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The Comic Book Arab
In T-Man “The Riffs of Morocco” (September # 27 1955) ace T-man Pete Trask is flying over Morocco towards Algiers as the body guard for the American diplomat carrying new NATO plans for the defense of the Mediterranean against the Nazis. Below, Makaco, leader of a group of Arab bandits, orders his men to open fire on the aircraft. The bandits quickly rush the downed plane, firing indiscriminately at its occupants. Pete Trask reaches the “mob of apes” first, fists pumping. He delays the bandits just long enough to enable the diplomat to escape, but his own chances of freedom are slim. As he runs from the scene of the crash, the T-man laments: “These hill bandits are like mountain goats in this terrain...may be hundreds of them.” Trask’s fears are realized when, moments later, he is jumped by the Arab bandits and taken prisoner. The narrow-faced Makaco, bearded with a sinister scar on his right cheek, interrogates him: “Now Mr. Trask, if you wish to live, reveal where the Allied Defense papers are hidden!” Trask answers: “Why would a hill bandit be interested in espionage work? Don’t tell me you intend on fighting the ALLIED POWERS!” Responds Makaco: “You fool! The communists will pay many pounds of gold for those documents! I do business where I can get the largest return of gold!” Thus, the Arab is established as a creature without morals, selling his services to the highest bidder. Eventually, with the help of a communist spy who desires to betray both Trask and the Arabs (a prevalent theme when Arabs are involved; even the baddest of the bad are too good for the Arabs), Trask flees in a jeep. The Arab bandits follow, but are eventually thwarted in their pursuit when Trask destroys the bridge separating them. The bandits shake their firsts and fire their rifles repeatedly to no avail. The American has escaped. Tarzan “The Ape Man and the Mangani” (Marvel Comics, # 8, Roy Thomas, 1977) contains perhaps the most racial portrayal of Arabs in comic books that this author has had the misfortune to be exposed to. “Fire DESERT—DEVILS...” challenges Tarzan to the group of Arabs aiming their rifles at him on the comic’s cover. The magazine’s subtitle? “APES VS. ARAB RAIDERS with TARZAN caught between them in a duel to the death!” The story opens with Tarzan, surrounded by apes, wondering what has happened to his beloved “golden-haired, white-fleshed She,” Jane. The leader of the apes, Taglort, informs Tarzan that his companion has been kidnapped by the Arabs. Desperate to recover her, Tarzan enlists the apes as helpers. Meanwhile, we see Jane weeping in the saddle of the Arab chieftain Achmet Zek. Tarzan and his furry friends reach the outskirts of the Arab encampment. They surprise several Arab guards, slay them and don their kufiyahs. Says the leader of the apes, an incredibly ugly creature: “I do not understand, Tarzan. What good is it to put on these EVIL-SMELLING RAGS?” The message is clear: these disgusting apes are cleaner, more civilized than the Arabs. As they slip through camp, Tarzan overhears the malicious Achmet Zek saying: “And, with the morning, you will take the WOMAN from the far tent and SELL her north. She will bring A PRETTY PRICE here—because she is WHO SHE IS.” Tarzan hears a woman’s scream. He rushes to the tent where his beloved is held. Upon arrival, he gives a cry of anger. The stench of the ape Taglort fills the chamber. The ape has betrayed him! The Arabs, hearing the howl, think there must be a beast within, and saturate the tent with bullets. The anxious Arabs appear as demons, red faced, hooked-nosed, with bulbous eyes and scraggly, unkempt beards. “FIRE into the tent!” they scream. “Whatever is within must DIE!” But Tarzan has escaped and the Arabs have only managed to slay one of their own. The comic book ends with Tarzan chasing after Taglort the ape, just as he pursued Achmet Zet the Arab. Thus, Arabs are equated with Apes. The only difference? The apes have better hygiene. In Sgt. Rock: “Traitor’s Blood!” (DC Comics, # 227, 1971) a WW II American tank battalion in the North African desert heads towards a nomad village whose sheikh has promised them information on the location of Rommel’s camp. On the village outskirts, the Americans startle a short, ugly Arab (who the Americans refer to as “the little guy in the bedsheets”) who introduces them to the head sheikh. “Forgive me master,” begins the messenger, trembling. The sheikh slouches in his chair, a cup of wine in his palm. Unsavory in appearance, he sports a goatee, a shadowed, bulbous brow, and a dark, double chin. A line of bullets is strapped across his breast. “We’re Americans, sheikh—sent here on your request—on your offerin’ to help the allies! Or have we stepped outa line?” asks a soldier, politely. “But, NO, my friends—you are absolutely CORRECT!” answers the sheikh. “I have come by VITAL INFORMATION concerning the Germans’ tank movement. The Nazis have demanded we help THEM...can you imagine? Help THEM against my friends? RIDICULOUS!”
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