SOURCE: The Pirates of Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs (The Argosy, September-October 1932).

DESCRIPTION: "As Kamlot was carried in front of me, I had an opportunity to observe the physical characteristics of these strange creatures into whose hands we had fallen. They had low, receding foreheads, huge, beaklike noses, and undershot jaws; their eyes were small and close set, their ears flat and slightly pointed. Their chests were large and shaped like those of birds, and their arms were very long, ending in long-fingered, heavy-nailed hands. The lower part of the torso was small, the hips narrow, the legs very short and stocky, ending in three-toed feet equipped with long, curved talons. Feathers grew upon their heads instead of hair. When they were excited, as when they attacked us, these feathers stand erect, but ordinarily they lie flat. They are all alike; commencing near the root they are marked with a band of white, next comes a band of black, then another of white, and the tip is red. Similar feathers also grow at the lower extremity of the torso in front, and there is another, quite large bunch just above the buttocks--a gorgeous tail which they open into a huge pompon when they wish to show off. Their wings, which consist of a very thin membrane supported on a light framework, are similar in shape to those of a bat and do not appear adequate to the support of the apparent weight of the creatures' bodies, but I was to learn later that this apparent weight is deceptive, since their bones, like the bones of true birds, are hollow." (The Pirates of Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

Original illos

NOTES: The Klangan (which is the plural of Angan) are the bird men of Venus. Despite their bird-like features they are quite human in other ways. They speak the universal language of Venus, reason and act as men do. They also use human weapons like swords. The klangan capture Carson Napier and Kamlot using wire lassos. They take their captives to the Thorists (Burroughs' poorly disguised version of Communists)who own them. The klangan are slaves that serve only one master until death or until sold to another. The klangan are not overly intelligent or imaginative so they make good soldiers. They are also talkative.

Mike Kaluta's comic version

HISTORY: The Klangan, like the targo, are probably the most influential creatures in the Venus series. They inspired Robert E. Howard's Yagas from Almuric for instance as well as many other creatures by Otis Adelbert Kline and Lin Carter. Burroughs' creation may have inspired the winged men in the Flash Gordon serial starring Buster Crabbe (1936). They even made it into the 1980 remake and cartoons.

Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan