Harold Foster was the first artist to adapt Tarzan into strip form. It was actually a story strip, consisting of five panels a day with typeset text beneath each panel. Foster drew just 60 daily strips which were reprinted as one of the very first comic books (The Illustrated Tarzan Book No. I - G&D). When United Feature Syndicate, who commissioned the strip, decided to continue the daily Tarzan and Foster was unavailable, they turned instead to staff artist, Rex Maxon 

Rex Maxon started the daily black and white Tarzan strip on June 10, 1929. Palmer, a writer in Cleveland, plotted out The Return of Tarzan and Rex did the first ten weeks for free. The strip was successful and was sold to United Features Syndicate. Maxon continued to draw the series, almost continuously, for the next 18 years -- a total of 5,200 strips. 

On March 15, 1931, the Tarzan colour Sunday page was inaugurated and Maxon took on this assignment as well. Unfortunately Foster was a hard act to follow. Maxon's inadequacies as an illustrator and storyteller, which may have been acceptable on a black-and-white daily strip, were magnified by the larger colour panels. Many thought him an odd choice as he lacked his predecessor's skill in figure drawing, composition, and several other abilities essential for the drawing of a jungle adventure strip. Edgar Rice Burroughs, especially, disliked Maxon's approach and complained frequently to the syndicate about the strip's art and story lines. He even suggested that Maxon be given photos of animals so he could learn to draw them correctly. Maxon, however, was kept on, possibly because he worked cheap. 

In response to Burroughs' complaints, the syndicate brought back Harold Foster to take over the Tarzan colour Sunday pages -- giving Maxon more time to concentrate on the daily strips. This was the start of a very successful run for Foster that would stretch from September 27, 1931 through May 2, 1937. Foster then went onto even greater success with his own strip, Prince Valiant.