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 A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

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.

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author. He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Con ...

, ''The Adventurous Decade''. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1975 (pp. 54, 65, 81) Notable was a series of films and television episodes in which

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

portrayed the safari-suit wearing character, after hanging up his

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

loincloth. The strip concluded on August 8, 1954.

Publication history

The strip was created by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

in order to compete with the popular

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wit ...

comic strip ''

'', by

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship a ...

.Robert C. Harvey, ''The Art of The Funnies :An Aesthetic History''. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 1994.(pp. 124,127,132,135,137) Illustrator

Alex Raymond Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the '' Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into m ...

and pulp magazine author Don Moore created the original strip as a topper to run above Raymond's ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

''. ''Jungle Jim'' and ''Flash Gordon'' were launched simultaneously on January 7, 1934. The character was named after Alex's brother

Jim Raymond James Crossley Raymond (February 25, 1917 – October 14, 1981) was an American comic strip artist and the younger brother of ''Flash Gordon'' artist Alex Raymond. He was also the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon. Biography Born ...

. During World War II, artist Raymond enlisted as a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

. Successors included John Mayo (creator of ''Future Eye'') and

Paul Norris Paul Leroy Norris (April 26, 1914 – November 5, 2007) was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Aquaman, and for a 35-year run as artist of the newspaper comic strip ''Brick Bradford''. Biography Ea ...

(creator of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

''). Don Moore continued to script through the succession of artists. The strip, which never ran as a

daily Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

, came to an end in 1954. From 1937 to 1947, the comic strip was reprinted in

Ace Comics ''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, follow ...

, published by David McKay. From 1949 to 1951, there were 11 original ''Jungle Jim'' comic books produced by

Standard Comics Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

published 20 issues of ''Jungle Jim'' from 1953 to 1959; the last eight issues (#13–20) were written by

Gaylord Du Bois Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois (sometimes written DuBois) (August 24, 1899 – October 20, 1993) was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote ''Tarzan'' for De ...

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 Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

then picked up Dell's numbering for another seven issues (#22–28) in 1969–70 with stories scripted by Wood,

Pat Boyette Aaron P. "Pat" Boyette (July 27, 1923 – January 14, 2000) was an American broadcasting personality and news producer, and later a comic book artist best known for two decades of work for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the character the Pe ...

Bhob Stewart Robert Marion Stewart, known as Bhob Stewart (November 12, 1937 – February 24, 2014) was an American writer, editor, cartoonist, filmmaker, and active fan who contributed to a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles a ...

Joe Gill Joseph P. Gill (July 13, 1919 – December 17, 2006)Social Security Death Inde ...

and others. Artists on the Charlton stories were Wood, Boyette,

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

Roger Brand Roger Brand (January 5, 1943 – November 23, 1985) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist who created stories for both mainstream and Underground comix, underground comic books. His work showed a fascination with Horror comics, h ...

and Tom Palmer. In January 2015,

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...

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.

Characters and story

Unlike the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s of ''

'', '' Ka-Zar'', ''Kaanga'' and other comics with jungle themes, Jim Bradley was based in

Southeastern Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

rather than

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and he was a

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

rather than a wild man in a loincloth. 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 ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloon ...

''). The

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

Lille DeVrille was added to the cast two years after the strip's debut. The comic's early years generally featured stories revolving around

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

rs and other common jungle

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

s. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

approached, ''Jungle Jim'', like many

American comics American comics may refer to: *History of American comics *American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American com ...

, developed a wartime theme, with Jim fighting the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese, and it moved from its position as a topper strip to its own independent

Sunday page The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies. The first US newspap ...

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 Matt Crowley (June 20, 1905 – March 7, 1983) was an American film, television and radio actor. Life and career Matt Crowley was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a student of George Pierce Baker at Yale University. As an actor, Crowl ...

had the title role for three years, until

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

stepped in as Jungle Jim beginning April 24, 1938.

Vicki Vola Victoria Vola (August 27, 1916 – July 21, 1985) was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Miller on both the radio and television runs of ''Mr. District Attorney''. Early years Vola was born in Denver, Colorado. L ...

and

Franc Hale Franc Hale (born – June 10, 1986) was an American actress. Early years Hale was a native of Tacoma. The spelling of her first name was a compromise after she was born, because her parents had been expecting a boy. They had chosen "Frank" as t ...

portrayed Shanghai Lil, and

Juano Hernandez Juano G. "Juano" Hernández (July 19, 1896 – July 17, 1970) was a Puerto Rican stage and film actor who was a pioneer in the African American film industry. He made his silent picture debut in ''The Life of General Villa'', and talking pi ...

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 Glenn Everett Riggs (July 24, 1907 – September 12, 1975) was an American radio announcer. Early years Riggs was the youngest of two children born to parents Edwin E. (April 15, 1874–August 1, 1968) and Pearl Riggs on July 24, 1907 in E ...

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 A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, starring

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor who acted under the screen name Grant Withers. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into sound films, establishing himself with a lis ...

, was released in 1937.

