Today's classic silver age jungle comics adventure is taken from Ka'a'nga #1 (1958); published by I.W. Publishing (aka Super Comics). The story herein was reprinted from Ka'a'nga Jungle King #18 (Winter 1953-1954) which had been originally published at the tail-end of the golden age by Fiction House. The artwork is signed "Frank Riddell", but this was actually artist John Celardo. Curiously, the Grand Comics Database culled this tales title from the original Fiction House issues cover and lists it as "The Red Claw of Vengeance", however at least on the Super Comics version (which you've just read), the story is called "The Deathmaker!" I'm gonna stick with that one, since seeing is believing.
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 publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.
Enjoy!
2 comments:
Hi Chuck,
Here's some trivia about this Ka'a'nga story:
Since I.W. reprints weren't subjected to the Comics Code Authority, this 1958 reprint has several images which definitely wouldn't have made it past the then-strictly enforced code. (I.W. did mild censorship by removing blood coloring from a couple of panels.)
The 1953 Fiction House version, "The Red Claw of Vengeance," was a greatly modified version of the Ka'a'nga story, "Hate Has a Thousand Claws," which appeared in Fiction House's "Jungle Comics" #100 in April 1948. Both the 1948 and 1953 versions have the same artist (Frank Riddell is credited in both), and several panels from the '48 version have been copied into the '53 story.
The original story is more coherent, while the newer version never explains why the evil deathmaker has no right hand in the last panel on page 8.
The original "Jungle Comics" #100 is available at Golden Ages Comics Download website.
I love these scans from the '50s when you can see the slight aging of the paper. It makes you almost smell the unique aroma from this old print, feel the roughness of the aged paper, noting the fragility that grows with every day with it.
Cheers!
Steven G. Willis
XOWComics.com
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