The Jaguar, part of the Archie Adventure Series, seems very tame. Ralph Hardy is a zoologist, and as the Jaguar is ruler of all beasts. Any thrills from that must have been seriously muted by the Comics Code, which kept any real dangerous stuff out of most comic book stories. For instance, in “The Sea Circe from Space!” sex is part of the plot, yet so mild it barely registers. The Sea Circe is in a one-piece swimsuit-styled costume, and has definite sex appeal, but her animal magnetism does not seem to work on the ruler of all animals, Ralph the Jaguar. He chooses not to go off with the Sea Circe and rule the universe.
They are on an island, far from his home. Did he think he might at least invite her to his room? Apparently not. Oh, noble Ralph.
The story was written by Jaguar creator Robert Bernstein, and the artwork is by comic book journeyman, John Rosenberger.
From
Adventures of the Jaguar #3 (1961):
For better or worse, I enjoyed Rosenberger's art on Fly/Fly Girl and Jaguar. And no idea who to credit, but I liked that Jaguar didn't have a mask and them wee rocket things on his belt.
ReplyDeleteIMO this is the best story to come out of Archie's short-lived early Silver Age flirtation with superheroes. It reads much like the Superman stories Bernstein was writing at the same time for DC, which were also fairly tame because, you know, Comics Code being only seven-eight years old at the time.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a guy's take on female egotism, and yet, I like the way Bernstein crossbreeds the Circe legend with that of the medieval "loathly lady," who varies between being comely and not-so-much-so,