TARZAN COMICS IN TURKEY IN THE PRE-WAR ERA - PART I: AFACAN

Tarzan comics, which were being serialized in the US newspapers since 1929, made their Turkish debut in b&w in the children's weekly magazine Afacan in 1935. Tarzan was first announced in the editor's page of no.9 as their upcoming new "sinema romanı" [cinema novel], a term frequently used in the era to denote comics which hadn't yet a fixed term to describe this new medium, and kicked off with no. 13 (dated Feb. 14th, 1935). Afacan alloted two full pages to Tarzan, the largest space given to any single comics in Turkey at the time (for instance, Jungle Jim, also being serialized there, had one full page). The first one-and-a-half pages of the first installement provided a quick summary background for Tarzan and then an adventure about elephants' graveyard began. This adventure is from US Sunday newspaper comics from 1932, at a time when Hal Foster had taken over the Sundays. However, the source material for the Turkish edition seems to be of French origin as Tarzan's friend in distress is named as "Jan Kursiye", rather than Erich von Harben as in the original US edition. It should also be noted that the b&w art is very 'clean', making one think that either b&w originals or b&w redrawings were used. Nevertheless, the Turkish serialization followed the US run, featuring the subsequent 'Egyptian saga' following the elephants' graveyard adventure, covering the whole run of Sundays from mid-1932 to early 1934.

After the Egyptian saga ended, a new adventure started at no. 80., unfortunately with decreased, somewhat muddy-looking print quality as if b&w reproduction was struck directly from a color source. This new adventure is originally from US Sundays starting in early 1936, the last Tarzan adventure Foster had a hand in. In other words, the editors of Afacan had skipped (or had to skip, depending on material they had access to at the time) approximately two-years run of Sundays (the bulk of those adventures would later be presented to Turkish readers in a different format, as will be covered later in this blog).

No further Tarzan comics would be published in Afacan until 1939. In the meantime, a sparsely illustrated text story titled 'Tarzan Kaçıyor [Tarzan Flees]' was serialized between no.'s 151-185. This was a Turkish translation of E.R.Burroughs novel Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1928). The illustrations are not from the daily strip adaptation serialized in US newspapers in 1930, but from a source I cannot identify.

Tarzan comics returned to Afacan at no. 222 (dated Feb 16th, 1939) with the start of the serialization of 'Pars Adamlar [Leopard Men]' which ended at no. 257 (dated Oct. 20, 1939). This is indeed the daily strip adventure with the same title by Rex Maxon which had started in the US newspapers at the tail end of 1935. This would be the last Tarzan comics published in Afacan, which, despite already merging with the same publisher's Çocuk Sesi magazine at no. 251 and hence being retitled as Çocuk Sesi Afacan, would cease publication in 1940.

Coming soon in this blog: Tarzan In Turkey In The Pre-war Era - Part II: Illustrated Tarzan story books based on comics

EKREM DÜLEK'S PUBLISHED SKETCHES FROM 1940

While looking through my collection of the war-time issues of Turkish children's magazine Afacan, I've come across this 'how to draw easily' instructions from the 'For Your Free Time' section of no. 284 (dated Apr. 26th, 1940). The instructions note that the sketches were sent by "Ekrem Dülek, our friend from Zeyrek Highschool." This little item is interesting not only because it marks the earliest published 'work' of Dülek, the name behind the two 1940s comics covered in the two below posts in this blog, but also because it gives a hint, however vague it maybe, on the biographical background of this obscure Turkish artist: the reference to the highschool suggests he might have been a teacher, perhaps an art teacher, if not an eager student.
The only other credits of Dülek I've come across are as illustrator of two childre's books from 1944.

UPDATE FROM 2014: Turkish comics researcher Yener Çakmak has said in a facebook correspondance that a historical heroics comics by Dülek titled 'Alpago' had been published in Çocuk; that weekly children's magazine has been published between 1936-47.

'THE ADVENTURES OF SIR ENDOR NEVAH THE KNUTTY KNIGHT' (1938)

'The Adventures of Sir Endor Nevah the Knutty Knight' is a very interesting humorous adventure comics serialized in Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly in 1938 (no.'s 115-126, above scan is of the first episode). It features the exploits of the title hero and his page as they try to rescue a princess. What makes it stand out as almost avanguard is the presence of weird pseudo-futuristic motifs in its medieval setting:

I am surprised to find absolutely no mention of this exceptional comics anywhere on the net. If anyone knows anything about its writer and/or artist, please tell us...

ADDENDA FROM OCT. 2010: I've just realized that this obscure comics has also been serialized in the weekly Turkish children's magazine Afacan in 1939 as 'Kral İle Devin Resimli Masalı [The Illustrated Fairytale of the King and the Giant]'.

