#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - October 23, 2025

October 23, 2025 and seventy-six years ago on this day in 1949, the Burne Hogarth and Rob Thompson, Sunday Comic story arc, “Tarzan and the Ononoes, concluded after a run of twenty-five weeks. The Ononoes looked like Kaldanes on steroids, but a little more spherical. They weren’t adverse to just rolling along. I was never sure of the exact pronunciation, but I’m going with OH – N0 – N0S. Not unlike some people I’ve know whose response to almost everything is OH NO!.

In TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION, the Ononoes were a tribe of fierce cannibals, but these little bowling ball people aren’t them.

There’s a complete list of the Tarzan Sunday pages at www.erbzine.com, but unfortunately, the Hogarth pages aren’t available online.

The drabble for today is “No! No!” inspired by the name.

Tarzan was bowled over by a tribe of creatures who had rolled down a hill. They were spheroidal, with small arms and legs. Tarzan followed them. They were scattered about dazed from colliding with trees and boulders.

Tarzan helped one of them and asked, “’Are you okay.”

“Oh, no. I crashed into this big stone. Broke my spear and my nose.”

“You rolled very quickly. Is that how you usually stop?”

“Oh, no. Sometimes I hit a tree, but I always aim for a rock.”

“Perhaps you should walk.”

“Oh, no. Oh, no! I’ll never give up rock and roll!”

Told in the East by Talbot Mundy

 The Campbell Classic book published today is TOLD IN THE EAST by Talbot Mundy, who wrote adventure novels in the early 20th Century. Most were based on his personal experiences in Colonial India.

Here are two links where you can purchase the novel:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/talbot-mundy/told-in-the-east/paperback/product-yv97j84.html?q=told+in+the+east&page=1&pageSize=4

and

https://westmesapublishing.myshopify.com/products/told-in-the-east?_pos=1&_psq=told+in+the+east&_ss=e&_v=1.0

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - October 22, 2025

 October 22, 2025 ,and eighty-five years ago on this day in 1940, Edgar Rice Burroughs finished writing “The Living Dead,” which was published in November 1941 in “Fantastic Adventures” and would become the part of the novel, “Escape on Venus.” Ed’s Venus stories featured Carson Napier from Earth and the beautiful Vesuvian, Duare.

Details about the novel, its publishing history and several illustrations have been assembled for your viewing pleasure at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0751.html

The 100-word fictional drabble for today, “One Team or the Other,” was inspired by “The Living Dead.”

Carson Napier had been captured and imprisoned. Eventually, he and a fellow prisoner were forced into the arena. While the thousands of onlookers cheered, angry bulls were released, and a dozen cannibals entered and rushed the bulls.

Carson’s companion said, “I’m not getting involved. I don’t have anything against the bulls, and I don’t know the cannibals. I’ll just let them fight each other.”

Carson said, “I’m going to join the cannibals. I can talk to them. I can’t talk to cattle.”

“You won’t stay neutral?”

“No, I’ve learned if you don’t pick a side, a side will pick you.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - October 21, 2025

 October 21, 2025 and nineteen years ago on this day in 2006, the first issue of ‘The Mucker’ fanzine was published by the ‘The Muckers,’ the Chicago chapter of the Burroughs Bibliophiles. 15 copies were assembled at the Oct. 21, 2006, meeting in the Pleasant Home used by the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest. Joan Bledig contributed the cover, from the McClurg art by J. Allen St. John that also was used by Canaveral; the cover design; and table of contents, which she did for all the early issues.

Read about the issue and see a complete list of the contents at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag30/3097.html

The 44 page issue included articles by Bill Ross, Lawrence Dunn, Jeff Long, Mike Conran, Ken Manson, Jim Hadac, Greg Phillips, and J. G. Huckenpohler. An illustration of a naked princess was inside, an item that became almost traditional.

The fictional drabble for today, “Muck and Mire,= was inspired by that publication and by the Chicago Muckers, long may they reign.

Joan said, “We gotta do our own fanzine. The National Capital Panthans have had one for ten years. Anything they can do, we can do better.”

“Joan, have you been watching Oliver, the musical again.”

“No, well, maybe. But if they can do it, we can do it. I’ll design and print the covers. The rest of you write an article. Print fifteen copies. We’ll call it THE MUCKER MAGAZINE.”

