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Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era
Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Jungle Adventure, Vol. 1
Written by DON RICO & VARIOUS Penciled by WERNER ROTH with JIM MOONEY, JOHN BUSCEMA, GEORGE TUSKA, SYD SHORES & JIMMY INFANTINO Cover by CARL BURGOS LEOPARD-PRINT NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD! Beginning the complete collection of Atlas' action-packed 1950s jungle adventure comics, the Marvel Masterworks venture into the oh, so attractive heart of darkness to meet Lorna, the Jungle Queen! Her jungle-faring father mauled by a lion, the seventeen-year-old Lorna embraces her unexpected new home - becoming a fierce and stunning girl of the wild and the last word in jungle justice! Trained in the ways of the African wilderness by her mentor, M'Tuba, Lorna is joined by her ever-helpful monkey companion, Mikki, and the bold, two-fisted hunter, Greg Knight. From the murky Black Swamp to the Dead Lake, the pre-Code adventures of Lorna and her cast of characters find them pitted against vicious headhunters, voodoo priestesses, killer cavemen from the Lost City, and Agu the Giant-a gorilla that could give
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 27, 2015
Hail, Jungle Queen!
Jungle comics from the 1940s and 50s are a real treasure-trove! If you are interested in the histories of imperialism, racism, and sexism, that is: "Far from the safety of her native land... deep into the unknown dangers of the dark jungle comes a beautiful girl to reign as Queen of that Jungle," and the (white) girl's name is Lorna.
First things first: Sexy, buxom Lorna wears a tight, sleeveless, vertically striped choker top, bends forward a lot, and while her waist size and skirt appear to be shrinking throughout the book, her bust size is definitely growing. Just like Lorna, by the way, Playboy was launched in 1953.
What else? Like every good jungle queen, Lorna devotes herself to protecting the childlike and superstitious native inhabitants of the jungle who are - obviously - in desperate need of Western rescue and guidance: "Hail, Jungle Queen! Only you can save us from the Devil of the Lagoon! Our bravest men have died... killed by him! You are our Queen! Save us!" Lorna is well aware, of course, that the threat really originates from the natives' own primitive nature: "The tribes are starting up again... going back to their ancient ways... I don’t like it one bit!"
Under these circumstances, Lorna not only has the right but the moral obligation to take control of the jungle and its inhabitants - a scenario that, in the 1950s, served to endorse and justify America’s broadened imperial strategies and desires. "The jungle is my domain," Lorna insists, "and I have to know everything that goes on in it!" As it turns out, there are even a few "dirty commies" hiding in the jungle, but fear not, we can count on Lorna to bring them to justice: "Well, you three will never rule the world!" Way to go, Lorna!
...Oh, and could you please bend forward one more time?
Jungle comics from the 1940s and 50s are a real treasure-trove! If you are interested in the histories of imperialism, racism, and sexism, that is: "Far from the safety of her native land... deep into the unknown dangers of the dark jungle comes a beautiful girl to reign as Queen of that Jungle," and the (white) girl's name is Lorna.
First things first: Sexy, buxom Lorna wears a tight, sleeveless, vertically striped choker top, bends forward a lot, and while her waist size and skirt appear to be shrinking throughout the book, her bust size is definitely growing. Just like Lorna, by the way, Playboy was launched in 1953.
What else? Like every good jungle queen, Lorna devotes herself to protecting the childlike and superstitious native inhabitants of the jungle who are - obviously - in desperate need of Western rescue and guidance: "Hail, Jungle Queen! Only you can save us from the Devil of the Lagoon! Our bravest men have died... killed by him! You are our Queen! Save us!" Lorna is well aware, of course, that the threat really originates from the natives' own primitive nature: "The tribes are starting up again... going back to their ancient ways... I don’t like it one bit!"
