverse elements. It has a couple of slightly annoying elements in Gorgo’s color change and the inconsistency in depicting the age of King Loban. 

2nd story “Tarzan and The Jungle Changling”- 8pp.
Type -- Rescues Bamwe Men and Buto’s Cattle - B’bongos - Apes

Tarzan and Morok, the ape, watch Boy and Kalag, Morok’s offspring, wrestle. Boy throws Kalag. Gunfire frightens off the apes. Tarzan and Boy go to investigate and find Buto and some of his people. They learn from Buto that the M’bongos have obtained rifles from the Shiftas and used the weapons to steal all of the Bamwe’s cattle. (Buto’s tribe is not named.) They wounded many of Buto’s men as well as Buto in the raid. They took two hostages to keep Buto from following them. Tarzan will go to disarm the M’bongos and retrieve the cattle. He tells Buto to send the wounded home and have the rest follow him. Tarzan sends Boy to get the apes, Morok and Thako, Jad-bal-ja and Tantor. Boy finds the apes tells them that Tarzan wants them.

Tarzan scouts out the M’bongos camp. They build a boma even though they hear no lions. Tarzan returns to Buto and instructs him to take his men to a donga. He will stampede the cattle to them. Buto agrees. Tarzan mimics lions roaring. The M’bongos fire their rifles into the air to frighten off the lions. Tarzan roars louder. The cattle stampede in the direction of the donga. Morok and Thako find Tarzan. Tarzan takes them to the edge of the boma. Tarzan removes part of the boma and gets the attention of the hostages. The captives sneak out. Tarzan sends them to the donga. Tarzan and the apes slip into the boma and take the rifles. He directs the apes to take the hostages’ place. Tarzan screams to awaken the natives. The apes scream also. The M’bongos awaken and believe that their captives have turned into apes. They flee. Boy returns with Tantor and Jad-bal-ja. Tarzan directs Boy to use the elephant and lion to chase the M’bongos from the area. End.

The second story is a new story that is pretty well told. The great apes continue to look like large chimpanzees and are dark bluish gray in color. The M’bongos have fancier clothing than ever before. A major flaw in the story is with the number of hostages that the M’bongos have captured. Buto tells Tarzan that there are two hostages. Tarzan removes part of the boma and claims to see three hostages. Only two captives escape from the boma. Such a simple thing but why couldn’t the writer or lettering person have caught the error? The long horn cattle are similar to the cattle in Dell #67.1. One suspects that all cattle will be of this type from now on. The apes, Morok and Thako, relish their task of taking the place of the hostages even though Tarzan never explains to them what they are to do. But with only eight pages to work with, it must be implied. Still in all, it is not a bad little tale.

“The Rescue” -- 62nd text story -- 1 pages - one illustration

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 47th -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- The Gorilla - 1p. - color

Splash Page -- top 2/3 of page - World Traveler - Blackbreasted Plover
bottom 1/3 of page - advertisement for Tarzan Jungle Annual #4 - color

Inside Back Cover: splash page - “Water” - gemsbok - black and white

Back Cover: Colonial Studio Inc. - card and Christmas card sales offer - color

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DELL #72 September 1955 ~ 36pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: ?
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting - Tarzan canoeing down some rapids with frightened monkeys.
Inside Front Cover:  Dell’s A Pledge to Parents - color

1st story “Tarzan and The Sable Lion” - 15pp.
Type -- Rescue White Woman - Sable Lion - Dr. Mac 

Tarzan and Dr. Mac fly a plane over Pal-u-don in search of the doctor’s niece, Barbara Hillyard. They find the wreckage of her plane. Tarzan sees signs that Barbara was taken away by natives. He tells Dr. Mac to stay with the plane as he follows the trail down a canyon. He kills horta for food with a knife throw. He hears a lion whining. Tarzan finds a sable lion, larger than Jad-bal-ja, in a pit-trap. He throws the lion most of the horta carcass. As Tarzan watches the lion feed, the ground gives away and he falls in the pit. The lion does not attack. The cave-in allows the lion to escape the pit. Tarzan and the lion hunt together.

Tarzan descends into a canyon leaving the lion behind. A pack of trained hyenas threaten him. He easily climbs out of harms way. He comes to a maze of natural enclosures formed by volcanic rock. He sees fire and moves towards it. He witnesses a witch doctor forcing Barbara to climb a ladder to a flat-topped conical rock. The ladder is removed and the natives bring in hyenas. The hyenas claw at the rock. The witch doctor whirls in a dance. Barbara gets dizzy. Tarzan throws the witch doctor and some firebrands into the hyenas. Barbara falls from her perch. Tarzan catches her. They use firebrands to cause panic amongst the hyenas. The dangos break the gate to the enclosure. They use fire as protection to leave the enclosure. Tarzan carries Barbara away. The natives and hyenas pursue them. Tarzan calls the sable lion. He tosses Barbara up onto a rock. The lion kills a hyena. Tarzan uses two hyenas as a shield against two native spears. The ape-man and the lion drive the natives and their hyenas away. The lion goes to feed with the understanding that Tarzan and the woman will share with him. Barbara says there is no one like Tarzan. End.

The featured story, “Tarzan and The Sable Lion,” is not to be confused with Dell #11 which has the exact same title. This is a new story. After a brief appearance of Dr. Mac, he is left behind and Tarzan rescues the doctor’s niece from an unnamed tribe with an unnamed witch doctor in an unnamed area. Sometimes the writer will throw in a person’s name and ones wonders why it was included because it adds nothing to the story. In this tale, names and places were left out where the inclusion of them would have enhanced the story. The criterion for naming or not naming is allusive. Tarzan makes friends with a sable lion that is completely different than the lion from Dell #11. Tarzan states that the lion is so dark that it is nearly black. But instead of using the dark bluish gray to indicate black that the colorist uses for the apes and Gorgo, the lion is colored a deep burnt sienna. The colorist does come through with two unique colorizations of the fire reflected on Tarzan’s face. The sable lion does not appear to be any larger than Jad-bal-ja despite Tarzan’s declaration that he is. The unnamed tribe is quite fascinating with their costumes, their customs, and their maze of natural enclosures. The whirling dervish dance of the witch doctor is a great addition to the story. The unnamed tribe are villainous characters that should be developed further. Barbara Hillyard is the typical generic helpless female that crashes her plane in Pal-ul-don while wearing a long billowing red dress. It is a good story but not a great one.

2nd story “Tarzan and The Plumes of Victory”- 9pp.
Type -- Tarzan and Boy Bonding - Saves Boy - Shiftas - Lost Tribe (Ostrich Men)

Tarzan places Boy in a tree for the night. Tarzan goes to make a trail for Boy to follow as a lesson in tracking. In the morning, Boy follows the trail into the afternoon. He searches for water and gives little thought to an ostrich that seems to be following him. A lion stalks Boy. Tarzan sheds his ostrich skin and throws it over numa’s head. He kills the lion with his bare hands. Tarzan skins the lion. Boy realizes that Tarzan was watching him from the ostrich skin. They cautiously approach a water hole. Tarzan senses Shiftas. He sees the Shiftas laying in wait to ambush an approaching band of Ostrich Men. Tarzan dons the lion skin and has Boy put on the ostrich skin. The Shiftas are about to fire when a lion and ostrich appear over a dune. The Shiftas think it may be a sign that the Ostrich Riders have some kind of protection spell. The lion roars. They fire wildly as the two apparitions walk towards them. The Shiftas believe that they are genii and that their bullets cannot hurt them. An Ostrich Clan spear hits a Shifta rifle. The Shiftas run to their horses as the Ostrich Men ride in on their ostriches. The Shiftas flee. Tarzan was grazed in the arm by a Shifta bullet. The Ostrich Men chief presents Tarzan with his headdress stating that he earned the victory plumes. Tarzan says that Boy deserves the same honor. Boy says that he has plumes and an entire skin. End. 

