Jungle Jim
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle Jim. The character also trekked through radio, film, comic book and television adaptations.
Characters and story
Illustrator Alex RaymondAlex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie "Alex" Raymond was an American cartoonist, best known for creating Flash Gordon for King Features in 1934...
and pulp magazine author Don Moore created the original strip as a topper
Topper (comic strip)
A topper in comic strip parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.Toppers usually were drawn...
to run above Raymond's Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
. Jungle Jim and Flash Gordon were launched simultaneously on January 7, 1934.
Unlike the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s of Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
, Ka-Zar
Ka-Zar
Ka-Zar is the name of two jungle-dwelling comics fictional characters published in the United States. The first appeared in pulp magazines of the 1930s, and was adapted for his second iteration, as a comic book character for Timely Comics, the 1930s and 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics...
, Kaanga and other comics with jungle themes, Jim Bradley was based in Southeastern Asia rather than Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and he was a hunter
Great White Hunter
White hunter is a term used for professional big-game hunters of European or North American backgrounds who plied their trade in Africa, especially during the first half of the 20th century...
rather than a wild man in a loin cloth.
Other characters included the large, strong native Kolu (who served his white comrade Jim in a manner somewhat similar to the character of Lothar in Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk , which began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964,...
). The femme fatale Lille DeVrille was added to the cast two years after the strip's debut.
The comic's early years generally featured stories revolving around pirates, slave traders and other common jungle antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s. As World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
approached, Jungle Jim, like many American comics, developed a wartime theme, with Jim fighting the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, and it moved from its position as a topper strip to its own independent Sunday page
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
.
During WWII, artist Raymond enlisted as a Marine. Successors included John Mayo (creator of Future Eye) and Paul Norris
Paul Norris
Paul Leroy Norris was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Aquaman, and for a 35-year run as artist of the newspaper comic strip Brick Bradford.-Early life and career:...
(creator of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
). Don Moore continued to script through the succession of artists. The strip, which never ran as a daily
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
, came to an end in 1954.
From 1937 to 1947, the comic strip was reprinted in Ace Comics
Ace Comics
Ace Comics was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age era of comics...
, published by David McKay
David McKay Publications
David McKay Publications was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles Ace Comics, King Comics, and Magic Comics; as well as collections of such popular comic strips as Blondie, Dick Tracy, and Mandrake the Magician...
. From 1949 to 1951, there were 11 original Jungle Jim comic books produced by Standard Comics
Nedor Comics
Nedor Publishing was a comic book imprint of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...
. Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
published 20 issues of Jungle Jim from 1953 to 1959; the last eight issues (#13-20) were written by Gaylord Du Bois.
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
published a single issue of Jungle Jim in 1967. This was designated #5 and was a reprint of Dell's issue #5 with a new cover by Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
. Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
then picked up Dell's numbering for another seven issues (#22-28) in 1969-70 with stories scripted by Wood, Pat Boyette
Pat Boyette
Pat Boyette Pat Boyette Pat Boyette (July 27, 1923, San Antonio, Texas – January 14, 2000, was an American broadcasting personality and news producer, and later a comic book artist best known for two decades of work for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the character The Peacemaker...
, Bhob Stewart
Bhob Stewart
Bhob Stewart is an American writer, editor, artist and film maker who has written for a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles and reviews have appeared in TV Guide, Publishers Weekly and other publications, along with online contributions to Allmovie, the Collecting...
, Joe Gill
Joe Gill
Joseph Gill was an American magazine writer and highly prolific comic book scripter. Most of his work was for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the superheroes Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judomaster, among others. Comics historians consider Gill a top contender as the comic-book field's most...
and others. Artists on the Charlton stories were Wood, Boyette, Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
, Roger Brand and Tom Palmer
Tom Palmer (comics)
-Biography:Although Palmer has done a small amount of pencilling work , the vast majority of his artistic output since the 1960s has been as a comic book inker...
.
