Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in "Vengeance of the Talu Chief" (Fiction House;1942)









It's been too long since Sheena, Queen of the Jungle graced the Catacombs, but the premiere jungle "gal" returns today in a golden age classic tale from her self-titled series. "Vengeance of the Talu Chief" is written & illustrated by Robert Webb (credited as W. Morgan Thomas) from Sheena, Queen of the Jungle #1 (Spring 1942); originally published by Fiction House.

Sheena possessed the ability to communicate with wild animals after having grown up with them since being orphaned in the jungle. She was fiercely proficient in fighting with knives, spears, and bows, and often improvised with makeshift weapons. Sheena was the first female comic-book character with her own title, starting in 1938 in the United States, after her British debut the year prior; beating Wonder Woman #1 (December 1941). Although she inspired a wealth of similar comic book jungle queens, even Sheena was predated in prose literature by "Rima, the Jungle Girl", originally introduced in the 1904 William Henry Hudson novel, Green Mansions.

The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publishers and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy!

2 comments:

THE APOCOLYTE said...

Sheena, the first shapely blonde to take on and subdue large numbers of African men...
"We wish peace with Sheena!"
"Ok...er, all at once, or one at a time?"
Good stuff, Chuck!
Thanks!

borky said...

Queen of the jungle, yes - but, less well known, a punk rocker too!