The second story is an unusual nine-page story. Back in Dell #69 and 70 the two-page text story was reduced to one page instead of its usual two pages. A splash page in those issues took up the extra page. In Dell #71 the extra page was given to the Brothers of the Spear episode. This was the first seven page Brothers of the Spear story. In this issue the extra page was added to the second Tarzan story. It is a clever little tale that starts with Tarzan and Boy bonding. Tarzan uses his bare hands to kill a lion by pulling its jaws apart like Samson. Tarzan, perhaps unwisely, puts Boy’s life in danger by having him accompany him as he tricks the dangerous Shiftas. But he knows the Shiftas’ nervous character and counts on their superstitions to cause them to fire wildly at the specters of a lion and ostrich walking together. Boy comes through unharmed, and Tarzan only receives a scratch on the arm. The victory plume of the ostrich presented to Tarzan by the chief are not to be confused with the plumes earned by a Waziri in their manhood ritual. It is a satisfying story with usual Marsh drawings.

“Farewell to Chatanga” -- 63rd text story -- 1 page - one illustration

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 48th -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “Bush Baby” - Galago and Boy - 1 p. - color

Inside Back Cover: Stuart Greetings Inc. - Christmas card sales offer - color

Back Cover: New advertisement Post Grape-Nut Flakes - free 1955 Ford scale model cars - color

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DELL #73 October 1955 ~ 36pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting - Tarzan in water catching fish with a homemade net
Inside Front Cover: New advertisement - Red Goose Shoes - color

1st story “Tarzan and The Loot of Agib” - 16pp.
Type -- Slavery - Rebuild Village - Sea Monster

A shark passes a canoe containing Tarzan and N’kima. They are heading for an island that holds Mugambi’s tribe because Tarzan has heard that Agib, the raider, is in the area. He witnesses Agib’s dhow leaving the island. Tarzan lands to discover from the chief that Agib has taken a number of young men and women from the tribe. Suddenly a tidal wave approaches the island. Tarzan can’t shake Mugambi out of his depression. The islander’s canoes are swept out to sea. Tarzan manages to get Mugambi and his people to run for high ground as a second wave threatens to be larger than the first. They climb into the trees.

The giant wave sweeps over the island. It smashes Agib’s dhow back onto the island. The slavers crew is washed overboard. Agib is left alone on the beach. Tarzan, Mugambi, and his people climb down from the trees and examine the dhow. They find and release the prisoners from the hold. Agib recognizes and fears Tarzan. He sneaks away. Tarzan binds the wounds of Wo-we, Mugambi’s son. In the dhow they find food, gold and silver. Tarzan gives it all plus some pearls to Mugambi and his people. N’kima discovers a box of hand grenades which he thinks are hard fruit. Tarzan warns N’kima away from the grenades. Kifu’s wife comes to Tarzan and asks him to help her bleeding husband. N’kima takes one of the grenades into the trees. The little monkey sees Agib sneaking up on the dhow. Agib enters the dhow in the hopes of obtaining a grenade to kill Tarzan.

Tarzan binds Kifu’s wounds. He heads back towards the dhow to get rid of the grenades. N’kima warns him about the bad tarmangani on the dhow. Agib tosses a grenade at the ape-man. Tarzan dives behind a sand dune to safety. Tarzan climbs onto the dhow. Agib fires a flintlock pistol, which grazes Tarzan’s head. The Jungle Lord follows the raider through the ship. Agib manages to slip through a break in the side of the ship. Tarzan chases him to the top of a cliff. Agib leaps off the cliff into the sea. Tarzan watches, but Agib does not surface. Tarzan tells Mugambi about the Agib incident. The chief asks Tarzan to let him keep the box of grenades for protection. Tarzan agrees if Mugambi will bury it under his house and not use them unless the situation is desperate.

Tarzan carves a dugout canoe. They villagers rebuild their houses. Agib learns that Mugambi will keep the treasure in a chest by his bed. That night, Tarzan and N’kima, sleeping in a tree, are awakened by a scream. Tarzan runs to Mugambi’s hut. He asks Herafu and Pani, tribe members, if they saw what tore a hole through Mugambi’s roof. They did not. Mugambi tells Tarzan that a monster tore through the roof and took his pet goat. Tarzan follows the monster’s tracks to the sea. He spies Agib with the moneybox running for the canoes. The raider pushes a canoe into the water and hops aboard. Tarzan sends Mugambi for the grenades. With the grenades onboard Tarzan launches a canoe.

A sea monster attacks Agib’s canoe and bites it in half. Tarzan pulls the pins on two grenades, throws them at the monsters, and dives overboard. The grenades explode, killing the sea monster. As Tarzan swims to shore, he speculates that Agib knew about a sea cave when he dived off the cliff. On shore, Tarzan tells Mugambi that the grenades killed the sea monster and probably killed Agib as well. Mugambi shows Tarzan the pearls that he had taken out of the moneybox. Tarzan tells him to use it for his people. End.

The featured story is a new story that is very well conceived. The Mugambi of this story have nothing to do with the Mugambi of the novels. The name choice ties the Tarzan of the comics to the master’s Tarzan in a superficial way. There is no explanation for the tidal wave, but it does serve to bring the villain, Agib, back to the island. His crew is conveniently eliminated. Agib must face Tarzan alone. Agib makes a reference that Tarzan once vowed to capture him. This is news to the reader because this is Agib’s first appearance. He fails to kill Tarzan with a hand grenade and a flintlock pistol. When the raider leaps off the cliff to his apparent death, it fools Tarzan and the reader as well. When he resurfaces, it is a surprise to Tarzan and the reader. N’kima is his old self. He carries off one of the hand grenades, and one expects that this will become part of the story line. It does not. This part of the story is abandoned. The sea monster plays a minor part but causes the demise of Agib and his loot. Tarzan does admit to Mugambi that the grenades he used to kill the sea monster probably took Agib as well. Considering the persistence of the wily trader, it is conceivable that he could appear again, although it highly unlikely. Marsh has a good mix of close-up and distance views thus keeping the panels visually interesting. In one panel a tribesman is apparently smoking a pipe. It is a rousing story.

2nd story “Tarzan and the Roaring Gorge” - 9pp.
Type -- Baboons - Rescue White Man

Tarzan bonds with a tribe of baboons. The young baboons wrestle with the ape-man until a sentry alerts them to an approaching canoe. Tarzan goes to investigate. The canoe holds Brant Torrey, white hunter and guide. Brant is seeking Tarzan’s help in finding Tom Lindon, an American photographer, who heard about the Chacma baboons in Roaring Gorge and went on his own to photograph them. On his way to Tarzan, his two native bearers, M’bulu and Imothibi, spotted smoke rising from the gorge. Tarzan agrees to help and accompanies them back to Brant’s campsite. Tarzan plans to approach the gorge by foot because no one has made it through the rapids alive. Brant insists on going with him. Brant fears the baboons and picks up his rifle. Tarzan tells him to leave the rifle behind or he cannot accompany him. Brant hands the rifle to a bearer.

At the gorge, baboons track them and eventually confront the tarmangani. They believe that Lindon stole a balu, and they think the tarmangani have come to do the same. Tarzan temporarily convinces them that they mean no harm. The People of the Rocks force Tarzan and Brant to dive into the water. They spy Lindon’s canoe and swim to a rock shelf, where they find Lindon feeding a baboon balu some condensed milk. Lindon explains that he rescued the balu, who had fallen into the water. He was stranded there, but he knew someone would rescue him. Tarzan figures that the balu will help them get pass the baboons. The Jungle Lord guides Lindon’s canoe through the rapids and onto rock shelving. They return the balu to the tribe. The baboons are friendly. They can safely return to Tarzan country. End.

