Tira, Strange White Goddess of the Wabizi

Tira, strange white goddess of the Wabizi, is another entry for my Jungle Girl List. Slowly I am finding the forgotten female of the Mighty Jungle and adding them in. Tira appeared in an obscure comic called “Koroo the Black Lion” in Cyclone Comics #1-5 (June-November 1940). (The year 1940 isn’t a surprise. It was probably the most important date in jungle comics since Tarzan debuted in the comic strips in 1928. Fiction House’s Jungle Comics started that year, adding numerous characters to the jungle list.) Worth Carnahan Publishing wanted their own jungle queen. The first installment was very short, only two pages. We meet Koroo. He fights and eats a leopard. Tira will come later.

We don’t know any credits for the art or writing for sure. The strip is better drawn than many, especially the animals. I suspect the artist is Harry Parkhurst who did some of the covers and pages without credit.

In part two, Koroo falls into a pit trap dug by white hunters. he escapes and goes to the taboo-land of Tira, white goddess of the Wabizi. Here girl and lion form a powerful team along with other animals.

Tira talks with the newly arrived Koroo. She introduces him to Gobo, the general of her ape army. We also meet Moku of the monkey people, Heeta of the leopards and Sith of the snake people. Koroo, Moko and Sith form Tira’s personal guard. (Oh-oh, Koroo! You might have your name on the title, but this is Tira’s comic now!)

Tira sends her guards to capture Les Parker and the other white hunters. The three men are easy prey since Koroo has scared off the locals hired as guides and porters.

With this episode, Tira loses the traditional Elmo Lincoln headband for a more Romanesque helmet. Only fitting for a goddess, after all.

Tira tells Les the story of how she became a jungle goddess. She is step-daugter of Black Burton, a ruthless animal wrangler.  The seventeen year old Tira leaves his ship with all the monkeys Burton has captured. She quickly learns the jungle language and rises up to become their leader. The local Wabizi tribesmen accept her as a kind of goddess. She travels about on her elephant, Tallu.

Les joins her cause as more white hunters are planning a hunt. The ape army attacks.

Gobo is shot and flees back to Tira. In his dying hand is a necklace. She recognizes it as one owned by Black Burton. Her step-father is one of the newly arrived hunters. Tira sends Koroo to the battle site. He finds many injured apes and the hunters fleeing to their boat on the river.

Koroo follows, then leaps from a tree. He kills Black Burton and drags his body back to Tira. Gobo is avenged and Burton is dead. The cast is set for a series that never happens. Cyclone Comics packed up after Issue #5.

This comic is obviously from long before the Comics Code. The avenging of Gobo would not fly after 1956. Like Marga the Panther-Woman, Tira operates on the Law of the Jungle. She, like all Jungle Queens, follows in the footsteps of Sheena. They obviously shop at the same jungle boutique.

Some of the issues of Cyclone comics can be found for free at DCM.