In the introduction of Tarzan and Tradition. Classical Myth in Popular Literature, Erling B. Holtsmark, classical scholar and chairperson of the Classics Department at the University of Iowa, remarks: "I see Burroughs as a fine artist in his genre of heroic fantasy. His peculiar literary skill is, like Homer's, his ability to combine fantastic and unbelievably exciting adventure stories with commentary on man and his condition." Philip Jose Farmer, in his feral man anthology Mother Was A Lovely Beast, brings up ERB's use of satire in his novels; "This use of satire in the Tarzan books has been overlooked by most literary critics, who regard Tarzan as a two-dimensional character in a comic book-type adventure series." The titled English lord raised by apes is the first Multi-Media Superstar and the first Super-Hero emerging from the Twentieth Century. The new technology feeds the demand for an outburst of Mythic Symbolism. Humanity is eager to tell tales of Super-Humans and Half-Gods once again. The frustrations of society, personal fantasies, and parody collide.
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Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) in the MGM film, Tarzan and his Mate, 1934.
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