The second story is also a new story. It is a charming little story in which Tarzan deals with two different tribes of baboons - one is friendly but with the other tribe Tarzan must overcome their hostility. This allows Jesse Marsh to draw in an area where he is peerless - baboons. The expressions he captures on the faces of the baboons are priceless. The hatching marks on Tarzan makes me want to reevaluate some earlier issues in which this writer questioned if it was the work of Marsh. A large panel of the canoe approaching Brant’s camp is beautifully rendered. In this issue the writer and the artist seem to be hitting their stride with good, tight story lines and visually creative panels throughout. 

“An Evil Spirit?” -- 64th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 49th -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “Hearing Aids ...” - Fennec, a little desert fox - 1p. - color

Inside Back Cover: New advertisement - Arnold Schwinn and Co. - Schwinn American - 2 speeds - color

Back Cover: Curtiss Candy Company - Baby Ruth - color

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DELL #74 November 1955 ~ 36pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting of Tarzan in a tree. He is looking over his shoulder at a mother bird in a nest with three chicks.

Inside Front Cover: New subscription advertisement in color. $1.50 for a year plus three pushbutton pens. Dell’s Pledge to Parents.

1st story “Tarzan and The White Bull” - 15pp.
Type -- Rescue White Bull - Rescue Natives - Tarzan Adventure with the Ape Borok

Borok, the great gray ape, finds some fruit in a fallen tree. He accidentally knocks the wedge out of the split tree trap and his hand is caught. Borok screams in pain. Some bad natives enter the scene and decide to tease the ape before killing him. They throw sticks at Borok. Tarzan hears the commotion. He mimics a lion. The frightened natives flee. Tarzan quiets Borok and uses the wedge to free his hand. The ape-man uses a poultice of crushed leaves to smooth the injured hand. They eat bananas. Borok befriends Tarzan and follows him for six days over a frozen mountaintop.

Down into a warm valley of an unexploded area, they discover a White Bull trapped in quicksand. Tarzan commands Borok to gather strong vines as he strips bark off of a tree. They pull the bull out of the quicksand. Tarzan calms the White Bull. A hailstorm bursts open. Tarzan and Borok find a cave to wait out the storm. The cliff above them starts to crumble. The White Bull runs from the falling rocks. The bull passes the cave. This alerts Tarzan to the fact that the cliff is collapsing. Tarzan and Borok run for the river. They swim to the opposite shore. The cliff collapses and covers the cave. The fallen cliff jams up the river, and the water rises. They climb to higher ground. They hear the cries of natives in distress. They must wait until morning.

The next day, they find a group of natives stranded on the edge of cliff. Tarzan makes a vine rope and tosses it to the natives, who tie it to a tree. Tarzan and Borok tightrope walk across to the natives. Tarzan carries a native across on the rope. Borok picks up two natives and starts across the rope. Borok slips and ends upside down. He travels the rope upside down. As Borok brings the last native across on the rope, it breaks. Tarzan grabs Borok’s arm and pulls them to safety. The natives run off without thanking their rescuers. Tarzan and Borok follow them into a split on the side of a mountain. The cave is filled with sulfur fumes. The White Bull picks up their trail. Tarzan and Borok witness the Cave Natives performing a dance, which Borok thinks is a Dum-Dum.

Club Men enter the cave. Tarzan realizes that they are enemies of the cave dwellers. Tarzan and Borok attack them. The White Bull appears and backs the Club Men into a fiery pit. Tarzan says that the White Bull has twice repaid the good deed they did for him. End.

The featured story is a new story that tends to meander a bit. Tarzan saves Borok, the great ape, who looks like a large chimpanzee. The natives who torture the captured ape are drawn with tremendous expressions usually only seen in Marsh’s baboon drawings. Borok becomes Tarzan’s friend and they go off to adventure together. Borok follows the ape-man over the frozen mountaintop. Borok shivers from the cold. The panel depicting the shivering is subtly done and very effective. The large panel of the warm high valley on the other side of the mountain is majestic. The hailstorm is effectively rendered. Tarzan using a vine rope to rescue the natives reminds one of Dell #51.3 when Tarzan has Korak, the great ape, carry Harvey Norton across a gorge on a rope. The cave dwellers are an ungrateful lot and leave without a nod or buy your leave to their rescuers. Tarzan and Borok follow them to their cave to witness an unexplained dance. In fact much of the story has unexplained aspects to it: the unnamed natives who torture Borok; the ungrateful cave dwellers; their curious dance; and why they choose to live in a sulfur filled cave; the mysterious Club Men and why they are attacking the cave dwellers. The White Bull become the ghost in the machine and saves the day by backing the Club Men into a fiery pit, which mysterious appears. The story just allows things to happen with very little set up or explanation. A new look to this story and the following one is the new presentation of the narrative boxes. Previously, the narrative text is placed inside of the panel with a hand drawn rectangle around it. In this issue the narrative text is placed in its own box, drawn with a straight edge, and separated by a gutter.

“A New Undertaking” -- 65th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan and The Winged Men”- 9pp.
Type -- Lost Race (Winged Men) - Rescue White Man

Tom Lindon complains to Tarzan that he wants to photograph something unusual. Tarzan offers to take him to the Valley of Towers so he can photograph the Winged Men. Along with the hunter/guide Brant Torrey, they take the safari car to the brink of the valley. They approach the rest of the way on foot. They see a glider against the moon. Tarzan explains that the Winged Men have learned to make wings of a thin leather to glide from tower to tower. They make camp. Tarzan goes to reconnoiter.

Tarzan observes the Winged Men digging a pit trap. He returns to the base camp, has them strike their lean-to shelter, and bring it to a tower. Tarzan explains that the Winged Men are going to drive animals into a pit trap. They set up the shelter on a tower. Lindon and a bearer will remain in the shelter, while Tarzan and Brant will provide protection from below.

In the morning, the Winged Men beaters drive a herd of zebras towards the trap. Gliders keep the zebras from straying from the path. Lindon starts to photograph the event. The zebras fall into the trap. Lindon’s excitement causes him to leave the shelter. Winged men spot him and attack. Tarzan downs one of the gliders with a rock. Lindon’s bearer deserts the tower. Tarzan stops Brant from using his rifle on the Winged Men because there are too many of them. The Winged Men overpower Lindon and bring him to their cave. Tarzan enters the unguarded cave. The Winged Men tie up Lindon and throw him in a pool of water. Tarzan rescues him and brings him back to where Brant and the bearer are waiting. Lindon managed to save his film. Tarzan hopes this event will satisfy Lindon’s sense of adventure. End.

The second story is a new story that it a continuation of the story from Dell #73.2. It recalls the Batwinged Men from Dell A#2.1. The earlier Batwinged Men appeared to be more vicious. They worshipped bats and used the wings of giant bats for their wings. The Winged Men live in caves as well, but they don’t appear to worship bats. They make their wings out of thin tough leather. Tarzan states that they attach the wings to their arms and legs, but they appear to be attached only to their arms. The Batwinged Men used bolas quite effectively. The Winged Men use only knives. The original Valley of Towers was located in the middle of a desert. This Valley of Towers is located in a lush valley with lots of vegetation and zebras. Brant does not have much to do, and once again Tarzan prevents him from using his rifle. Lindon persistent grin is wiped from his face when he is captured by the Winged Men. Tarzan easily rescues Lindon for the second straight time. There are a number of noteworthy panels. The Winged Man silhouetted against the moon is a remarkable panel. A heavily shadowed panel of Tarzan and Brant when they realize that Lindon has been spotted by the Winged Men is a precursor to panels typical of Tom Yeates’ style.

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 50th -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “Hurdle Champion” - Impala + Dell’s Pledge to Parents - color

Inside Back Cover: splash page - “Jane’s Bark Cloth Wardrobe” - black and white

Back Cover:* New advertisement Crack Jack - with doll dress coupon and bracelet coupon - color

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DELL #75 December 1955 ~ 36pp. 10 cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting of Tarzan in a tree holding a bunch of bananas with three chimpanzees.
Inside Front Cover: New advertisement for Daisy Manufacturing Co. cork ball rifle in color.