'BOBBY & CHIP' IN TURKISH CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE FROM 1939

I've just realized that the 'Bobby & Chip' gag-a-week strip from Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly (actually a British re-titling of Otto Messner's 'Bobby Dazzler') was also ran in the Turkish children's magazine Afacan in 1939. Re-titled as 'Hop ile Top', it debutted in the bottom third of the reverse side of the front cover of no. 221, dated Feb. 9th, 1939 (above scan). It turned into monochrome from no. 235 onwards and lasted till no. 249. Afacan had also ran some British-made Disney comics from MMW as well.

OBSCURE COMICS ABOUT A GLOBE-TROTTING KID

The above comics began to be serialized in Afacan's first series (1932-34) and continued for several years in the subsequent second series as well. It tells the story of a mischievous kid, named "Pire Nuri" in this Turkish edition, who eventually embarks on an adventure in Africa, befriending a black native kid who from that point on in the serial accompanies him thereafter in subsequent adventures as well. Some of the caligraphy inside the pictures (such as the one on the window in last panel in the above scan) are in French, but a signature as "D.Camus" is visible in some panels; I couldn't find any reference anywhere to an artist with this name.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND OTHER FILM COMICS' COMICS

Comics featuring comedy actors/characters from early cinema were a staple of pre-war comics. Comics of Charlie Chaplin, the biggest comedy star of the era, were naturally the most prominent examples of this genre. 'Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers' began in a Chicago newspaper in 1915, only one year after Chaplin's film career had started, but lasted for only two years. During its relatively brief run, more than one artist worked on it in succession but the last was E.C. Segar, who would later gain fame as the creator of 'Popeye'.

Chaplin comics would be far more durable in France where this star is called as "Charlot". In 1921, 'Les Aventures Acrobatiques de Charlot' by Raoul Thomen started in the weekly children's magazine Cri-Cri published by S.P.E. Between 1926-35, these comics were reprinted in 13 albums. Cri-Cri ceased publication in 1937 and the last two Les Aventures Acrobatiques de Charlot albums of the pre-war era were published in 1938. After the war, all of these albums by would be reprinted in an abridged form and in the 1950s, a new series titled simply as Charlot would begin with new artists, among them Jean-Claude Forrest who would later create 'Barbarella'.

The Charlie Chaplin comics published in Turkey in the weekly children's magazine Afacan are black & white Turkish editions of 'Les Aventures Acrobatiques de Charlot' which were originally printed in color in France; for example, the sample above is from the Turkish edition of the 'Charlot est bon enfant' episode (thanks to S.P.E. expert François for this identification). Charlot (Turkish spelling: Şarlo) comics appeared only sparodically in Afacan's first series (1932-34), alternating with other comics pages featuring other comedy actors, but were regularly serialized in its 2nd series which began in 1934. The most frequent cinema comics appearing in Afacan's first series was a Laurel & Hardy page:

The French Cri-Cri magazine, which had ran 'Les Aventures Acrobatiques de Charlot' had also ran a highly popular 'Les mésaventures de Laurel et Hardy' comics by Mat [Marcel Turin], but it had started in 1934, so can not be the source of the above Turkish edition which began appearing in 1932. On the other hand, a Laurel & Hardy comics by George Wakefield was ran in the British magazine Film Fun in the 1930s, but I couldnot find out when it had precisely started.

Another comics published in Afacan's first series featured Harold Lloyd and this one almost certainly appears to originate from Film Fun (and hence make it probable that the above comics might have also originated from that source):

SOURCES:

http://www.bd-nostalgie.org/

http://gadsircomics.blogspot.com/

PITCHE IN TURKEY

Afacan, whose first issue came out on Oct. 13th, 1932, would be one of the major children's magazines in Turkey in the 1930s. First and foremost, Afacan is notable for introducing 'Mickey Mouse' strips to Turkish readers (a subject which I had covered in an article on pre-war Disney comics in Turkey I wrote to Tomart's Disneyana), but it also included several other comics in its roster.

Afacan, in its first series (1932-34), was a very large-sized periodical in the format of newspapers. The bottom part of its front page featured a humor strip (re-)titled as 'Cabi Efendi' which is the only non-Disneyic foreign strip in Afacan that I can identify definitely: It is the Belgian-French daily strip 'Pietje'/'Pitche' by Alek Stonkus. It had began in Belgium as 'Pietje' in 1930 and was published in France as 'Pitche' until 1950. A rather murkily phrased statement in Lambiek.net indicates it might be the first non-American daily strip in France. Anyway, its Turkish version 'Cabi Efendi' is the first strip published in Turkey which I encountered so far that used speech balloons and did not use text outside the panels. All other strips published in Turkey till then were either published without speech balloons or with both speech balloons and extra-panel texts.

In the early 1930s, 'Cabi Efendi' was also published in Çocuk Sesi, another children's weekly put out by the same publisher as Afacan's.