Never Was Comic Strips – daily Jungle Jim

Jungle Jim ran as a Sunday-only comic strip from 1934 to 1954. It was King Features Syndicate’s response to the Tarzan comic strip and began as the topper to King Features’ answer to Buck Rogers.


above: the first Jungle Jim strip (hat tip Jim Keefe).

Unlike Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim never got a daily strip.

Though a few years after the Sunday ended Archie Goodwin and Reed Crandall did make an attempt. Around 1959 or 1960 they worked up a proposal that King Features didn’t pick up.

above: 11 of the first 12 daily strips from Third Rail Magazine #1
newly lettered by Rick Parker; hat tip Thomas Yeates and Ken Meyer, Jr.

 

above: 9 of the the next dozen tryout strips via Heritage Auctions
below: some unfinished strips from the proposal

Both Archie and Reed had successful comic book careers,
but Reed Crandall never did get a comic strip gig.

Archie Goodwin would go on to script such comic strips as Captain Kate, Dan Flagg, On Stage, Secret Agent Corrigan, Tarzan, Star Wars, Star Hawks, and probably others we don’t know about.

 

 

 

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