1st story “Tarzan and The Eagles of Engani” - 15pp.
Type -- Lost Tribe (Eagle Men) - Lovelorn United

Tarzan and N’kima canoe down an unknown river. They go over a small waterfall and through a tunnel in a mountain. They climb a cliff to reach a fertile valley. The next morning Tarzan spears a catfish for breakfast. As he prepares to cook the fish, an eagle swoops up half of the fish. Tarzan throws the other half at the eagle. The large bird dives at the ape-man. Tarzan throws a firebrand at the bird, driving it away.

N’kima shrieks as an eagle dives for the little monkey. Tarzan rushes to the spot and witnesses an eagle bringing down a gazelle. Men in eagle costumes dance a flight dance around the eagle and its kill. They carry off the eagle. Tarzan surmises that the eagles will not attack humans who wear eagle costumes. The Jungle Lord makes bolas and a net. Two eagles swoop down at him. He brings them down with the bolas and nets them. He makes a costume similar to the Eagle Men of Engani. Tarzan hears drums in a distance.

The Eagle Men dance a slow flight dance around a young captive. Tarzan discover a young woman, Illona, crying. She tells him that her lover, Lukambo, is going to be hunted by the eagles of the Engani because he is from an enemy tribe. Tarzan hides her and goes to help the young man. He uses a bush for concealment as he crawls up a gully. Lukambo is cut loose. The eagles are turned loose. Tarzan rushes to the potential victim and gives him the bush for cover against the eagles. They run into the jungle. The Eagle Men purse them. Tarzan brings Lukambo to Illona. He commands N’kima to take to the trees and look for the Gomangani. He does not spot them. Tarzan carries Illona into the trees and then Lukambo. The Eagle Men track them to the trees and spy N’kima. They believe that the stranger and Lukambo have changed into monkeys and leave. Tarzan brings Lukambo and Illona out of the valley. Lukambo plans to take Illona to his village. Tarzan believes their troubles are over.  End.

The featured story is a new story with a new lost tribe. The Eagle Men wear interesting costumes. Aside from the costuming and flight dance, we do not learn much about the Eagle Men. Their village or areas of shelter are never shown. They are a very superstitious people because they believe that either Lukambo or Tarzan have changed into a monkey. A main theme of the story is the lovelorn couple. This is the fifth time lovers are separated because of their situation. Tarzan brings them together. This basic idea was also used in Dell #12, #15.2, #28, and #47.1. This is the first time the lovers are from enemy tribes thus coming closer to a Romeo and Juliet story. The tunnel leading through a mountain to a new unexplored area has also been used before. The rich fertile valley is a good panel but not extraordinary. Tarzan takes a page from the Men of Monga and the Nubas by making himself bolas. He makes a costume similar to the Eagle Men, yet the eagles don’t look like they have lost a feather. Illona is a very attractive young lady. Despite Tarzan’s declaration that Illona and Lukambo’s troubles are over, one wonders if Lukambo’s tribe will accept an enemy female into their tribe. This is an above average story but not a great one.

“The Cheetah Cubs” -- 66th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan and The Jungle Misfits” - 9pp.
Type -- Evil (inept) White Hunters - Save White Men

Tarzan feeds his friend Kiboko, the hippo, some grasses as Jad-bal-ja watches. Imongo, a Waziri, comes to Tarzan with the news that two white hunters insulted their bearers by slapping the nephew of the Morobo chief. The Morobo deserted them. Imongo tells the Jungle Lord that they were last seen near the Valley of the Leopards. He fears that the Morobo tribe will kill them. Tarzan takes Jad to search for the hunters. Kiboko waddles after them.

Jacobs and Poley, the white hunters, are hopelessly lost. They sit on a rock and are attacked by red ants. They drop their rifles and shed their shirts. Tarzan disposes of their weapons. The hunters spy the golden lion. They can’t find their rifles and turn to discover Kiboko yawning in friendship. They turn the opposite way to be confronted by Tarzan and Jad. Tarzan tells them that even though they don’t deserve it he will take them to safety because the Morobo will probable kill them. They are confrontational. Tarzan commands Jad to roar at them.

The two hunters follow Tarzan and Jad to a kopje when the ape-man shows them where to find water. Tarzan tells them to stay there while he goes to hunt for food. Poley is disturbed by the baboons in the area and throws a rock at them. The baboons retaliate with rocks of their own. Tarzan returns with a pig and has Jad frighten the baboons away. The hunters do not know how to cook the food so Tarzan does it for them. Tarzan tells them that the Morobo are hunting them, and they must keep moving. They refuse and once more Tarzan uses Jad to frighten them into action. After a while, the hunters rebel and refuse to take another step. Tarzan points out the Morobo tribe who are gaining on them. They become frightened. The ape-man places Poley on Jad’s back as he carries Jacobs throughout the night to a river. Tarzan promises to pay some natives to canoe the hunters to Nairobi. Tarzan does not believe that they will return to the jungle. End.

The second story is a new story about two evil white hunters. Jacobs and Poley are not so much evil as inept and unprepared to be on a safari. They are drawn in the typical characterization of one heavy-set fellow and the other as a skinny man. They are not as evil as previous paired evil hunters in Dell #13.2, #46.3, and #48.1. The Morobo bearers desert them, and they are ill prepared to go it alone. They are not bright enough to look where they are sitting and are attacked by red ants. The ants make their first appearance in a story. The hunters can’t even cook for themselves. Tarzan must do it for them. Imongo, the Waziri, tells Tarzan about the hunters. Imongo looks more like a Masai warrior with his burnt sienna hair. This is a nice change. One would hope that the artist(s) would continue with this new look. This would set the Waziri apart from the other native tribes and give them a unique look. The story starts with Tarzan feeding his hippopotamus friend, Kiboko. This is a first. Tarzan never has a hippo friend before. Kiboko’s yawn is described as friendly thus giving the hippo the personality of a large simpleton brute. The Morobo tribe is never actually shown but the off-the-panel threat of them is ever present. Tarzan caring about the hunters’ safety and saving them from the Morobos is the plot of the story but the reader does not really have the same feelings for them. They are shallow human beings that should have been left for the Morobos to dispose of. But Tarzan is too kind and generous. He even pays to have the idiots canoed to Nairobi.

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 51st -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “Call the Doctor” - witch doctor - top two thirds of the page - color
Statement of ownership - bottom one third of page

Inside Back Cover: New subscription advertisement - Christmas - color

Back Cover: New advertisement - Arnold Schwinn ? Co. – three-speed bicycle - color.

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DELL #76 January 1956 ~ 52pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh - 1st story- pencils ~ Russ Manning - inks ~ Russ Manning: 2nd story
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Morris Gollub
Inside Front Cover:  Same Christmas subscription offer as in Dell #75 from the inside back cover - color

1st story “Tarzan and The Elephant’s Child"- 15pp.
Type -- Rescues Baby Elephant - Rescues the Wokamba’s Cattle

In a new valley Tarzan catches the scent of elephants and buto, the rhinoceros. He watches as the herd defends a baby elephant against the rhino. The toto accidentally falls in the river. Tarzan dives in the water and holds the baby’s head out of the water as they are carried downstream through rapids. Tarzan pulls the baby ashore. As the baby sleeps, Tarzan makes a bucket and collects tree sap to feed to the toto. He searches for a friendly tribe of natives with milk to watch the baby until he can bring the mother to it. A hyena picks up their scent and attacks. Tarzan kills the hyena with his bare hands.