“How will we sell it? Who pays for shipping? What about copyrights and trademarks?”

“Crawl out of the muck. People get mired down in details, nothing ever gets done.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - October 20, 2025

 October 20, 2025 and thirty-four years ago on this day in 1991, the Gray Morrow illustrated and Don Kraar scripted Sunday Tarzan story arc, The Kalahari, began. The story arc ran for fourteen weeks.

In the story, Jane and Meriam, are on a hijacked airplane. The hijackers, led by the mercenary Van Zandt, land the plane in the Kalahari desert. The leader of the hijackers seeks revenge on Tarzan. Tarzan, D’Arnot and a troop of baboons come to the rescue.

The entire story may be read at https://www.erbzine.com/mag35/3539.html Thousands of Sunday pages are available at www.erbzine.com

The 100-word fictional drabble for today, “Take The Win,” was inspired by the story arc. I’ve always said that it doesn’t matter who gets the credit as long as you get what you wanted. That’s a lesson Van Zandt never learned.

Jane said, “You never should have hijacked this airplane, Van Zandt. My husband, Tarzan, knows I was on this flight. He’ll come for me.”

“I'm counting on it. I hated my brother. Tarzan killed him before I could. Now, I’ll kill Tarzan.”

“That’s possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You should thank my husband, not kill him.”

“No, I have to kill someone.”

“You don’t. Take the win. Let your hatred die with him.”

“Lady Greystoke, I can’t do that.”

“How sad for your mother to lose both sons. It’s silly to die because you got what you wanted.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - 10/19/2025

 October 19, 2025 and nineteen years ago on this day in The Russian film, “Tarzan des Mers,” the name was changed to “The Amphibian Man” at the request of the ERB Inc., released in the US: The film had little to do with Tarzan, other than the appropriation of his name. The original film, based on the 1928 novel, “The Amphibian Man” by Alexander Beliaev. There’s no reason to explain the plot because the film, THE SHAPE OF WATER,” is virtually the same story, start to finish. The Shape of Water was even placed in the 1960s. “The Shape of Water” received 13 nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, the most of any film in the 2018 race. It won in four categories: Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Director, and Best Picture.

The drabble for today is “Under Water, No One Can Hear You Yell.” Like the film, The Shape of Water, plagiarized the Russian film, Tarzan de Mers, I plagiarized my own drabble about this film. It features my old friends from New Orleans, Pat and John.

Pat said, “John, Let’s go see that new Moscow made Tarzan Movie.”

“Pat, you know that I don’t speak Russian.”

“That’s not a problem, John. I checked with the Audubon Zoo. Amphibians don’t speak Russian either.”

“That’s not all, Pat. The Russians originally titled the film, “Tarzan de Mers.” That’s just wrong. Buying a ticket encourages bad behavior.”

“Excuse me?”

“Tarzan of the Apes. Not Tarzan of the Sea. Sounds like a tuna fish ad or a pasta order. Apes, not eels, not sharks, and not octopi. Underwater no-one can hear the Tarzan yell. It’d just be blub, blub, blub.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - October 18, 2025

 October 18, 2025 and fourteen years ago on this day in 2011, a review of the unauthorized “Jungle Rock Blues”, aka “Tarzan Presley,” by Nigel Cox, in the New Zealand Herald. The book was originally published as “Tarzan Presley,” but Edgar Rice Burroughs Incorporated objected to the title. Consequently, it was rewritten, retitled, and published as “Jungle Rock Blues.”

While I found the concept interesting, I thought the book was virtually unreadable. A series of reviews are available at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag56/5647.html

The 100-word drabble for today, It’s Your Money,” is an excerpt from a review written by ERBAPA contributor and Edgar Rice Burroughs historian, John Martin, in a review available at the aforementioned address. Like John, I bought the book when it was more expensive that it is now. John, if my edits for length changed any of your intentions, my apologies.

I decided not to read the story word-for-word. We’ve a limited lifespan. I’ve other things to do with my time. I scanned pages and got the sense of what was said and slowed down to read whole paragraphs here and there. Sometimes I would be intrigued enough to read a page or two in a row.

If you’re a completist, you may want this book. If you are a glutton for punishment, you may actually want to read it. On the other hand, you could take the money you’d spend on this book and buy something actually written by ERB.