In January 1929 the first TARZAN strip was published in 13 American and two Canadian outlets (Toronto Star and Halifax Chronicle). It was not a "comic strip" . . . it was a story strip. The novel, TARZAN OF THE APES, had been abridged and illustrated. Each strip consisted of five illustrations with the abridged text printed beneath each illustration. TARZAN OF THE APES was published in 60 daily episodes covering a 10 week period and was sold on the basis that newspapers buying it might drop it after ten weeks or continue it if readers showed interest. Needless to say, the combination of ERB's most famous character and the illustrations of Harold Foster made Tarzan successful in still another medium. January 7, 1929 is given as the release date for the first strip but the strips were not dated, they were numbered, enabling newspapers to start the feature from the beginning even as late as the mid-thirties. For papers starting the feature with the then current episodes, a six-episode condensation of Hal Foster's TARZAN OF THE APES strip was available to be used as an introductory feature.
(This version strips 1-60)