At last they arrive at a meadow where the Wokamba tribe is grazing their cattle. Tarzan asks the female chieftain, Neenah, to take care of the baby elephant for him while he goes to get the mother. She agrees. Tarzan cuts a piece of nail off of the baby’s foot and leaves. He searches the mountain for the best path for elephants to pass. He arrives back at the herd and finds the mother elephant mourning back at the river. He lets her catch the scent of her baby from the toenail. The mother elephant follows Tarzan over the mountain. At the grazing grounds of the Wokamba, Tarzan reads the signs of a battle and the cattle being stampeded. They catch the scent of the toto and follow it. Tarzan calls out for Neenah. The Wokamba appear. Neenah tells the ape-man that the Liwari tribe stole their cattle and the baby elephant. Tarzan outlines a plan to retrieve the cattle and the toto.

After dark the Wokamba stampede their stolen cattle away. Riding on the mother elephant, Tarzan’s arrow shots disarms the Liwari from their spears. A Liwari spear misses the mother elephant. Another arrow from the ape-man knocks a spear from a Liwari. Tarzan sends the mother and baby off on their own. The Liwari pursue the Wokamba and the cattle. The Liwari rush them. Tarzan’s blunt-headed arrows strike the Liwari on the back of their heads. The Liwari break off the attack. The mother and baby elephant snuggle. End.

The featured story is a new story. It is a simple tale of rescuing a baby elephant. A rhino, uncharacteristically of a rhino, attacks a baby elephant. The baby is saved by the herd but falls into the river. Tarzan saves the baby, but they are carried down stream. Tarzan builds a bucket out of tree bark to collect tree sap. The bucket is remarkable with its straps and handle. On their way to the Wokamba tribe, Tarzan has to kill an attacking hyena. He strangles the dango, but it is depicted off panel. This is probably due to Dell’s self-imposed parental pledge. A female chief rules the Wokamba tribe. This is the first tribe to be shown as matriarchal. Neenah is a beautiful woman who has heard of Tarzan. The conflict comes in when the ape-man returns to discover that the Liwari tribe has stolen the cattle and the baby elephant. Tarzan uses the mother elephant and the Wokamba to retrieve the stolen cattle. This part of the plot reminds one of Dell #71.2 when Tarzan helps Buto’s tribe retrieve their stolen cattle from the M’bongos. Tarzan’s archery skill is remarkable in the battle with the Liwari. He shoots the spears out of the hands of the Liwari and knocks them on their heads with accurate shots. This is all done with blunt-headed arrows. Again this is probably due to Dell’s self-imposed restrictions. No Liwari are killed during the battle. In a Burroughs novel, there would have been a lot of dead Liwari lying about. The story is good but not great. The drawings are typical of Marsh with no remarkable panels. There is one mistake when Neenah’s armband from her left arm is drawn on her usually bare right arm.

“The Sound” -- 67th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan and Borok” - 9pp.
Type -- Save Ape (Borok) - Pygmies - N’kima

While hunting for food with Borok, the gray ape, Tarzan hears N’kima’s cry for help. His knife throw diverts the attention of the black panther stalking N’kima. Tarzan swings into the trees to save N’kima. Entwined in battle, Tarzan and the panther fall through the trees. The panther hits a branch, breaking its back. Borok grabs onto Tarzan’s foot. Tarzan lets go of the dead panther. They go off in search of food. N’kima does not care for the roots that Tarzan and Borok dig to eat. N’kima finds a pygmy arrow. Borok tells him to throw it away. He won’t listen; instead, he takes it into a tree. Tarzan commands him to throw it away. He throws it down and accidentally hits Borok. Tarzan is concerned about the poison and applies crushed leaves to the wound.

Later, Borok passes out. Tarzan carries him into a tree. He searches for the pygmy village of Kaisu, the oldest pygmy. N’kima accompanies him. He drops into the village. The pygmies are frightened. Kaisu comes. Tarzan asks for the antidote for Borok. Kaisu wants a price. Tarzan offers three wild pigs and then five. Kaisu refuses. Tarzan offers him a jeweled knife from the treasures of Opar. The exchange is made. Tarzan administers the antidote to Borok. He starts to revive. N’kima appears with the jeweled knife he stole from Kaisu. The little monkey explains that he took it because he thought that Kaisu’s medicine would not work. Tarzan threatens N’kima with the loss of his friendship if he does not return the knife. N’kima returns the knife. End.

The second story is the second story featuring the ape Borok. The first was Dell #74.1. N’kima is usually charming, and his fearfulness provides some humor to the stories. In this story N’kima becomes a little irritating as he causes the poisoning of Borok and steals the knife that Tarzan traded Kaisu for the antidote. Actually, these things are in the character of the pesky little friend of Tarzan. It is more the text that doesn’t seem to ring true with previous tales. It is more elementary in the voice. The drawings appear to be done by Russ Manning. An interesting perspective is used as Tarzan throws the jeweled knife into the tree at the panther. Tarzan and the panther fall through the trees for five panels in a compositional influence from Burne Hogarth. (Not in style but in composition.) Manning uses Marshes new look of the apes with chimpanzee faces, but they are done in Manning’s style. Manning is more inventive in the use of panels than the master, Marsh. Yet, he tries to give the panels the Marsh look. 

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 52nd -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “The Leopard and the Panther” - 1 p. - color

Inside Back Cover: New advertisement - Daisy Manufacturing Co. - pump action air rifle and Red Ryder rifle - color

Back Cover: 1st Kool-Aid advertisement.

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DELL #77 February 1956 ~ 36pp. 10cents 

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed) Cover: Morris Gollub
Inside Front Cover: Subscription advertisement with “KE” puzzle offer. Plus the Dell’s Pledge to Parents - black and white

1st story “Tarzan and the City in the Sands” - 15pp.
Type -- Establishes New Home/Community - Cave Bears - Argus - Arabs (Bedouins)

Tarzan flies Argus over a desert in search of a missing ostrich. They are forced to fly above a sandstorm and run into high winds. Out of the storm, Tarzan spies the outline of the City in the Sands. They land to investigate. Tarzan surmises that the great city has been deserted for hundreds of years. Argus smells water under ground near a pipe. Tarzan figures that it was a part of an aqueduct system. He digs a hole so that the water will collect. Argus drinks. They resume their search for the ostrich.

They see a caravan of camels in the desert. Tarzan realizes that the people are dying of thirst. They land. Tarzan meets with Hussein, Shareef of the Beni Adhemi. He tells the Jungle Lord that his Bedouins were forced to leave their home because their oasis dried up. Tarzan tells Hussein that he will lead them to water but his eagle needs food. Hussein commands Abdul and Mustafa to bring food. After Argus has eaten, Tarzan instructs the Bedouins to follow Argus’s flight to the water. Tarzan borrows a shovel from the Arabs and takes to the air.

Tarzan arrives at the City in the Sands and begins to dig a sizable reservoir. He carries stone blocks to the area and constructs a well. The caravan finally arrives. They drink from the well. Tarzan hints to Hussein that this may be a good place for his people to settle if the water supply can be increased. From a tower, Tarzan shows Hussein that this place once was a vital city. The ape-man challenges Hussein to find the source of the water. Hussein accepts. The next morning Tarzan, Hussein, and a handful of Bedouins enter the water pipe. They use one torch at a time. They travel over twenty miles in the pipe to come out in a cave. Cave Bears attack them. Tarzan kills one of them with his knife. Hussein kills the other but not before he is wounded. Tarzan gives the victory cry of the bull ape. He binds Hussein’s wounds. They find the opening to the cave that leads to a cleft in the mountain where the water runs over the rocks. Tarzan suspects that an earthquake broke the pipe. Hussein believes that they can repair it. Hussein becomes ill.

Tarzan makes a grass rope and catches an eland. It takes him an hour to train the eland to be ridden. He informs Hussein that he will ride to the city for help. He rides the eland to the City in the Sands and turns Bara loose. Tarzan explains the situation to be Bedouins. They prepare to send help. Tarzan calls Argus. He flies off to look for the ostrich. End.