Radio
Syndicated by Hearst and sponsored by the Comic Weekly, The Adventures of Jungle Jim radio series premiered November 2, 1935. Matt Crowley had the title role for three years, until Gerald MohrGerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
stepped in as Jungle Jim beginning April 24, 1938. Vicki Vola
Vicki Vola
Victoria Vola was an actress who used Vicki Vola as her professional name. She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Miller on both the radio and television runs of Mr. District Attorney....
and Franc Hale portrayed Shanghai Lil, and Juano Hernandez
Juano Hernández
Juano Hernández was a Puerto Rican stage and film actor of African descent who was a pioneer in the African-American film industry. He made his debut in an Oscar Micheaux film, "The Girl from Chicago" which was directed at black audiences. Hernández also performed in a serious of dramatic roles in...
was the Hindu servant Kolu. Each episode ran 15 minutes. Several episodes were based directly on the comic strip, such as The Ghost of the Java Sea. Gene Stafford scripted for producer Jay Clark. Glenn Riggs was the announcer, among others. In the opening episode, "The Bat Woman," Jungle Jim meets Miss Chalmers, and Jacques LaBarr gets into a barroom fight with Jim.
Films and television
- A 12-part movie serialJungle Jim (serial)Jungle Jim is a Universal movie serial based on the comic strip by Alex Raymond.-Chapter titles:# Into the Lion's Den# The Cobra Strikes# The Menacing Hand# The Killer's Trail# The Bridge of Terror# Drums of Doom# The Earth Trembles...
by Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, starring Grant WithersGrant WithersGrant Withers was an American film actor. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into talkies establishing himself with a list of headlined features as a young and handsome male lead...
, was released in 1937. - Columbia PicturesColumbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
produced a series of 16 Jungle Jim B-movies, set in Africa and starring Johnny WeissmullerJohnny WeissmullerJohnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
, from 1948 to 1955. Because the television series had the rights to the name "Jungle Jim", the licensed property was dropped for the last three features, and Weissmuller played himself, in the same way as did Roy RogersRoy RogersRoy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
and Gene AutryGene AutryOrvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
. - A single-season Screen GemsScreen GemsScreen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
television series ran in 1955-56. There were 26 episodes, also starring Weissmuller.
Jungle Jim features
- Jungle JimJungle Jim (film)Jungle Jim is a black and white 1948 Adventure film directed by William Berke and written by Samuel Newman. was based on Alex Raymond's Jungle Jim comic strip and distributed by Columbia Pictures.-Main cast:* Johnny Weissmuller - Jungle Jim...
(1948) - The Lost Tribe (1949)
- Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
- Captive Girl (1950)
- Jungle Jim in Pygmy Island (1950)
- Fury of the Congo (1951)
- Jungle ManhuntJungle ManhuntJungle Manhunt is a 1951 science fiction/adventure film written by Samuel Newman and directed by Lew Landers. It is an entry in the "Jungle Jim" series of films starring Johnny Weissmuller. In the story, football player Bob Miller gets lost in a jungle....
(1951) - Jungle Jim in the Forbidden LandJungle Jim in the Forbidden LandJungle Jim in the Forbidden Land is a black and white 1952 Adventure film directed by Lew Landers and written by Samuel Newman.-Main cast:* Johnny Weissmuller - Jungle Jim* Angela Greene - Dr. Linda Roberts* Jean Willes - Denise...
(1952) - Voodoo Tiger (1952)
- Savage Mutiny (1953)
- Valley of the Headhunters (1953)
- Killer Ape (1953)
- Jungle Man-Eaters (1954)
- Cannibal Attack (1954)
- Jungle Moon Men (1955)
- Devil Goddess (1956)
Merchandise
In 1957, Louis Marx and CompanyLouis Marx and Company
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1978. Its boxes were often imprinted with the slogan, "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"-Logo and Offerings:...
marketed a Jungle Jim playset with character figures and generic jungle figures (hunters, natives, wild animals).
See also
- United Features Syndicate
- "Jungle Jim" was first a code name and later a nickname of the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS) that later changed its name to the 1st Air Commando Group1st Air Commando GroupThe 1st Air Commando Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Army Service Forces, based at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 3 November 1945....
formed in early 1961. Members of the unit wore Jungle Jim-style slouch hatSlouch hatA slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat with a chinstrap, most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by certain 18th century armies. Since then, the slouch hat has been worn by military personnel from many nations including Australia, Britain,...
s. - Congo Bill