Feature Films

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

produced a series of 16 ''Jungle Jim''

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

from 1948 to 1955, set in Africa and starring

, who had gained fame playing

. In the last three of these movies, the name "Jungle Jim" was not used. Rather the main character was referred to in the films as "Johnny Weissmuller", with Weissmuller essentially playing an idealized version of himself, as did cowboy stars

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

and

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

. This was because these three features were produced concurrently with a "Jungle Jim" TV series starring Weissmuller produced by Columbia's

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

(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 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 ...

'' (1948) #'' The Lost Tribe'' (1949) #''

Mark of the Gorilla ''Mark of the Gorilla'' is 1950 Jungle Jim film starring Johnny Weissmuller. It was the third in the series. Plot Gorilla attacks on humans come as a surprise to Jungle Jim, since the creatures are not known to exist in this part of Africa. On hi ...

'' (1950) #''

Captive Girl ''Captive Girl'' is the fourth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by William Berke and starred Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. It was also Weissmuller's second teaming with his fellow former Tarzan and Olympi ...

'' (1950) co-starred Buster Crabbe #''

Pygmy Island ''Pygmy Island'' is a 1950 Jungle Jim film starring Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. It was movie number five in the series. Production Filming started 19 June 1950. Katzman hired several midget actors to play pygmies. The film was shot ...

'' (1950) #''

Fury of the Congo ''Fury of the Congo'' (1951) is the sixth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his sixth performance as the protagonist adventurer Jungle Jim. The film was directed by William Berke and written by Carrol ...

'' (1951) #''

Jungle Manhunt ''Jungle Manhunt'' is a 1951 adventure film written by Samuel Newman and directed by Lew Landers. It was the seventh entry in the "Jungle Jim" series of films starring Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. Based on the comic strip "Jungle Ji ...

'' (1951) #''

Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land ''Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land'' is a 1952 American black-and-white adventure film directed by Lew Landers and written by Samuel Newman, and starring Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. This was the eighth entry in Columbia's "Jungle ...

'' (1952) #''

Voodoo Tiger ''Voodoo Tiger'' is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Spencer G. Bennet and starring Johnny Weissmuller in his ninth performance as the protagonist adventurer Jungle Jim. It was written by Samuel Newman and produced by Columbia Pictures. ...

'' (1952) #''

Savage Mutiny ''Savage Mutiny'' is a 1953 Jungle Jim film starring Johnny Weissmuller. It was the tenth entry in the series. Plot Cast References External links''Savage Mutiny''at IMDb''Savage Mutiny''at TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an Ameri ...

'' (1953) #'' Valley of Head Hunters'' (1953) #'' Killer Ape'' (1953) #''

Jungle Man-Eaters ''Jungle Man-Eaters'' is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Lee Sholem starring Johnny Weissmuller, Karin Booth and Richard Stapley. It was the last official Jungle Jim movie after Screen Gems bought the rights to make a TV series based on ...

'' (1954) #''

Cannibal Attack ''Cannibal Attack'' is a 1954 American adventure film, the fourteenth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. The film features Johnny Weissmuller in his inaugural performance as the protagonist adventurer Johnny Weissmuller, a character ...

'' (1954) #''

Jungle Moon Men ''Jungle Moon Men'' (1955) is the fifteenth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his second performance as the protagonist adventurer Johnny Weissmuller. The film was directed by Charles S. Gould and wri ...

'' (1955) #''

Devil Goddess ''Devil Goddess'' (1955) is the sixteenth and final Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his third and last performance as the protagonist adventurer Johnny Weissmuller (a character previously called "Ju ...

'' (1955)

TV Series

*A single-season

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

ran in 1955–56, as ''Jungle Jim''. There were 26 episodes, all starring Weissmuller. (See

Jungle Jim (TV series) ''Jungle Jim'' is a 1955–56 American TV series based on the ''Jungle Jim'' newspaper comic strip. It stars Johnny Weissmuller, who had previously played the character in a series of sixteen theatrically released ''Jungle Jim'' feature films, which ...

)

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.

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

. * ''Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 2: 1936–1939'' San Diego, Calif. IDW Publishing * ''Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 3: 1939–1941'' San Diego, Calif. IDW Publishing * ''Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Volume 4: 1942–1944'' San Diego, Calif. IDW Publishing

Merchandise

In 1957,

Louis Marx and Company Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1919 to 1980. They made many types of toys including tin toys, toy soldiers, toy guns, action figures, dolls, toy cars and model trains. Some of their notable toys are Rock' ...

marketed a ''Jungle Jim''

playset Playsets, or play sets, are themed collections of similar toys designed to work together to enact some action or event. The most common toy playsets involve plastic figures, accessories, and possibly buildings or scenery, purchased together in a co ...

with character figures and generic jungle figures (hunters, natives, wild animals).

References

External links

Jungle Jim
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

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.

''Jungle Jim'' comic books

Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of ''Jungle Jim.''
{{King Features Syndicate Comics Charlton Comics titles 1934 comics debuts 1954 comics endings Film series introduced in 1948 American comics characters Comics characters introduced in 1934 Dell Comics titles Film serial characters Jungle (genre) comics Jungle superheroes Jungle men American radio dramas 1935 radio programme debuts Radio programs based on comic strips Comics adapted into radio series American comics adapted into films Comics adapted into television series Male characters in comics