The featured story is a new story with a refreshing twist. This is the first story to depict a group of Arabs, the Bedouins of Hussein, as good people. The Arabs are usually shown as slavers or bad people. The other Hussein in Dell #39.2 was an evil man. This Hussein is a good man and very brave. He manages to kill a cave bear with his sword. Argus sports his new color pattern. Two tufts of feathers are added to its head similar to the tufts drawn on the eagles of the Engani from Dell #75.1. Marsh has a great looking panel from a perspective above Tarzan and Argus looking down at the outline of the City in the Sands. The city has domed buildings and relief sculptures. One relief sculpture has somewhat of a Babylonian look to it. The use of the aqueduct is a first for the Dells. Tarzan digs and builds a rock well before the Bedouins arrive. This is quite remarkable. Also remarkable is his training the eland to accept him as a rider in an hour time. Tarzan has a long Dell history of setting up displaced peoples in new homes. This usually results in a series of stories connected with the new city. This scenario of the Bedouins setting up to live in the City in the Sands is another in this line. One must expect that this city will be visited again and again. This is to be welcomed.

“Danger in the Night” -- 68th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan and The Golden Man”- 9pp.
Type -- Lost Tribe (Golden Men) - Saves Native (Wanumo)

Wanumo, a Golden Man, paddling his water skis, is pursued by Terribs on Gorobars in the Great Swamp. A Terribs spear pierces one of his skis. Suddenly, an arrow from Tarzan’s bow kills a Terribs. The ape-man reins arrows down on the Terribs, driving them away. Wanumo desperately tries to get to shore as a crocodile approaches. Tarzan pulls him up into the trees but not before the gimla’s tail strikes the Golden Man’s leg. Tarzan binds his leg. Tarzan does not quite understand his language. Wanumo repairs his water ski. Two leopards charge them. Wanumo quickly removes the ends of his paddle. He uses the handle as a blowgun to deliver a gas pellet that kills the leopards instantly. Wanumo tries to mount his skis but his leg will not support him. Tarzan dons the skis and easily learns how to maneuver on them.

Tarzan carries Wanumo on his back. He paddles the skis. Wanumo directs Tarzan to a lake and eventually to an island called Taleela. They come to a shallow waterway that holds the bamboo city, Taleela, of the Golden Men. The Golden Men give them a friendly greeting. The elders attend to Wanumo. Later, Wanumo is feeling better. He and Tarzan have a meal at Wanumo’s home. They place a sleeping potion in Tarzan’s drink. He passes out. They use a makeshift a raft of water skis to tow the ape-man back into the swamp. Tarzan awakens to find gifts of a paddle/blowgun, a small box of gas pellets, and a carbide torch. Tarzan realizes that the Golden Men want their home to remain a secret from everyone. He also speculates that they may meet again. End.

The second story introduces an interesting new Lost Tribe. The Golden Men seem to be a very sophisticated people. They have a creative method of transportation with the water skis. The paddle/blowgun is also a creative weapon. Hopefully the writers will not overuse the gas pellets. The language of the Golden Men was used a bit excessively. Although, Tarzan translates for the reader most of time. The Terribs make a token appearance. Tarzan kills one of them. (It must be acceptable to the Dell Pledge to Parent’s to kill those evil cannibals.) It is a short little story with not a lot of action and not a lot of great drawings. Yet, this is a fascinating story. It builds a mystic about a new set of people. It is this mystery and the promise of learning more about them that makes this an outstanding story.

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 53rd -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “Fun for Baby” - riding on mother’s back as she pounds grain - color

Inside Back Cover: Splash Page - “Carrying a Spare” - hornbill - black and white

Back Cover: Advertisement for the Cheerful Card Co. - sales offer - color

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DELL #78 March 1956 ~ 36pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting of Tarzan drinking water with his hand and with Bara at a pool.
Inside Front Cover: Splash Page - “Old Rubberneck” - gerenuk - black and white

1st story “Tarzan and The Ivory Poachers” - 15pp.
Type -- Rids Area of Poachers - Elephants - Tantor - Ape (Thag)

Tarzan feeds an aardvark honey. Rifle fire stampedes elephants towards him. As they pass they knock a tree over on top of the ape-man. Tarzan tries to dig his way out. Army ants head towards him. The aardvark appears and eats the ants. Tarzan promises the anteater more honey. He takes to the trees to track the ivory poachers.

Tarzan drops in on their meal of elephant and commands the Men of Lakunga to leave. Ganta, the leader, is defiant and fires his rifle at Tarzan’s feet. The Jungle Lord disarms him and carries him off. The other poachers are afraid to shoot in fear of hitting Ganta. They timidly follow. One of the poachers takes a shot into the bush that frightens the other poachers. They start to believe that Ganta is now a ghost.

Tarzan subdues Ganta and ties him up in a tree. He decides to play on the poachers’ fears. The Men of Lakunga are nervous but decide to continue to hunt. They sleep for the night. Tarzan slips into their camp and fills their rifle barrels with a sticky wax. One of them awakens and fires at Tarzan. His rifle barrel explodes. They think the Forest Devil bewitched the weapon. Ganta awakens and cries to Bandwa, M’gomi, and Lungomo for help. They believe they are hearing Ganta’s ghost. They fire their rifles to scare away the ghost. Their rifles explode. Ganta gets free and enters the camp. The poachers run away, fearing that they will be turned into ghosts. Ganta catches up to them and convinces him that he is not a ghost. He brags that he scared Tarzan away. Tarzan watches and realizes that they still have two good weapons and a lesson to learn. He leaves to enlist aid in frightening them further.

Thag, a great ape, remembers being wounded by a rifle and picks up a stick to teach the Gomangani a lesson. Tarzan enters the area. Thag tries to hit him with the stick. Tarzan convinces him that he is a friend. He has Thag wait there while he searches for Tantor and his tribe. Tarzan recruits the elephants to help drive the poachers out of the area.

Meanwhile, Ganta shows the poachers that Tarzan put wax in their barrels to make them explode. The elephants begin the trumpet. An elephant rips off a tree branch and throws it into their campfire. They fire their last two rifles. One explodes. They use up all their ammunition. The elephants trumpet more. Tarzan mimics a lion. Thag pounds his chest and howls. The poachers panic. Tarzan ropes the last rifle form Ganta’s hands. He mimics a laughing hyena. Even Ganta’s courage is broken. They flee for their lives. Tarzan does not believe they will ever return. End.

The featured story is a new story with two distinct parts. The first two thirds of the story is fascinating. It is Tarzan playing tricks on the ivory poachers. The last third resorts to more of a classic comic book story. Tarzan must enlist the aid a herd of elephants and Thag, the ape, to finish the job of scaring the poachers out of the area. It shouldn’t be necessary for Tarzan to need help, but because he does enlist help it is not a perfect story. The poachers are pretty good villains. Ganta, the leader, holds the superstitious bunch together. Eventually Tarzan manages to break his courage. The ape, Thag, is a new character. The narrator says that Thag remembers being wounded by a thunderstick. This never happened in a Dell story. Other apes have been wounded: Norgak in Dell #66.2, Kom in Dell #46.3, and Thurag’s mate Kalith in Dell #27. The writers have used the name Thag once before in Dell # 32.2 where it was a giant antelope with moose-like antlers. And of course, Burroughs used the word Thag in At the Earth’s Core as a Pellucidarian aurochs, a type of prehistoric cattle. Again, the first part of the story has a great Burroughs feel to it. 

