Part 4
The illustration was taken over by N. Niros (cover) and Themos Andreopoulos (internal pages), then Bost, Gliatas and Koukakis (with the latter making the cover). Since issue 100, the standard and recognizable appearance of the cover has changed dramatically, as has the title logo. "Gaur" entered the first row in capital letters, while "Tarzan" entered the second, in lower case. It seems, however, that this trick did not save the situation either. A situation that had entered a declining trajectory with the consequence of the smallest circulation, which makes the last ten issues today a collector's rarity.
The last issue, where the continuation of the adventures was announced, after ... two years !. When the reissue of all 112 issues would be completed, for the sake of the new readers! An attempt at a revised reissue was made, however, "after 20 years" ... The last issue was released on November 16, 1961, announcing the re-release of the series from the beginning. Not sure if the reissue was complete. Probably not, but several numbers were released anyway.
However, this was not the final end. Arriving in 1981, another attempt is made to revive this childhood reading - a legend. So begins the 4th period of the magazine, always with Routsos as author. The publication was made by the house of Char. A. Papadimitriou. It is essentially a revised attempt to republish the third period with the publisher instructing the author to soften the wild descriptions and become more politically correct in matters of ecology. The jungles were cool in the early 1980s. The publisher's intention was to send an awareness message to the children-readers of the magazine.
Admittedly, however, Routsos was not the most appropriate, accustomed to exterminating… in writing in every issue the inexhaustible in lions, elephants, crocodiles and even tigers of his galloping imagination not to mention the way to roam the jungle paths. The series, illustrated by comic book experts and children's book Akis Avagianos on the cover and Michalis Venetoulias in the middle pages, was interrupted before the 30th issue, probably due to Routsos' inability to continue due to health problems. Besides, Nikos Routsos "left" in December of the same year.
This was, in short, the story of Gaur-Tarzan, one of the most successful magazines of all time, with many children's non-fiction readings.
THE HEROES OF READING AND THE SURROUNDINGS
The well-known Tarzan, the lord of the jungle, the creation of the author Edgar Rice Burroughs gave the initial inspiration to Rutso. So he began by describing his heroic adventures in the jungle. Very soon the reading was enriched with the appearance of a new hero, of Greek origin this time: The giant dark-skinned Gaur. His father was a white, fearless Greek hunter and his mother was a native Egyptian of Coptic and Greek descent. Regarding the name "Gaur", Routsos clarified that in some African dialects it means "Lightning". He added unofficially that the name is an imitation of the majestic lion roar.
Either way, he responded to the implications and slurs of his publishing rivals who often paraphrased the name of the Greek hero in "giaour", a well-known derogatory Turkish word meaning infidel, a designation addressed to the Romans in a contemptuous manner during the Turkish occupation. Of course, Tarzan was already well known to the general public from books and especially from the movies that were very successful in those years.
But from the moment Gaur first appeared, it was clear his intention to exalt him, while degrading the English Tarzan, whose compatriots were tyrannizing the Hellenism of the Cypriot martyrdom. So the strong lad, the son of the Apes we knew until then and who served good and justice, changed abruptly. So he started doing "bad deeds", betraying friends and enemies, computerising etc. The thing went even further: Routsos went so far as to attribute a "personality split" to him. Thus, from time to time, his evil self, Nazrat (Tarzan anagram), emerged, who was supposed to be responsible for all evil.
In the end, however, he came together and regretted bitterly what he had done. Then everything was arranged with honey and milk.
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