October 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs Publishes Tarzan of the Apes, Invents the Franchise

*insert Tarzan yell here* This week, Emily and V explore a totally new-to-them fandom thanks to requester pandaimitator: Tarzan of the Apes. And frankly, it's crazy that we haven't heard about everything this old-timey fandom created that we still use and do today. Fan clubs! Conventions! Fan campaigns! Fanfiction! The Pizza Hut Book-It model of consumerism! The concept of the franchise itself! While the source material does not stand up to modern sensibilities — at all, and we're not defending it; it's super racist — the actions of the early fandom, and of Edgar Rice Burroughs' author-incorporation, are totally worth talking about in the scope of fandom history. We would be a different place without them.

Sources

Tarzan Forever by John Taliaferro

PulpFest | ERBfest

ERBzine.com

Signal Oil Fan Club

Tarzan: Jungle King of Popular Culture by David Lemmo

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