Jungle Action | |
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Jungle Action #2 (Dec. 1954). Cover art by Joe Maneely.
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Atlas Comics |
Schedule | Bimonthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date(s) | October 1954 – August 1955 |
No. of issues | 6 |
Main character(s) | Lo-Zar, Jungle Boy, Leopard Girl, Man-Oo |
Creative team | |
Written by | Don Rico, others |
Artist(s) | Joe Maneely, John Forte, Al Hartley, Paul Hodge |
Jungle Action | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Schedule | Bimonthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date(s) | October 1972 – November 1976 |
No. of issues | 24 |
Main character(s) | Black Panther |
Creative team | |
Written by | Don McGregor |
Artist(s) | Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, Billy Graham |
Inker(s) | Klaus Janson, P. Craig Russell |
Jungle Action is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The latter-day version is the first series starring the Black Panther, the first black superhero in mainstream comics, created by the writer/artist team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966).
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 Man-Oo the Mighty, the jungle-protector gorilla hero of 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 skintight full-body leotard.
The four series' attractive art, which generally transcended stories one critic called "painful to a modern eye, racist, ridiculous and old-fashioned", was drawn by Joe Maneely, John Forte, Al Hartley, and Paul Hodge, respectively.
Two brethren titles were published by Atlas. The seven-issue Jungle Tales (Sept. 1954 – Sept. 1955) introduced Marvel's first African hero – Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who predated the Black Panther by nearly a dozen years. It was renamed and continued as Jann of the Jungle from #8–17 (Nov. 1955 – June 1957).