Koroo the Black Lion
Creator unknown
Appears in Cyclone Comics #1-5 (1940)
He stalks the unknowable jungles, king of the savage land beyond civilization. Superstitious man fears him as a terrible predator, but among the beasts of the dense and endless forest, he is “monarch of all he surveys!” He is KOROO, THE BLACK LION, and he’s in danger -- of becoming a backup character in his own strip.
The Wreck of the Medusa, with Lion (1819)
Appearing in five subsequent issues of Cyclone Comics in 1940, Koroo was an oddity among an increasingly superhero-laden shelf. Featuring a protagonist who couldn’t -- and needn’t -- speak put Koroo in company with a very small coterie of similar animal acts (Fiction House’s “Simba” was a longer-lived variation on the theme, although he didn’t boast Koroo’s cool paintjob). While other animal acts in comics were largely of the explicitly anthropomorphic variety, Koroo hewed a little closer to the adventures suitable for Tarzan. A terse and brutal introduction featured little more than the black lion hunting prey and killing a rival predator.. King of the Wabizi jungles, Koroo was the hero in a world where nature was the law and men were the villain -- white men, in particular, and invariably hunters or trappers.
What a cliffhanger!
When Koroo eventually encounters a trio of hunters encamped in his domain, it actually goes poorly -- until the arrival of Tira, a character I think we can best describe as a genuinely weird chick. Described as “The strange white goddess of the Wabizi,” Tira aids Koroo and subsequently exhibits some nearly-supernatural influence over him.
Tira also boasts influence over an entire menagerie of jungle beasts, all of whom have signed up with her army. Her ape general Gobo, Moku the baboon and Heeta the panther, the snake Sith, a monkey named Kiko, an ostrich named Roger, Bauble the octopus, Snitchy the chameleon, the Polar Bear twins, Slimey the Vomiting Capybara and a sort-of centaur where the horse part is a zebra and the man part is a penguin called Pebra. I started making those up about halfway through the list. For fun, see if you can figure out where the transition began! Hint: It was Roger.
Living up to her promise to appoint a diverse Cabinet.
Quickly, Tira’s problems become the focus of the strip and Koroo is relegated to lieutenant status in his own feature. Nonetheless he signs on to Tira’s war against The White Man, which I totally ‘get,’ I really do. Tira’s backstory becomes increasingly important to the strip as well. Stepdaughter of a vicious monkey trapper named Black Burton, Tira flees his vile boat full of caged monkeys, taking many monkeys with her. From there, she worked her ass off, really putting in the hours. Then, after a few positive performance reviews, and a little time in a management training mentorship program, she finally graduated from Friend of Monkeys to Queen of the Whole Jungle!
Koroo had to take a leak and missed some plot points.
The ultimate battle wraps up as Black Burton reappears, killing the ape general Gobo, while two of the white hunters have thrown his lot in with Tira and her animal army. Koroo earns back his masthead, leaping from a precarious branch and descending on the river vessel which carries Black Burton and his men. I assume Koroo gave them a good talking-to.
Thanks to the Digital Comics Museum for scanning, uploading and making available these comics. Please visit and support Digital Comics Museum.
If you enjoyed this article and would like to contribute to more content like this on Gone&Forgotten, please consider supporting my Patreon.
You can find this post and others at Gone-And-Forgotten.com
No comments:
Post a Comment