| Korak | |
|---|---|
 Dust cover ofThe Son of Tarzan (First edition, 1917), depicting Korak | |
| First appearance | The Eternal Lover |
| Last appearance | Tarzan and the Ant Men |
| Created by | Edgar Rice Burroughs |
| Portrayed by | Gordon Griffith Kamuela C. Searle |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Jack Clayton[1] |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Adventurer, hunter, trapper, fisherman |
| Family | Tarzan (father) Jane Porter (mother) |
| Spouse | Meriem (wife) |
| Children | Jackie Clayton (son)[2] |
| Nationality | English/American |
Korak is afictional character inEdgar Rice Burroughs'sTarzan novel series and its adaptations. Known by civilan nameJohn "Jack" Clayton III, Korak is the son ofTarzan andJane Porter.
Jack first appeared in the originalTarzan novels byEdgar Rice Burroughs. He was introduced as an infant in the non-Tarzan novelThe Eternal Lover (later retitledThe Eternal Savage), in which the Ape Man and his family played supporting roles. His next appearance (still as an infant) was inThe Beasts of Tarzan, the third Tarzan novel, in which his father Tarzan was kidnapped and taken to West Africa. The story of his youth and growth to manhood was told in the fourth novel,The Son of Tarzan, in which he returned to sub-Saharan Africa and lived in the jungle, taking for the first time the name Korak ("Killer" in the language of the Great Apes). Most references to him were as "Korak the Killer".
Half of the book relates toMeriem, the girl he rescues from a beating. The two of them run wild in the forest for years before being separated. After many adventures they are re-united and eventually marry.
Korak was later used as a supporting character in the eighth through the tenth entries in the series,Tarzan the Terrible,Tarzan and the Golden Lion, andTarzan and the Ant Men. The last of those three also briefly mentions Korak and Meriem's young son "Jackie". TheBunduki series byJ. T. Edson - authorized by the Burroughs estate - includes Korak and Meriem's granddaughter Dawn as one of two main characters.
Besides the Burroughs novels, Korak also appeared in the 1920movie serialThe Son of Tarzan, the Tarzancomic strip, in which he was a major character for many years; and theTarzan,Korak, Son of Tarzan, andTarzan Family comic books.
In theJohnny Weissmuller Tarzan films, Korak was replaced by an adopted son called Boy (played byJohnny Sheffield). Tarzan and Jane never married in these films (they do in the books), and the substitution was made to avoid censorship. In theDell comic books of the 1950s, which combine material from the books and the films, Tarzan's son was also called Boy. When the Tarzan comics returned to a more faithful portrayal of Burroughs' characters in the early 1960s, Boy revealed himself to truly be called Korak, going on to later be featured in his own comic book.
CollectingKorak, Son of Tarzan #1–6.
CollectsKorak, Son of Tarzan #7–11 and #21.