I remember grabbing that big ol' book up when it first came out, Craig.  Wish I still had it.  (Been thinking about buying up those Kubert TARZAN archive volumes, as I think that was the best comic incarnation of the jungle lord.)

That's fine, but it's ridiculous to say that Tarzan, for example, is not a comic book hero (he is not only one, but a very famous one,) regardless of whether the original work was a novel or a comic.
I think that's something hard to speak about in absolutes, as something like that is always going to be the subjective opinion of each individual.  (And, as we've seen here, it's not always a shared opinion.)  For some his appearance in comics makes him a "comic book hero," while others would say this is simply the original character being adapted/reinterpreted into just one of many other mediums, which makes it a generation removed from original intent.  There's logic to both views, and I can live with either one.  (If I'm going to debate something with any of youse guys, I want it to be over something important.  You know, girls...potato chip flavors...bad Godzilla vs. friendly Godzilla.)