Jungle Jim
| Jungle Jim | |
|---|---|
 Alex Raymond's Jungle Jim (November 26, 1939) | |
| Author(s) | Don Moore (1934–1954) |
| Illustrator(s) | Alex Raymond (1934–1944) John Mayo (1944– ) Paul Norris (1948–1954) |
| Current status/schedule | Sunday; concluded |
| Launch date | January 7, 1934 |
| End date | August 8, 1954 |
| Syndicate(s) | King Features Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip 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.[1] Notable was a series of films and television episodes in which Johnny Weissmuller portrayed the safari-suit wearing character, after hanging up his Tarzan loincloth. The strip concluded on August 8, 1954.[2]
Publication history
The strip was created by
Illustrator Alex Raymond and pulp magazine author Don Moore created the original strip as a topper to run above Raymond's Flash Gordon. Jungle Jim and Flash Gordon were launched simultaneously on January 7, 1934.[1][3] The character was named after Alex's brother Jim Raymond.[4]
During World War II, artist Raymond enlisted as a
From 1937 to 1947, the comic strip was reprinted in
King Features Syndicate 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. Charlton Comics then picked up Dell's numbering for another seven issues (#22–28) in 1969–70 with stories scripted by Wood, Pat Boyette, Bhob Stewart, Joe Gill and others. Artists on the Charlton stories were Wood, Boyette, Steve Ditko, Roger Brand and Tom Palmer.
In January 2015, Dynamite Entertainment announced a new series of Jungle Jim as part of their "King:Dynamite" series. This version of Jungle Jim is written by Paul Tobin and illustrated by Sandy Jarrell.[6]
Characters and story
Unlike the
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). The femme fatale Lille DeVrille was added to the cast two years after the strip's debut.[1]
The comic's early years generally featured stories revolving around
Other media
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 Mohr stepped in as Jungle Jim beginning April 24, 1938. Vicki Vola and Franc Hale portrayed Shanghai Lil, and Juano Hernandez 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.
Serial
- A 12-part Jungle Jim movie serial by Universal Pictures, starring Grant Withers, was released in 1937.
Feature films
- B-movies from 1948 to 1955, set in Africa and starring Johnny Weissmuller, who had gained fame playing Tarzan. In the last three of these movies, the name "Jungle Jim" was not used; the main character was instead referred to in the films as "Johnny Weissmuller", with Weissmuller essentially playing an idealized version of himself, much like the cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. This was because these three features were produced concurrently with a "Jungle Jim" TV series starring Weissmuller produced by Columbia's Screen Gems(see below) and the series at that point had the rights to the brand "Jungle Jim." (The "Weissmuller" jungle character was otherwise indistinguishable from Jungle Jim, and the final three films are commonly referred to as "Jungle Jim movies" though that is not technically accurate.)
- Jungle Jim (1948)
- The Lost Tribe (1949)
- Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
- Captive Girl (1950) co-starred Buster Crabbe
- Pygmy Island (1950)
- Fury of the Congo (1951)
- Jungle Manhunt (1951)
- Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952)
- Voodoo Tiger (1952)
- Savage Mutiny (1953)
- Valley of Head Hunters(1953)
- Killer Ape (1953)
- Jungle Man-Eaters (1954)
- Cannibal Attack (1954)
- Jungle Moon Men (1955)
- Devil Goddess (1955)
TV series
- A single-season Screen Gems television series ran in 1955–56, as Jungle Jim. There were 26 episodes, all starring Weissmuller.[8] (See Jungle Jim (TV series))
Comic strip reprints
 |
- Jungle Jim. Street Enterprises Menomonee Falls, Wis. , 1971 (reprints July 14 – October 27, 1935 strips)
- Jungle Jim. Pacific Comics Club, Papeete, Tahiti (reprints April 12, 1936 – June 30, 1937)
- Jungle Jim. Pacific Comics Club, Papeete, Tahiti (reprints March 20, 1938, – August 7, 1938)
- Jungle Jim. Pacific Comics Club, Papeete, Tahiti (reprints August 14, 1938 – May 21, 1939)
- Jungle Jim. Pacific Comics Club, Papeete, Tahiti (reprints September 15, 1940 – May 4, 1941)
- Jungle Jim. Pacific Comics Club, Papeete, Tahiti (reprints June 15, 1941– 20 December 1942)
- The Official Jungle Jim Annual. : Pioneer Comics, Las Vegas, NV 1989
- The Official Jungle Jim Sundays: v. 1 Pioneer Comics, Las Vegas, NV, 1989 (reprints July 14, 1935 – May 16, 1937)
- The Official Jungle Jim Sundays: v. 2, Death In The Jungle Pioneer Comics, Las Vegas, NV, 1989 (reprints May 16, 1937 – March 12, 1939)
- Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 1: 1934–1936 San Diego, Calif. ISBN 1-61377-015-4
- Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 2: 1936–1939 San Diego, Calif. IDW Publishing ISBN 1-61377-220-3
- Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 3: 1939–1941 San Diego, Calif. IDW Publishing ISBN 1-61377-580-6
- Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 4: 1942–1944 San Diego, Calif. IDW Publishing ISBN 1-61377-917-8
Merchandise
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In 1957, Louis Marx and Company marketed a Jungle Jim playset with character figures and generic jungle figures (hunters, natives, wild animals).
See also
- Congo Bill
- Bomba the Jungle Boy
- Ramar of the Jungle
- Tarzanesque
References
- ^ ISBN 087000252X
- ISBN 9780472117567.
- ^ ISBN 0585214212
- ^ Profili Alex Raymond The Power and the Grace by Alex Raymond, edited by Alberto Becattini & Antonio Vianovi published by Glamour International
- ISBN 978-1-61318-023-5.
- ^ "KING: Five New Dynamite Launches of Classic Characters" Newsarama, 8 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Markstein, Don. "Jungle Jim". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ TV Series
External links
- Jungle Jim at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016.
- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1
- Jungle Jim comic books
- Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of Jungle Jim.
