Jungle Action

"Jungle Action" is the name of two separate comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The latter-day version is notable for featuring the first series starring the Black Panther, the first major Black superhero.

Atlas Comics

Publication history

The first series — published during a time of few superheroes, when comics featured an enormous assortment of genres — was a multi-character omnibus that ran six issues (Oct. 1954 - Aug. 1955). Each starred the blond-haired, Tarzanesque Lo-Zar, Lord of the Jungle (renamed "Tharn" in 1970s reprints, presumably to avoid confusion with Marvel's modern-day Ka-Zar); Jungle Boy, the teenaged son of a renowned hunter; Leopard Girl, created by writer Don Rico and artist Al Hartley; and, intriguingly, Man-Oo the Mighty, the jungle-protector gorilla hero of naturalistic, narrated nature dramas. The giant snake Serpo was an antagonist common to most, lending some tangential geographic continuity.

Leopard Girl — a scientist's assistant named Gwen who was never given a last name — wore a full-body leotard which, though skin-tight, was more demure than the barely-there bikini of archetype Sheena, whose sexiness had raised both parents' eyebrows and the wrath of Senators in the 1950s hearings on comic books and juvenile delinquency.

The four series' attractive art, which generally transcended stories one critic called "painful to a modern eye, racist, ridiculous and old-fashioned", [http://www.fanboyplanet.com/comics/js-panthersrage.php "Fanboy Planet": "Panther's Rage: Marvel's First Graphic Novel", by Jason Sacks] ] was by Joe Maneely, John Forte, Al Hartley, and Paul Hodge, respectively.

Additional Atlas jungle titles

Brethren titles published by Atlas were the seven-issue "Jungle Tales" (Sept. 1954 - Sept. 1955) which introduced Marvel's first African hero Waku, Prince of the Bantu who predated the Black Panther by nearly a dozen years. [ [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=11556 Grand Comics Database: "Jungle Tales" #1 (Sept. 1954)] ] The series continued as "Jann of the Jungle" from #8-17 (Nov. 1955 - June 1957); and "Lorna, the Jungle Queen", renamed "Lorna, the Jungle Girl" with issue #6, running 26 issues total (July 1953 - Aug. 1957).

Marvel Comics

Publication history

The company's second series of this name premiered with an issue cover-dated October 1972 with containing reprints of the same-name Atlas Comics title. Some critics considered these 1950s "white savior" stories an odd choice during a time of a newly post-colonial Africa and the rise of black power consciousness. "Although as many battles were fought against white hunters as natives," wrote one, "the motivations were different: the hunters (or treasure seekers, or slave traders) were greedy and manipulative. The natives, on the other hand, were greedy and stupid, in need of a white saviour. This was the overriding social message of the jungle comics...." [ [http://www.modelmart.co.uk/content/features/default.asp?Category=Article&Type=11&ID=197 "Model & Collectors Mart": "Jungle Fever", by Paul Cook] ]

This began to change with an actual African hero, the Black Panther, getting his first starring feature with issue #5, a reprint of the Panther-centric story in "The Avengers" #62 (March 1969). A new series followed, written by Don McGregor with art by pencilers Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, and Billy Graham, and which gave inkers Klaus Janson and Bob McLeod some of their first professional exposure. The critically acclaimed series ran in "Jungle Action" #6-24 (Sept. 1973 - Nov. 1976).

One now-common innovation McGregor pioneered was that of the self-contained, multi-issue story arc. The first, "Panther's Rage", ran through the first 13 issues, initially as 13- to 15-page stories, then, starting with "Jungle Action" #14, as 18- to 19-page stories, plus a 17-page epilogue. Writer Christopher Priest's 1998 series "The Black Panther" reutilized Erik Killmonger, Venomm, and other characters introduced in this arc.

Critic Jason Sacks has called the arc "Marvel's first graphic novel":

The second and final arc, "Panther vs. the Klan", ran as mostly 17-page stories in "Jungle Action" #19-24 (Jan.-Nov. 1976), except for issue #23, a reprint of the Panther's guest-starring in "Daredevil" #69 (Oct. 1970). The subject matter of the Ku Klux Klan was considered controversial in the Marvel offices at the time, creating difficulties for the creative team. The arc ended mid-story and "Jungle Action" folded, with Jack Kirby — newly returned to Marvel after having decamped to rival DC Comics for a time — immediately writing and drawing the shorter-lived and critically unacclaimed "Black Panther" series, starting January 1977.

Quotes

Writer-artist Dwayne McDuffie on the 1970s "Black Panther" series:

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.atlastales.com Atlas Tales]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/l/lozar.htm International Catalogue of Superheroes: Lo-Zar]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/l/leopardgirl.htm International Catalogue of Superheroes: Leopard Girl]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/j/jungleboy.htm International Catalogue of Superheroes: Jungle Boy]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/manoo.html Jess Nevins' "A Guide to Marvel's Pre-FF #1 Heroes": Man-Oo the Mighty]