Making a Splash: Frank Thorne's Korak

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Before Frank Thorne became an "overnight sensation" on Red Sonja for Marvel, he'd been toiling away at comics companies like Dell, Gold Key, and yep, DC for nearly three decades. One of Ol' Groove's favorite pre-Red Sonja gigs was his time as artist on DC's Korak Son of Tarzan mag. While Thorne illustrated only six issues (numbers 46-51, March 1972-January 1973), he definitely made his mark on Edgar Rice Burrough's creation. Can you dig these (dare I say it) swingin' pages? (Ouch!)

#46

#47

#49

#50

#51

Groove's Faves: "The Treasure Vaults of Opar!" by Wein and Thorne

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Ya know what an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan Ol' Groove is, so it's about time we visited DC's Korak, Son of Tarzan, innit? Korak ran for 14 "DC Issues" (March 1972-July 1975) before converting to the extra-sized Tarzan Family (which featured a mix of new material and reprints), but, just to confuse things, DC didn't "reboot" the title (previously published by Gold Key/Western for 45 issues) with a first issue, but continued the Gold Key numbering. Thus, the "First DC Issue" of Korak, Son of Tarzan was ish #46. And what an ish it was! Editor Joe Orlando kicked things off right by handing the reins of Korak's lead feature to writer Len Wein and Artist Frank Thorne. The backups, Carson of Venus and Pellucidar were handled by Wein and artists Mike Kaluta and Alan Weiss (which you can read here and here). Orlando would soon be replaced by cover artist Joe Kubert as editor, Wein's words would give way to those of Robert Kanigher and Kubert, and artists Murphy Anderson and Rudy Florese would eventually handle the illustrating chores, but Korak was continually in great creative hands for its short life. But for today, let's focus on Wein and Thorne's debut Korak tale, "The Treasure Vaults of Opar!" 18 pages (plus Kubert's awesome cover) of pure jungle action! (Hey, wouldn't that make a neat title...?)

Bring on the Back-ups: "Babes in the Woods" and "Into the Nooblian Valley" by Michael Kaluta

What have we got here, Groove-ophiles? It looks like Mike Kaluta's final Carson of Venus story for DC's Korak mag! We've just gotta dive into this one..."Babes in the Woods" from Korak...Son of Tarzan #56 (November 1973)!

But wait, there's more! While that was Kaluta's last CoV tale for Korak, his final CoV mini-epic appeared a few months later in Tarzan #230 (February 1974), "Into the Noobolian Valley".

Sadly, "The Black Castle" never appeared, though DC did reprint several stories from this series in Tarzan Family in 1975-76.

Bring on the Back-ups: "Lost on Venus" by Mike Kaluta

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! How'd ya like to plant your peepers on some dyn-o-mite Mike Kaluta art in a mini-masterpiece written by the artist himself? Yeah, Ol' Groove thought ya would! From Korak #55 (September 1973) let's get..."Lost on Venus"!

Bring on the Back-ups: "Into the Land of Noobol" by Michael Wm. Kaluta

Can ya think of a better way to kick off the week than with a gorgeous Mike Kaluta Carson of Venus back-up, Groove-ophiles? "Into the Land of Noobol" comes from Korak, Son of Tarzan #54 (July 1973). Can you dig it?

I thought you could!

Weird Worlds Week! Bring on the Back-ups: Carson of Venus Two-fer by Mike Kaluta

Welcome back to Weird Worlds Week, Groove-ophiles! Today we're trekking to Venus to hang out with Carson Napier! With "Duare, Princess of Venus" in Korak Son of Tarzan #52 (March 1973), Mike Kaluta took over the writing chores of the Carson of Venus back-up in addition to continuing the art duties. Aaaaaand since each captivating chapter is only five pages long...and today is Tuesday, why don't we toss in KSoT #53's (May 1973) "Catastrophe", as well? Who loves ya, baby?