Savage Tales #9 - Marvel

We return to the Savage Land with everyone's favorite ersatz Tarzan, Ka-Zar!

Actually, for being such a rip-off--er, homage--of another character, Ka-Zar had some pretty good creators chronicling his adventures. The covers of this series were frequently by Neal Adams(though this one is by Mike Kaluta), and the inside stories tended to be a lot better than you'd expect. Heck, even Ka-Zar's early 80s series was by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson, so I'm not sure exactly why I started this post knocking the character at all. Let's forget it and move on...

After an inside cover pin-up by Mike Zeck, the story by Gerry Conway and Steve Gan is called "Dark Island of Doom!", about Ka-Zar coming across a lost city named Palandor, deep in the heart of the Savage Land.

He meets a beautiful woman outside it, who tells him she is its Queen, and has been the victim of a violent coup and thrown out of the city. She asks Ka-Zar for help to return and reclaim the throne, and he agrees, but not before a little Savage Land Lovin', something that doesn't sit wel with Ka-Zar's trusy ally, Zabu. He smells trouble!

Ka-Zar and the Queen make it back in, where once she does reassume power, she turns on Ka-Zar! He learns from the Queen's brother that she was a mad tyrant--wasting Palandor's fortune while letting the people starve. The Queen starts dolling out punishments, like throwing a helpless woman into a giant pool, which is the home of a murderous sea monster.

Ka-Zar and her brother are put in jail and scheduled for execution at dawn, but luckily Zabu breaks in(!) and helps rescue them. They go after the Queen who tries to kill them by unleashing said sea monster, but Ka-Zar of course defeats it. In the course of doing so the temple is smashed and the Queen is deposed. As the prince prepares to take over, Ka-Zar warns him being the ruler of anything will not be easy. Wise man, that Ka-Zar.

There's a second story, starring Shanna the She-Devil, imaginatively titled "The Golden Blood-Beasts of Daka-Jur!", by Carla and Gerry Conway, with art credited to "The Tribe." I could describe the story--involving Shanna fighting Kali, Goddes of Death and a series of jungle beasts--but I think the title tells you all you need to now. Pure, escapist fun(as is the whole issue), full of adventure and, courtesy Shanna, a little T&A.