Korak, a fictional character, is the ape name of John "Jack" Clayton III, the son of

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

and

Jane Porter Jane Porter (3 December 1775 – 24 May 1850) was an English historical novelist, dramatist and literary figure. Her bestselling novels, ''Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) and ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1810) are seen as among the earliest historical ...

History

Jack first appeared in the original ''Tarzan'' novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was introduced as an infant in the non-Tarzan novel ''

The Eternal Lover ''The Eternal Lover'' is a fantasy-adventure novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story was begun in November 1913 under the working title ''Nu of the Niocene''. It was first run serially in two parts by ''All-Story Weekly''. The ...

'' (later retitled ''The Eternal Savage''), in which the Ape Man and his family played supporting roles. His next appearance (still as an infant) was in '' The Beasts of Tarzan'', the third Tarzan novel, in which he was kidnapped and taken to Africa. The story of his youth and growth to manhood was told in the fourth novel, ''

The Son of Tarzan ''The Son of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was written between January 21 and May 11, 1915, and first published in the magazine ' ...

'', in which he returned to Africa and lived in the jungle, taking for the first time the name Korak ("Killer" in the language of the Great Apes). Most references to him were as "Korak the Killer". Half of the book relates to Meriem, the girl he rescues from a beating. The two of them run wild in the forest for years before being separated. After many adventures they are re-united and eventually marry. Korak was later used as a supporting character in the eighth through the tenth entries in the series, '' Tarzan the Terrible'', ''

Tarzan and the Golden Lion ''Tarzan and the Golden Lion'' is an adventure novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ninth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published as a seven part serial in ''Argosy All-Story We ...

'', and '' Tarzan and the Ant Men''. The last of those three also briefly mentions Korak and Meriem's young son "Jackie". The Bunduki series by J. T. Edson - authorized by the Burroughs estate - includes Korak and Meriem's granddaughter Dawn as one of two main characters.

In other media

Besides the Burroughs novels, Korak also appeared in the 1920

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

'', the Tarzan comic strip, in which he was a major character for many years; and the ''Tarzan'', ''Korak, Son of Tarzan'', and ''Tarzan Family'' comic books. In the

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

Tarzan films, Korak was replaced by an adopted son called Boy (played by

Johnny Sheffield Johnny Sheffield (born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan, April 11, 1931 – October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939 and 1947, portrayed Boy in the Tarzan film series and, between 1949 and 1955, played Bomba the Jungle Boy. ...

). Tarzan and Jane never married in these films (they do in the books), and the substitution was made to avoid censorship. In the Dell comic books of the 1950s, which combine material from the books and the films, Tarzan's son was also called Boy. When the Tarzan comics returned to a more faithful portrayal of Burroughs' characters in the early 1960s, Boy revealed himself to truly be called Korak, going on to later be featured in his own comic book.

Portrayal in film

Gordon Griffith Gordon S. Griffith (July 4, 1907 – October 12, 1958) was an American assistant director, film producer, and one of the first child actors in the American movie industry. Griffith worked in the film industry for five decades, acting in ov ...

(youth) 1920 * Kamuela C. Searle (adult) 1920

Comic books

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

published ''Korak, Son of Tarzan'' #1–45 from January 1964 to January 1972. It featured work by

Russ Manning Russell George Manning (January 5, 1929"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VMMT-NZN : accessed 28 Aug 2014), Russell Manning, Dec 1981; citing U.S. Social Security Administration ...

, Warren Tufts,

Dan Spiegle Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Com ...

, and others. In 2013,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

reprinted the Gold Key issues drawn by Manning in hardcover format. *

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

acquired the publication licensing rights to the series in 1972, continuing the numbering from #46–59 (June 1972 to September–October 1975), when it was renamed ''The Tarzan Family''. The retitled series ran an additional seven issues #60–66 (November–December 1975 to November–December 1976) Both series also included other Burroughs' characters. The ''Korak'' series featured work from writers Len Wein and

Robert Kanigher Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...

and artists Frank Thorne,

Murphy Anderson Murphy C. Anderson Jr. (July 9, 1926 – October 22, 2015) was an American comics artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the Golden Age of Comic Books in ...

, and Rudy Florese. " Carson of Venus" by Wein and

Michael Kaluta Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta (born August 25, 1947), is an American comics artist and writer best known for his acclaimed 1970s adaptation of the pulp magazine hero ''The Shadow'' with writer De ...

was the backup feature in issues #46–56.

References

External links

Korak in Pal-u-don

''The Son of Tarzan''
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

* * * {{Tarzan 1964 comics debuts 1972 comics debuts 1972 comics endings 1976 comics endings Comics by Len Wein Comics by Robert Kanigher DC Comics titles Fictional Central African people Literary characters introduced in 1914 Fictional viscounts and viscountesses Gold Key Comics titles Jungle (genre) comics Jungle men Jungle superheroes Tarzan characters