Number 1896: Jungle Jive Week: Lorna meets her sexist boyfriend

We have three stories this week featuring jungle women.

Issue #2 of Lorna the Jungle Queen #2 (1953) introduces us to Lorna’s boyfriend, the “mighty white hunter, Greg Knight.” Greg is a guide, leading rich “sportsmen” to unwary prey for the purposes of bagging trophies. Lorna is in the background for most of the story, watching and listening.

Greg is a male chauvinist. From this point on his relationship with Lorna is that of a downer, a naysayer telling her a woman can’t do what a man can, all while Lorna is pulling his keister out of one mess after another.

The story is by Don Rico, the pretty artwork by Werner Roth.

Number 1707: Lorna says, “I will die like a queen!”

In early issues, Atlas Comics’ answer to Sheena, Lorna, was called “Jungle Queen.” Less than a year later she lost her queen status and became just Lorna the Jungle Girl. I guess we are not privy to what act of investiture made Lorna a queen, or even what later caused her to lose her crown. In this story from Lorna, the Jungle Queen #3 (1953) Lorna considers herself a queen. While both face death, her princely partner in execution proclaims he will “die like a prince,” and Lorna swears she will “die like a queen.” If this story had been published after she lost her royal title it would have seemed odd to have her proclaim that she would “die like a girl.” So, queen she is.

Drawn by Werner Roth, story by Don Rico.

I would not be me if I did not point out that the last three panels of this story are completely gratuitous. Did editor Stan Lee tell scripter Rico, “Don, work some Reds into the story”?

Here are a couple of stories with Lorna  from the early days of Pappy’s Golden Age. Just click on the thumbnails.