Ka-Zar, the jungle lord of the Dark Continent, and his sabre-toothed tiger Zar protect wild Africa from all forms of evil. When an artificial tidal wave created by the Sub-Mariner threatens to destroy his kingdom, Ka-Zar, at the suggestion of the Human Torch, builds a modern-day Noah's Ark. Cupping his hand over his mouth, the jungle youth lets forth a series of wild animal cries...K-A-R-O-O-O! Ka-Zar's clarion call is heard throughout the jungle, and herds of wild elephants thunder forth to aid him. Apes, hundreds of them, swing through the trees at terrific speed, for they too have heard their master's voice. Mysterious Africa has seen strange sights, but surely none stranger than this--toilers of the jungle cooperating under the direction of a human architect to erect what may well be their only sanctuary in a world of chaos! The great ark quickly takes form as the elephants haul lumber to the clearing and the apes make the forest ring with their stone hammers.
"Hurry with that log, Umbao! Talk about teamwork! These animals could give pointers to a lot of human beings!" muses the Lord of the Jungle.
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Though not a superhero, Ka-Zar deserves a place in our special Timely issue. He was Timely’s resident jungle hero, one of many Tarzan swipes that were a staple in Golden Age comics. Ka-Zar was originally the third longest strip in Marvel Mystery Comics and ran for a respectable 27 issues, but he couldn’t match the appeal of Fiction House’s Sheena.
Interestingly, Ka-Zar had appeared before the comics, starring in one of Martin Goodman’s pulp magazines. According to his pulp origin, written by Robert Byrd, he was raised by a lion named Zar after his parents were killed. His name “Ka-Zar” means “brother of the lion.” The Burroughsian Savage Land and Zabu the tiger were created for the Silver Age Ka-Zar who first appeared in the X-Men.
Ben Thompson wrote and drew the early strips, which focussed on ape fights and battling villains like Paul de Kraft and Rajah Sarput. He also journeyed to America in a multi-issue story and encountered a race of lizard men called the Limbos. As with many strips at the time, Ka-Zar turned his attention to the Nazi menace and war storylines dominated the strip until its cancellation. He even fought the Nazis and Italians in Ethiopia. And in fact the Nazi menace dominated his stories for a while.
As for the story which is recounted here. It comes from Human Torch Comics # 5, recently reprinted by Marvel. In that issue’s great battle between the Torch and the Sub-Mariner, the backup heroes from Marvel Mystery Comics made cameos.
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