332 JUNGLE COMICS
plays a sort of Wonder Dog role. When Rulah is held prisoner by killer gorillas, Saber
races to get help from the ruling colonial white guys. An offi cial exclaims, “It’s Saber—
Rulah’s pet! And he’s trying to tell me something —looks like he wants me to follow
him. I guess Rulah must be in danger!”
As usual, the jungle comics’ treatment of the African natives is highly racist. Th ey are
shown to be clueless fools, who constantly exclaim, “Aiee!” In one story, reminiscent of
Rulah’s own origin, a balloonist named Betty Trinke, aiming for a world record, crashes
her balloon in the jungle. Th e natives arrive at the usual wrong conclusion: “Aiee! Some
strange monster drops at us from the skies!” “It is a powerful fl ying foe!” “She came in
a strange bird to kill us!” Th ey overpower Betty, tie her to a stake, and build a fi re. “We
have you now, devil woman, “ one says, “and your power is gone!” Along comes Rulah,
swinging through the jungle with the wounded Saber (he caught his paw in a trap) slung
across her shoulders. “Aiee!” scream the natives, “It is the jungle goddess!” Rulah rescues
Betty and beats up the native bad guy. (“Aiee! Never have I seen such a woman!”). Later,
Betty tells her, “Gee Rulah, you were swell! Saved my life, and I’m cured, too. No more
trying to break records for me. I’m going to get married.”
Th roughout the 1940s and early 1950s, the newsstands were deluged by a veritable
torrent of fur-clad jungle girls, vine-swinging their way into what their publishers
hoped would be the heart of America, but aside from Sheena and Tiger Girl, only
Rulah caught on and lasted as long as two years. Most of the others were lucky to see
issue #2. Th eir names were Taanda, Saari, Zegra, Tygra, Jann of the Jungle, Judy of
the Jungle, Lorna the Jungle Girl, Princess Pantha, and Jungle Lil.
A few men also got into the act as imitation Tarzans, with names like Zago, Jungle
Prince, and Jo Jo, Congo King, published by Fox. Jo Jo, who wore leopard-skin swim
trunks, had a girlfriend named Tanee whose two-piece bathing suit appears to be made
of giraff e. Jo Jo’s various writers never agreed on how “civilized” their jungle boy was. One
writer has him speaking in typical junglespeak: “Holeee! Th e brute hears my challenge
cry! Come, old two horn, and meet one who fears not!” Yet at other times, he sounds
more like someone who has spent at least some time in English class: “Hurry, Tanee,
I have set the thunder bomb so that it will explode shortly!” Jo Jo and Tanee were white.
So were the women of their tribe; but in a curious and repugnant tradition in Fox comics,
all the men of the tribe were black, their skin colored a dark brown.
All those jungle girls had the men outnumbered. Most of the women came complete
with daggers to fi ght off marauding lions, evil white traders, beautiful but scheming high
priestesses, or crazed natives. All the comics were racist. Th e natives were always stupid
and easily fooled, and often they were rendered in a racist style, complete with exag-
geratedly thick lips. Despite the fact that the jungle girls looked quite fetching in their
midriff -baring outfi ts made of various animal skins —Lorna was the most overdressed,
in an outfi t made of both leopard and tiger —there was a sameness about them. Armed
only with their knives, they were forever battling lions, tigers, leopards, and crazed apes,
or saving the natives from yet another scheming white trader. None of the others were,
like Rulah, adventurous American girls.
