Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: fiction house, golden age, sheena

Satan's Safari and Other Sheena Stories in Jumbo Comics, at Auction

Sheena's early adventures in Jumbo Comics are some amazing stuff, and Jumbo Comics #18 from Fiction House is no exception.

Published Sat, 01 Oct 2022 09:17:09 -0500

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Tue, 31 Oct 2023 22:41:48 -0500

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Created by Will Eisner, Jerry Iger, and Mort Meskin at the behest of Editors Press Service, jungle girl character Sheena is an icon of the Golden Age of comics. She was one of the earliest and most popular comic book heroines of the era, was featured in both Jumbo Comics and her own title Sheena, and spawned numerous imitators along the way. Jumbo Comics of the 1940-1941 era are deceptively difficult to obtain and can be pricey when you do find them, but today, Heritage Auctions has an opportunity to get several issues of the title in the Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122250. These start with Jumbo Comics #18, cover-dated August 1940, with an intriguing saga called "Satan's Safari", Jumbo Comics #21 with a classic giant vulture cover, plus several others.

Jumbo Comics #21 (Fiction House, 1940) featuring Sheena.

Jumbo Comics issues in this range are significant not just because of Sheena. These issues include underappreciated work from an impressive range of foundational Golden Age creators. For example, issue #18 alone contains Sheena work by Bob Powell, Peter Pupp by Batman co-creator Bob Kane, Uncle Otto by Will Eisner, Lightning by Charles Wotjkoski, The Hawk by Dan Zolnerowich and Inspector Dayton by Nick Cardy. The Sheena story of this issue is a typical tale of the era, as Sheena misunderstands an encounter between her close friend Bob and an old acquaintance of his. Dejected by what she misconstrues as an intimate relationship between them, Sheena walks off into the jungle heartbroken, only to be captured by slave traders. Bob and his friend Sybil kill the slavers' leader and free Sheena and other captives in the process.

There are several great covers on offer here, with the Jumbo Comics #21's Sheena vs giant vulture scene being a stand-out by underappreciated Fiction House cover star Dan Zolnerowich. While the issues on offer here are raw, Jumbo Comics in this range tend to have surprisingly low CGC Census numbers, which is a general indication of their rarity. If you are looking to fill in some early issues of your Jumbo Comics run, then check out the Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122250 at Heritage Auctions. New to Heritage Auctions? Make sure you check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.