Under these circumstances, Lorna not only has the right but the moral obligation to take control of the jungle and its inhabitants - a scenario that, in the 1950s, served to endorse and justify America’s broadened imperial strategies and desires. "The jungle is my domain," Lorna insists, "and I have to know everything that goes on in it!" As it turns out, there are even a few "dirty commies" hiding in the jungle, but fear not, we can count on Lorna to bring them to justice: "Well, you three will never rule the world!" Way to go, Lorna!
...Oh, and could you please bend forward one more time?
August 28, 2019
Man Marvel (Atlas still for these issues) covered it ALL in the early days. if you could think of a setting they put out a comic for it. Nice collection of some of the "Jungle" comics from that era, fun reads. Recommended
June 27, 2024
Blame it on Sheena. I passed on this when it was originally solicited because I couldn't care less about Jungle comics. Then I found a copy of Devil's Due Golden Age Sheena Vol. 2 trade paperback in a $5 box at my local comic shop. Months and months went by, and I read it. I was completely blown away, so much so that I tracked down Vol. 1 and then grabbed this book.
This is superb! Don Rico's writing is excellent, if somewhat offensive to 21st Century sensibilities. Sexism and unflattering portrayals of minorities abound, but this was the 1950s. Werner Roth does the artwork on all of the Lorna stories, and I was shocked by the quality of his artwork. I was unimpressed on his run on The X-Men during the '60s, but here he is a master. Rich, lush linework is the norm. His jungle scenes and animals are photo realistic, and I love how he crams so much detail into each panel without sacrificing clarity. His page layouts are tightly structured, with 7-9 panels per page.
The writing can be a little formulaic after a while (how many lost lands can there be in one jungle, after all?), but this was a blast to read. Dinosaurs, giant apes, jewel thieves...this stuff rocks. Do yourself a favor and check it out. On the OCD side of things, everything gets two thumbs up: nice paper, sewn binding, superior linework and color restoration, nice aroma...I am ill, but at least I admit it. If loving these things about books is wrong then I don't want to be right.
This is superb! Don Rico's writing is excellent, if somewhat offensive to 21st Century sensibilities. Sexism and unflattering portrayals of minorities abound, but this was the 1950s. Werner Roth does the artwork on all of the Lorna stories, and I was shocked by the quality of his artwork. I was unimpressed on his run on The X-Men during the '60s, but here he is a master. Rich, lush linework is the norm. His jungle scenes and animals are photo realistic, and I love how he crams so much detail into each panel without sacrificing clarity. His page layouts are tightly structured, with 7-9 panels per page.
The writing can be a little formulaic after a while (how many lost lands can there be in one jungle, after all?), but this was a blast to read. Dinosaurs, giant apes, jewel thieves...this stuff rocks. Do yourself a favor and check it out. On the OCD side of things, everything gets two thumbs up: nice paper, sewn binding, superior linework and color restoration, nice aroma...I am ill, but at least I admit it. If loving these things about books is wrong then I don't want to be right.
February 25, 2021
Gorgeous artwork and very entertaining adventure stories. The chauvinistic Greg Knight character gets a bit tiresome, but it is amusing the way the titular Lorna the Jungle Queen (Jungle Girl in later issues) keeps him safe and comes to his rescue without his knowing it. Lorna has a sidekick monkey named Mikki who is wonderful; he doesn't just caper about but actually warns Lorna of danger and even helps row the boat in one story when Lorna is escaping from peril. Each issue also features a two-page text story, most of which are solidly written and fun. A lot of good stuff in this volume; Lorna is a fabulous, resilient, strong, resourceful character.
March 5, 2018
Got partway through and remembered that I'd read this before. And my memory is that it doesn't get any better than the first couple of stories. I love jungle adventure and I love female characters, but the Lorna stories are especially sexist. She falls for a horrible chauvinist who disrespects not only her, but explicitly all women at every opportunity. The text specifically calls him her "friend" and pretends that this is a normal, healthy relationship. It's gross.
The art's pretty good, but not great enough to carry me through the rest of it.
The art's pretty good, but not great enough to carry me through the rest of it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews