Bomba, the Jungle Boy

Infobox Book |
name = Bomba, the Jungle Boy


image_caption =
author = Roy Rockwood
country = North America
language = English
cover_artist =
series =
genre =
publisher = Stratemeyer Syndicate
release_date = 1926
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 210
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Bomba, the Jungle Boy" was a series of American boy's adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudomnym Roy Rockwood and published by Cupples and Leon in the first half of the 20th century in imitation of the successful Tarzan series.

There were 20 books in the series. The first 10 were set in South America, where Bomba, who grew up in the jungle, tries to discover his origin. A common theme is that Bomba, because he is white, has a soul that is awake, while Bomba's friends, the dark-skinned natives, have souls that are sleeping. The second set of 10 books shift the scene to Africa, where a slightly older Bomba has jungle adventures. This change of scene was probably initiated by the popularity of the film "Tarzan the Ape Man."

In 1949 Monogram Pictures brought the character to the motion-picture screen, in the person of Johnny Sheffield. Sheffield was already established as an outdoor star; he had portrayed the character Boy in the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller. When the Bomba films proved popular with young audiences, the first 10 Bomba books were reprinted in the 1950s by Grosset & Dunlap, a publisher of many popular series books such as the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. These same books were reprinted again by Clover Books, a short-lived publisher that also reprinted the Grosset & Dunlap series Tom Quest.

Information for book collectors

The first editions all had the same picture on the dust jacket, only the title was different. The Grosset & Dunlap books had different pictures on the dust jacket of each title. The Clover editions had no dust jackets, but had picture covers reprinting the Grosset & Dunlap art.

Books

#Bomba the Jungle Boy, 1926
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Moving Mountain, 1926
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy at the Giant Cataract, 1927
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy on Jaguar Island, 1927
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Abandoned City, 1927
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy on Terror Trail, 1928
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Swamp of Death, 1929
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy Among the Slaves, 1929
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy on the Underground River, 1930
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Lost Explorers, 1930
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy in a Strange Land, 1931
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy Among the Pygmies, 1931
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the River Demons, 1931
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Cannibals, 1932
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Painted Hunters, 1932
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Hostile Chieftain, 1934
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy Trapped by the Cyclone, 1935
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Land of Burning Lava, 1936
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Perilous Kingdom, 1937
#Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Steaming Grotto, 1938

Films

#Bomba, the Jungle Boy, 1949
#Bomba on Panther Island, 1949
#The Lost Volcano, 1950
#Bomba and the Hidden City, 1950
#The Lion Hunters, 1951
#The Elephant Stampede, 1951
#African Treasure, 1952
#Bomba and the Jungle Girl, 1952
#Safari Drums, 1953
#The Golden Idol, 1954
#Killer Leopard, 1954
#Lord of the Jungle, 1955