Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | List
|
First appearance | Wags #46 (1938) |
Created by | Will Eisner Jerry Iger |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Sheena Rivington Janet Ames Shirley Hamilton Sheila Fortner Rachel Cardwell |
Abilities |
|
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional
An orphan who grew up in the jungle, learning how to survive and thrive there, she possesses the ability to communicate with wild animals and is proficient in fighting with knives, spears, bows, and makeshift weapons. Her adventures mostly involve encounters with slave traders, white hunters, native Africans, and wild animals.[1]
Publication history
Fiction House
Sheena debuted in Joshua B. Power's British magazine Wags #46 in January 1938.
Sheena first appeared stateside in Fiction House's Jumbo Comics #1, and subsequently in every issue (Sept. 1938 – April 1953), as well as in her groundbreaking 18-issue spin-off, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (Spring 1942 – Winter 1952), the first comic book to title-star a female character.[3] Sheena also appeared in Fiction House's Ka'a'nga #16 (Summer 1952) and the one-shot 3-D Sheena, Jungle Queen (1953)[3]—the latter reprinted by Blackthorne Publishing as Sheena 3-D Special (May 1985). Blackthorne also published Jerry Iger's Classic Sheena (April 1985).
Fiction House, originally a pulp magazine publisher, ran prose stories of its star heroine in the latter-day pulp one-shot Stories of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (Spring 1951) and Jungle Stories vol. 5 #11 (Spring 1954).[8]
Contemporary appearances
Blackthorne in the 1980s published original Sheena stories in the three-issue series Jungle Comics (May–Oct. 1988).[9] A reboot of Sheena written primarily by Steven E. de Souza and set in South America rather than Africa, began with London Night Studios in 1998, and continued at Devil's Due Publishing from 2008–2009, and at Moonstone in 2014. London Night Studios published Sheena, Queen of the Jungle #0 (February 1998), a one-shot color comic book, followed by three issues of a planned four-issue black-and-white miniseries of the same name (May 1998 – February 1999). Devils Due Publishing releases include Sheena, Queen of the Jungle #1–5 (June 2007 – January 2008), a Sheena, Trail of the Mapinguari one-shot (April 2008), and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle: Dark Rising #1–3 (October 2008 – December 2008). Moonstone published Sheena, Queen of the Jungle #1–3 (2014). Additionally, AC Comics publishes Sheena reprints as well as new stories of the jungle femmes that followed in her wake.
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite began publishing Sheena comics in 2017.[10] Co-written by Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujilo, with art by Moritat (issues 1-4) and Maria Laura Sanapo (issues 5-10), it ran for ten issues. A special 25¢ issue 0 preview comic surpassed 100,000 pre-orders.[11] A new Sheena comic series came out in November 2021. It is written by Stephen Mooney and drawn by artist Jethro Morales.[12] Another new comic was announced in 2023 with writers co-writers Steven. E. De Souza, Wes Clark Jr and artist Ediano Silva.[13]
Fictional character biography
Sheena is the young, blonde daughter of Cardwell Rivington, who is exploring in Africa with his daughter in tow. When Cardwell dies from accidentally drinking a magic potion made by Koba, a native witch doctor, Sheena is orphaned. Koba raises the young girl as his daughter, teaching her the ways of the jungle and various central African languages. The adult Sheena becomes "queen of the jungle" and acquires a monkey sidekick named Chim.[1]
According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "Assisted by the great white hunter Bob Reynolds, Sheena fights everything under the sun, including but not limited to: hostile natives, hostile animals, giants, a super-ape, the Green Terror,
Originally costumed in a simple red dress, by issue #10 of Jumbo Comics Sheena acquired her iconic leopard-skin outfit.[1]
In time, Sheena's home village is destroyed, leaving Sheena with a white safari guide named Bob Reynolds (alternately called "Bob Reilly" or "Bob Rayburn"), who becomes her mate.[15] In later incarnations, Sheena's mate is Rick Thorne.[1]
In the 1998 reboot set in South America, Sheena's real name is Sheila Fortner.
In the 2007 reboot also set in South America, Sheena's real name is Rachel Cardwell, daughter of Tony and Ramona Cardwell.
Reception
Sheena was ranked 59th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[16]
In other media
Model
The 1984
The
In 2017,
The Ramones song "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was inspired by Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.[21] The song first appeared on the band's third album, Rocket to Russia, in 1977. A cartoon drawing of Sheena appears on the record sleeve of the LP version.[citation needed]
The
Ike Turner credited Sheena, Queen of the Jungle as one of his inspirations for creating Tina Turner's stage persona. He chose the name "Tina" because it rhymed with "Sheena."[22]
References
- ^ a b c d Sergi, Joe. "Tales From the Code: The Near Extinction of Sheena," CBLDF website (January 25, 2013).
- ^ a b Wags [UK] #46 (January 14, 1938) at the Grand Comics Database.
- ^ a b c Sheena, Queen of the Jungle at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original November 10, 2011
- ^ a b "Sheena 3-D Special". No. 1. Blackthorne Publishing. May 1985.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ISBN 978-1-60819-013-3.
- ^ Archive of Heintjes, Tom. "Will Eisner's The Spirit: The Wildwood News, Chapter 2 – Setting Up Shop", AdventureStrips.com. Reprinted from The Spirit: The Origin Years #2 (Kitchen Sink Press, July 1992). Original page
- ^ Jerry Iger (April 1985). "Heroine in the Jungle". Jerry Iger's Classic Sheena (#1): inside front cover.
- ^ Sheena (character) at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Jungle Comics (Blackthorne Publishing, Inc., 1988 Series) at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ "Dynamite - the Official Site | Dejah Thoris Vs. John Carter of Mars, James Bond: Agent of Spectre, Vengeance of Vampirella, the Boys and More!".
- ^ "Dynamite Entertainment's Sheena #0 From Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujilo Breaks 100,000 copies in initial orders".
- ^ "The Queen of the Jungle returns with new Sheena series". 2 September 2021.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/richard.james.johnston (2023-06-22). "Sheena Heads To the Jungle Of Exam Conditions". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
{{cite web}}
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has generic name (help); External link in
(help)|last=
- ISBN 978-1-61318-023-5.
- ISBN 978-1605490892.
- ISBN 978-1-4402-2988-6.
- ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
- ^ "TV actress Irish McCalla dead at 73", Associated Press via The Honolulu Advertiser, February 11, 2002. WebCitation archive.
- ^ "Claude E. Lapham [Obituary No. 5]". The New York Times. September 25, 1956. p. 33. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ Busch, Anita (September 5, 2017). "'Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle' Reboot Feature on Works at Millennium Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-101-56153-9.
- ISBN 9781461626022.
External links
- Sheena, Queen of the Jungle at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Goldstein, Andrew (n.d.). "Fiction House: History and Influences". Connecticut Historical Society. Archived from the originalon September 8, 2008.
- "Sheena: Golden Age to Present". AC Comics. n.d. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007.