| Slot: |
Jungle Thrills 16 |
| Item: |
Jungle Thrills 16 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0947073005
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Owner Comments
Jungle Thrills #16 is referenced in Geoffrey Wagner’s “Parade of Pleasure” (POP) in the text on pages 98-99.
Jungle Thrills #16 reprints Rulah, Jo-Jo and Phantom Lady stories from All Top #15. On page 98, Wagner references a panel from the Rulah story “Jungle Murder in Duplicate” as he describes comic book based heroine figures: “However, the physical proportions and lack of warm clothing on the Wonder Women heroine are obviously designed to catch the male eye and draw in the adult buyer. For all these girls, who are generally engaged in attacking Red Indians, African Negroes, gorillas, leopards, and the wicked queens of jungle tribes, are equipped with a Bikini uniform of some animal skin. In fact, in Jungle Thrills no 16 I actually came across a derisive reference to the new look made by one of the heroine’s henchwomen, herself got up (or down) in the briefest of shorts and bra.” I believe Wagner’s use of the term “new look” is referring to a fashion trend introduced in 1947 by Christian Dior that became known as the post WWII new look.
Wagner again references Jungle Thrills #16 on page 99 “In Jungle Thrills no 16, with a cover of a buxom blonde in the grip of the perennial gorilla (animal), Rulah concludes a wild career of killing by savagely twisting her coloured opponent’s leg until he screams for mercy – ‘Let me go, Jungle Goddess, and I will be your slave for life.’ It is rather understandable that in the district of New York where I live, the children play games in which the coloured ones act out the roles of ‘slaves.’ The last book also features two more Wonder-Jungle heroines, Tanee and Phantom Lady, both of whom run around slapping other girls to make them talk.”
Wagner’s leg twisting/slave reference comes from the Rulah “Jungle Murder in Duplicate” story and the girl slapping scene is contained in the Phantom Lady “The Substitute Cinderella” story both contained in Jungle Thrills #16. I have included a scan of the Rulah leg twisting panel.
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| Slot: |
Terrors of the Jungle 17 |
| Item: |
Terrors of the Jungle 17 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0992225024
|
Owner Comments
Terrors of the Jungle #17 is referenced in Fredric Wertham’s “Seduction of the Innocent” (SOTI) in the text on pages 388-389. Terrors of the Jungle #17 reprints stories originally contained in Rulah #21. It’s unclear which comic book Wertham was referring to so both titles are listed as SOTI books.
The reference on pages 388-389 is drawn from a Rulah Jungle Goddess story entitled “The Silent Death”. Wertham recounts the story as a means of demonstrating how comic books pollute the minds of children by spreading propaganda. He describes the story as follows “At a time when accusations of bacterial warfare cloud the international scene, children here in the United States and, through export, in many other countries, are instructed that the United States Government is carrying out secret researches on bacteriological warfare and that it is practiced on colored natives: A man goes to a Government building marked ‘RESEARCH DIVISION.’ A scientist in a white coat tells him: ‘You are aware of the secrecy of these experiments. They are more deadly than the A-bomb!’ Showing him a syringe, he goes on: ‘There’s enough minute bugs in this to kill everything in New York! Pollute drinking water! Poison masses-’ The man tells the girl: ‘Get a load of this Liz. Bacterial warfare!’ He goes on to Africa to practice on the natives there what he has learned in the U.S. Government Research Building. In one picture you are shown a book with the title Bacterial War. This is not propaganda abroad, but the comic-book industry at home”
I have included a scan of the page from this story that contains the scientist scene referenced in Wertham’s description of the story.
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