Number 594
Yet another blonde jungle goddess...
Once I wrote a list for this blog — and don't ask me to look for it because I can't remember where it is — of the names of comic books' white jungle girls. Wherever that list is, add Zegra. I hadn't heard of Zegra before seeing the one-and-only issue of Feature Stories Magazine, dated August, 1950.
Zegra is yet another in a long line of white chicks kicking jungle butt, animal or man. I give some credit to whoever thought up the name. Zegra's costume is striped, perhaps because her name looks like "zebra."
I mentioned once all these jungle girls should get together, maybe for tea, but then I thought the protocol would be baffling. We have jungle queens, princesses, and Zegra is "empress." Wow. With all the royalty I'd hate to have to work out the seating chart.
The story, illustrated by Jack Kamen, looks to have come from the Jerry Iger shop. Jack went on to EC Comics, where he was given more of the domestic-style stories, set in suburbia. But he came from the wild and wooly school of Fiction House and Fox via Iger, and drew some sexy and memorable stories before he went to EC.
5 comments:
This is a new one on me. Not the character -- the appearance. I didn't know Zegra had appeared anywhere except her own title. She started out as Tegra in issue 1 and then became Zegra for issues 2-5.
There are apparently lots of jungle girls out there I haven't heard about. Tegra-Zegra is new to me. In the comic book jungle there must've been a white jungle babe every couple of square miles or so.
Here is my list of female jungle characters along with the main titles that they appeared in. No doubt the list is incomplete. But it is a pretty good start for anyone who is interested.
Alani (aka South Sea Girl) -- Seven Seas Comics and others
Ann (the mate of Ka'a'nga) -- Jungle Comics, Ka'a'nga Jungle King, and others
Blanda -- Miracle Comics
Camilla -- Jungle Comics and others
Cave Girl -- Thun'da, Cave Girl, and others
Dorothy Lamour -- Dorothy Lamour Jungle Princess
Fana -- Fana the Jungle Girl
Fantomah -- Jungle Comics and Ka'a'nga Jungle King
Gwenna -- Jo-Jo
Jana -- Jungle Girl
Jann -- Jann of the Jungle
Jessie -- Ka'a'nga Jungle King
Juanda -- Jo-Jo
Judy -- Exciting Comics and others
Jun-Gal -- Blazing Comics
Jungle Lil -- Jungle Lil and others
Kara -- Exciting Comics and Fighting Yank
Kazanda -- Rangers Comics
Leopard Girl -- Jungle Action
Lorn -- Tragg and the Sky Gods
Lorna -- Lorna the Jungle Queen, Lorna the Jungle Girl, and others
Lura (mate of Jungle Jo) -- Jungle Jo and others
Marga -- Science Comics and Weird Comics
Numa -- Rulah Jungle Goddess
Nyoka -- Jungle Girl, Master Comics, Nyoka the Jungle Girl, and others
Pha -- Thun'da and others
Phara -- Zegra Jungle Empress
Princess Pantha -- Thrilling Comics
Raa -- Ki-gorr the Killer
Ranee -- Jungle Jim
Rima -- Rima the Jungle Girl
Rulah -- All Top Comics, Rulah Jungle Goddess, Zoot Comic, and others
Saari -- Saari
Safari Cary -- Dagar Desert Hawk
Shanna -- various Ka-Zar titles, Shanna the She-Devil, and others
Sheena -- Jumbo Comics, Sheena Queen of the Jungle, and others
Shirl -- Jungle Girls
Taanda (aka Tarinda) -- White Princess of the Jungle and others
Taj -- Jungle Comics
Tanee (mate of Jo-Jo) -- All Top Comics, Jo-Jo, and others
Tangi -- Dagar Desert Hawk and others
Tara -- Tara of the Dark Continent, Jungle Girls, FemForce, and others
Taranga -- Jungle Adventures
Tegra (later called Zegra) -- Tegra
Tiger Girl -- Fight Comics, Jungle Comics, and others
Tiger Woman -- Tiger Woman
Tigra -- Tigra
Tygra -- Startling Comics
Wana -- Zago
Zara -- Mystic Comics
Zegra (originally called Tegra) -- Zegra and others
Zenta (mate of Bantor) -- Terrors of the Jungle
FYI - AC Comics has often brought many of these classic jungle women together in a single story.
Excellent post, Pappy!
Zu-Gogo: Good Lord, man. I'm revising my estimate of one jungle girl every couple of miles to every couple of hundred meters.
I'm going to save your list. Thanks for doing it for me. I have seen some of the AC reprints, and they are a good resource.
Finally, Blanda? BLANDA?! She must've held a pretty placid piece of jungle real estate.
Post a Comment