“Not Even the Gods” -- 69th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan Tracks a Little Warrior”- 9pp.
Type -- Rescue Dombie - Thipdars

At the Waziri Village, Dombie practices throwing his spear. The Elmorans, the grown warriors, decide to tease him. Ilongu and the others goad him into going to hunt for a dangerous animal. The next morning Boy comes to the village to go fishing with Dombie. Dombie’s mother thought he had spent the night with Boy. As Dombie’s mother searches the village, Boy runs to the tree house. He tells Tarzan and Jane that Dombie is missing. Boy takes Argus to search for his friend. Tarzan follows his trail to a river. He finds a fish on the riverbank. He suspects that Dombie was fishing for breakfast and was carried off by a thipdar. Suddenly Boy appears on Argus. Tarzan sends Boy home on foot. He flies Argus to Pal-ul-don to search. They pass over a thipdar nest. He spies Dombie near the nest, trying to defend himself against a thipdar. Tarzan commands Argus to attack the thipdar. Argus kills the thipdar. Dombie fights off the young thipdars in the nest. Argus lands near the nest, which causes two of the young to fall off the cliff and another to fall into a crack. Dombie explains to Tarzan how he shoved his fishing pole into the thipdar’s mouth and was carried away when he got tangled in the line. He asks Tarzan if he can take the fourth thipdar home with him to teach the Elmorans a lesson for teasing him. Tarzan ties up the thipdar’s mouth. They fly Argus back to the Waziri Village. Dombie releases the thipdar. The grown warriors run away in fear. Dombie laughs as his joke worked. End.

The second story is a new story in which Tarzan must rescue Dombie from thipdars. Dombie’s face has matured into a fine looking young man from the goofy looking little kid from previous stories. He wears a strange looking hat. Boy also sports a new blue skullcap. The writers coin a new term - Elmorans, which means grown Waziri warriors. Dombie’s house in the village has a geometric pattern on the outside of it. We saw Dombie’s mother only once before in Dell #55.2. An ape in that story took Dombie’s little sister, Lula. In this story there is an unidentified sibling next to Dombie’s mother, possibly Lula. The child is about four or five years old. The child wears the same headband, neckbands, armbands, and waistband as the mother. The child is topless. It could be a boy child but the signs indicate a female. Marsh has a terrific worm’s eye view perspective drawing looking up at the tree house. Tarzan makes a fantastic leap of reasoning when he figures that a thipdar carried off Dombie. To be fair, it is only a nine-page story so the writer does not have time for a more sophisticated discovery process. They are no kills by Tarzan in this story, but Argus gets to bite into a thipdar. This story is the first story to have neither ape language nor non-English words. 

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 54th -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “The Village Smithy” - 1p. - color

Inside Back Cover*: Subscription advertisement - push button pen offer - Dell’s Pledge to Parents - black and white.

Back Cover: 2nd Kool-Aid advertisement - color

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DELL #79 April 1956 ~ 36pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh 
Cover Painting: Morris Gollub
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)

Cover: Painting of Tarzan holding a huge basket of fruit. N’kima is sitting on the fruit eating a pear.
Inside Front Cover: New advertisement for Red Goose Shoes - color

1st story “Tarzan and The Black Cloaks”- 15pp.
Type -- Rescues Monkeys - Baboons - White Buffalo (Targorgo)

Tarzan searches the Strange Valley for Borok, the great ape. He spies Targorgo, the White Buffalo. He witnesses a Black Cloak baboon attack the buffalo with a club. Targorgo flips the baboon into the river. Tarzan follows the baboon to its home at the Garden of the Black Cloaks. He discovers that the baboons have enslaved a tribe of monkeys to work in the fields. The baboon climbs vines up to its cave home and howlers for food. Monkeys place corn in a basket and carry it up to the baboon. Two Black Cloaks sneak up on the ape-man. Tarzan is alerted and knocks them out. He decides to free the monkeys.

Tarzan finds Borok and tries to recruit his help to free the monkeys. Borok is only interested in a female zu-mangani. He gives up on Borok and goes to look for Targorgo. He has to reassure Targorgo and the herd that he is a friend. He leads them across the river and to the baboon cornfield. The monkeys take to the trees. The baboons attack with their clubs. Tarzan saves Targorgo from a Black Cloak. The battle turns and the buffaloes drive the baboons up into their caves. Tarzan tells the monkeys to flee to their homes. The baboons climb the vines towards the top of the cliff to cut off the monkeys’ escape. Tarzan climbs the cliff to find Borok and the zu-mangani throwing rocks down at the baboons. The baboons retreat to their caves. Tarzan cuts the vines so the Black Cloaks can’t reach the top. The White Buffaloes guard the valley below.

The baboons push away a flat stone and crawl out from a secret tunnel at the top of the cliff. They attack Tarzan and the zu-mangani from behind. Tarzan and the apes use rocks to repel the baboons and drive them back down their hole. Tarzan and Borok roll a boulder over the opening, sealing off the baboons. End.

The featured story is a jumpy episodic story. Tarzan travels to the Strange Valley under the pretense of searching for Borok, the great ape that appeared in Dell #74.1 and #76.2. Only now we learn that he is a zu-mangani, a big ape. He is more interested in a female than helping Tarzan. Tarzan remarks that she is the last of her species. Does this mean that the great apes are dying out? Or are they suggesting that Borok and this group of apes called the zu-mangani are dying out? Tarzan finds a White Buffalo. It is implied that it is the same White Buffalo that first appeared in Dell #74.1 (with Borok). Tarzan gives the buffalo a name, Targorgo. The White Buffalo is the leader of an entire herd of White Buffaloes. The Black Cloak baboons are a bit different than the usual Chacma baboon. Most often the baboons are friendly to the ape-man. The Black Cloaks are clearly evil baboons. They attack the White Buffaloes. They have enslaved a monkey tribe. Baboons enslaving monkeys is a bit difficult to accept. The baboons attempt to climb to the top of the cliff to cut off the monkeys’ escape. Suddenly, Borok and the zu-mangani appear at the top of the cliff and throw rocks down at them. Borok was not interested in helping but conveniently shows up in the nick of time. The baboons apparently are trapped in their caves. Conveniently the baboons have a secret opening to the top of the cliff. Tarzan and zu-mangani drive the baboons back into their hole. Tarzan and Borok seal the opening thus stranding the baboons in their caves to starve to death or until the White Buffaloes leave after finishing off the gardens. The story was not very satisfying. The drawings are the standard fare with no memorable panels.

“The Gods Speak” -- 70th text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan in Buto Takes a Vow”- 9pp
Type -- Buto Saves Tarzan - Tarzan Saves Buto

N’kima is afraid that the lion Tarzan is wrestling will kill him. Boy assures the little monkey that they are playing. Buto enters and asks Tarzan’s help to hunt down two leopards that are terrorizing his herds. Tarzan asks Jane if she wants a leopard skin rug for the tree house. Unconvinced, Jane says that she will continue to work on the grass mat. Boy retrieves Tarzan’s bow and arrows from the tree house. He asks to accompany them. Tarzan tells him he will have to wait until he is older.

Tarzan and Buto lose the trail because of the rain but continue onward. Tarzan suggests not climbing the hillside until just before dawn when the wind is in their favor. Buto fears that he will not be able to see properly in the dark. They notice the monkeys have left the area. They surmise that the leopards have sensed them. Tarzan decides to take a swim in the river. Buto fears the leopards are still in the area. He will stand watch. Tarzan uses a vine to climb a cliff near the falls. He finds a dead antelope in a tree. A leopard attacks him. The second leopard joins the attack. They all fall into the river below. Tarzan holds the leopards underwater in an attempt to drown them. Tarzan accidentally hits his head on a rock and is knocked unconscious. The leopards resurface and escape before Buto can throw his spear. Buto dives in the water and pulls Tarzan to the shore. He believes that his friend is dead and vows to kill the leopards. He leaves to hunt the leopards. Tarzan awakens and surmises what Buto was thinking. He follows him. He warns his friend about the leopards stalking him. The ape-man’s arrow brings down a leopard. The other Sheetah runs away. Buto thinks Tarzan is a spirit. Tarzan assures him that he is alive. Tarzan plans to make the dead leopard into a rug. Buto thinks Jane will be pleased. End. 

