- Thun'da
Thun'Da is a
fictional character who was created by the artistFrank Frazetta forMagazine Enterprises , a firm that publishedcomics .Fictional history
Thun'Da was originally Roger Drum, an Air Force officer who was shot down while flying over a lost valley deep in the heart of Africa. After crashing in the heart of the valley, he escaped from his aircraft and was captured by hostile ape-men, but managed to escape. While wandering through the valley, he pushed himself to exercise daily and became a paragon of physical perfection. It was while he was wandering that he was spotted by Pha, the queen of the people who lived in the valley. After fighting and destroying the hostile ape-men, Thun'da rushed to their temple and rang the sacred gong, thereby summoning "the mother of all serpents," whom he killed with the last three shots from his revolver. By doing this, he won the respect of Pha's people, and they worshipped him as if he was a god. Later, after an earthquake ravaged the lost valley, Thunda was able to get Pha to safety along with their pet sabretooth tiger, but her people were killed and the lost valley was sealed from them forever.
Other media
The screen rights to the character were bought by Columbia Pictures, who brought Thun'Da to the screen in the serial
King of the Congo (1952), featuringBuster Crabbe as Roger Drum, who in the course of the serial becomes Thunda (apostrophe removed). In the serial, Roger Drum was assigned to take a valuable microfilm to a new location, but was shot down en route, and crashed in the secluded lost valley. The spies named in the microfilm try to obtain it, and Thunda must try and get it back. "King of the Congo" was both the lastTarzan -style serial and last serial to star Buster Crabbe. [cite book
last = Harmon
first = Jim
coauthors=Donald F. Glut
authorlink = Jim Harmon
title = The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
origyear = 1973
publisher = Routledge
isbn = 9780713000979
pages = pp. 138
chapter = 6. Jungle "Look Out The Elephants Are Coming!" ]Notes
References
THUNDA, KING OF THE CONGO #1-6
GOLDEN AGE COMIC SCANS WEBSITE > MAGAZINE PUBLICATIONS > THUN'DA, KING OF THE CONGO
KING OF THE CONGO (serial trailer) at GOOGLE VIDEO
External links
* [http://www.comicbookbin.com/Frank_Frazetta_s_Thun_da_Tales_1.html Frank Frazetta’s Thun’da review at ComicBookBin.com]
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