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 Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

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 worked on novels and novelizations (and other works) being published under various ps ...

, ''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 a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

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

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a 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 adventurer. Creat ...

loincloth. The strip concluded on August 8, 1954.

Publication history

The strip was created by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...

in order to compete with the popular

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate, Inc. (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 ( ...

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 ...

.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 and illustrator who was best known for creating the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently a ...

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'' ...

''. ''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 Bor ...

. During World War II, artist Raymond enlisted as a Marine. 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 and writer of the newspaper comic strip '' Brick Bradford''. B ...

(creator of

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

' ''

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). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

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

, 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 i ...

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 1973. 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 is designated #5 and is 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 (comics), line was a divi ...

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 ac ...

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 in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...

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 ...

s of ''

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

Southeastern Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

rather than

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and he was a

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

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 Comic strip syndication, syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk before he created ''The Phantom''.Ron Goulart, ''The Encyclopedia of American Comics''. New York: Facts on File, 1990. . pp. 91, 249 ...

''). The

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

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

pirate 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 valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

rs and other common jungle

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form ori ...

, developed a wartime theme, with Jim fighting the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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

Sunday page Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the weekend. In some Middle Eastern countries, Sunday is a weekday. F ...

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, Crow ...

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. ...

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 ...

portrayed Shanghai Lil, and

Juano Hernandez Juano G. 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 picture ...

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 by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, starring

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959), known professionally as Grant Withers, was an American film actor. He began working in motion pictures during the last years of the silent era. Withers moved into sound films, ...

, was released in 1937.

Feature films

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

produced a series of 16 ''Jungle Jim''

B-movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

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; 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 Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

and

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

. 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 film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

(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'' (1950) #'' Captive Girl'' (1950) co-starred Buster Crabbe #'' Pygmy Island'' (1950) #'' Fury of the Congo'' (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 J ...

'' (1951) #'' Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land'' (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 * Johnny Weissmuller as Jungle Jim * Angela Stevens as Joan Harris * Lester Matthews as Major Walsh * Nelson Leigh as Dr. ...

'' (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 base ...

'' (1954) #'' Cannibal Attack'' (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, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

ran in 1955–56, as ''Jungle Jim''. There are 26 episodes, all starring Weissmuller.TV Series
/ref>

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) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

. * ''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 Columbia Pictures franchises American comics characters Comics characters introduced in 1934 Dell Comics titles Film serial characters Jungle (genre) comics 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