The second story is a new story, which is obviously written by a new writer. The entire sound of the story is noticeably different. The writer explains situations that do not need explanation. Buto’s attitude towards Tarzan is as if he doesn’t know him very well. The history between them is apparently a mystery to the writer. Jane’s attitude towards Tarzan going off to hunt the leopards is one of extreme indifference. It is a bit surprising that Tarzan decides to take a swim in the middle of the hunt. He climbs the cliff and is attacked by the two leopards. They fall into the river below. Tarzan is knocked unconscious for the twenty-third time. If Buto were not there to save him, Tarzan would drown. Buto believes the ape-man to be dead. He leaves and Tarzan must save him from the leopards. Turn about is fair play. The entire business about the leopard skin rugs for the tree house may have played well in 1956. In the twenty-first century it may be too politically incorrect. Marsh has a variety of different perspectives in many of the panels, which keeps an average story interesting.

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 55th -- 6 pages

Splash Page -- “Jungle Candy” - sugar cane - Kimba - 1p. - color

Inside Back Cover: New subscription advertisement - key and coin case offer - Dell’s Pledge to Parents - color

Back Cover: New advertisement Scotch Brand cellophane tape with Br’er Rabbit Disneyland Contest - color

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DELL #80 May 1956 ~ 36pp. 10cents

READ IT HERE
Art interior: Jesse Marsh ~ Tony Sgroi -- 2nd story
Writer: Unknown (Gaylord Du Bois - unconfirmed)
Cover: 1st Gordon Scott cover

Inside Front Cover: New subscription offers - one year with field glasses for $1.50 Dell’s Pledge to Parents (drawing of Tarzan is not by Marsh) - color

1st story “Tarzan and the Thirsty Sands”- 15pp.
Type -- Tarzan Aids the Beni-Adhemi -- Athne

Riding an ostrich named Om-zee, Tarzan brings along a second ostrich to the City in the Sands. He finds the Beni-Adhemi loading their camels as they prepare to leave the city. He learns from Mustapha, an old man, that their leader, Shareef Hussein, went to the mountains to check on the aqueduct weeks ago. He has not returned. Tarzan offers to guide them to the mountains to find out what happened to Hussein. There are a few complaints, but they agree to follow the ape-man. Tarzan leaves them at a water hole at the base of the mountains.

Tarzan takes the ostriches into the mountains. He happens upon mountain savages attacking Hussein and his men. He charges his ostriches into the melee. The tide is turned, and the savages are repelled. Tarzan has to stop Zu-b’zee, the second ostrich, from attacking the Beni-Adhemi. Hussein admits that his people to not have the skills or knowledge to repair the aqueduct.

Tarzan offers to take Hussein to Athne to get stonemasons. Tarzan and Hussein ride the ostriches to Athne. They witness the Athneans practicing war maneuvers on their elephants. Prince Timon welcomes them to Athne. Tarzan gives him an accurate assessment of the Beni-Adhemi situation. Prince Timon jumps at the chance for his men to have an adventure and work. They travel by elephants to the mountains. Old Mustapha worries that the Athneans are there to enslave them. Hussein reassures him. Prince Timon tells him that they do not want payment for their efforts but maybe they can return the favor someday. Mustapha rejoices.

Timon examines the aqueduct and says it will easy to repair. Elephants are used for the heavy work. Timon also builds the Beni-Adhemi a dam to protect against the dry season. With the work almost completed, Prince Timon and Shareef Hussein sign a treaty of friendship. Tarzan signs as a witness.

Tarzan feeds Hathor, the elephant, bananas. Hathor catches the scent of gomangani. Tarzan spies the savages coming up the gorge. He rides Hathor to the camp and warns them of the approaching danger. The Jungle Lord rides Hathor to the top of the dam and quickly instructs the great elephant to operate the windlass to release the water gates. Hathor works on one of the windlasses while Tarzan operates another. The water crashes down upon the savages. The Athneans on their elephants and the Beni-Adhemi on their horses rout the survivors.

The aqueduct is finished. Tarzan says the Beni-Adhemi can return to the city. Prince Timon pledges his support. Hussein is grateful. End.

The featured story is a follow-up story to “Tarzan and The City in the Sands” (Dell #77.1). Tarzan returns on an ostrich and wearing a silly blue hat. Fortunately he loses it six pages into the story. The city has a different look than before. It looks in better repair. He learns from the Beni-Adhemi that Hussein went to the mountain to put more water through the pipe. This implies that they had repaired the broken aqueduct but later we learn that the Arabs have neither the skills nor the knowledge to make the repairs. This is a nice touch of reality that is much appreciated. In the first story (Dell #77.1) a few of the Beni-Adhemi were depicted as people of color. In this story the only people of color are the mountain savages. The savages wear brightly colored headdresses. Tarzan and Hussein travel to Athne, which once again takes on a new look with an interesting corner tower. The Athneans continue to wear Roman-like armor. Prince Timon’s helmet has a Greek look to it. The aqueduct is reminiscent of the Roman aqueducts. When Tarzan and Hathor open the floodgates of the dam, undoubtedly many mountain savages were probably killed or maimed. Depictions of these scenes are avoided. The Athneans and Beni-Adhemi are shown driving the savages off. No killing is depicted, only implied. The drawings are typical and well done with no outstanding panel. The 2/3 of a page panel is good but not all that memorable. The story is tight and satisfying. The treaty between the two peoples sets up possibilities for further adventures.

“Two Small Stories” -- 71st text story -- 1 page - one illustration

2nd story “Tarzan and the Lonesome Cub”- 9pp.
Type -- Rescues Numa-toto - Numa/Sabor

In a tree, Tarzan awakens from his nap. He watches a lion family attack a herd of buffalo. Two cows crush a male lion between them. The lioness is forced to leave. A buffalo chases a numa-toto up a tree. Tarzan pulls it the rest of the way up. In the morning Tarzan shoots a warthog for food for himself and the cub. He brings the cub to his tree house. Jane thinks they have too many pets already. Boy wants to keep the cub. Tarzan leaves to search for a lioness to take care of the cub.

Tarzan witnesses a lioness chasing two hyenas. Sabor kills one of the hyenas. The other escapes into the rocks. Tarzan reads the signs that the hyenas killed the lioness’ cubs. Tarzan searches and finds the lioness’ den. He removes the dead cubs. He places the lonesome cub in the den and places a rock in front of the den. He waits for the lioness’ return. Sabor attacks Tarzan, who escapes into a tree. The lioness removes the rock and discovers the cub. See accepts the cubs as her own. Tarzan leaves. End.

The second story is a simple little tale with no subplots. Jesse Marsh did not do the drawings. This artist avoids showing the male lion’s face. Marsh would have relished showing the male. The lion family, male, female, and cub, attack a herd of buffalo, a highly unlikely situation. Tarzan cooks his meat (third time), highly unlikely. The tree house is set up differently (new illustrator). Tarzan uses his skills to read the signs of the hyenas kills and finds the lioness’ den. The den, a group of rocks, is a popular misnomer of the day. We now realize that lions do not den. When Tarzan places the cub in the den, the cub looks too large to be a cub. When Tarzan waits for the lioness’ return, his keen senses betray him as sabor gets the drop on him. Things end happily as the cub-less lioness accepts the lonesome cub. Tarzan goes on his way happily. Not a great in story or pictures but satisfying.

“Brothers of the Spear” -- 56th -- 6 pages

Tarzan’s World -- splash page - Tsetse fly - Pyrethrum field - color

Inside Back Cover: New advertisement - View Master - color

Back Cover: New advertisement for “Frontier” - Aluminum Plans and Patterns Service - color.