Jo-Jo Congo King (comic story): Difference between revisions

From Jenny Everywhere Wiki
(Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Jo-Jo Congo King'' (comic story)}}{{Comic Story |title1= ''Jo-Jo Congo King'' |image1= Jo-Jo Congo King - P1.png |caption1= |other_titles= |hero(es)= Jo-Jo the Congo King |villain(s)= Unnamed outlaw<br>Ungulla |featuring= Gwenna<br>Subbi<br>The Iron Beast |setting= Congo, unnamed universe |length= 6 pages |series= ''Jo-Jo Congo King'' |cro...")
Tag: visualeditor-wikitext
 
No edit summary
Tag: visualeditor-wikitext
 
(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown)
Line 19: Line 19:
}}'''''Jo-Jo Congo King''''' is a now-public-domain comic story which was originally printed in July 1947 in ''[[Jo-Jo Congo King]]'' [[Jo-Jo Congo King 7A|#7A]] (which, despite appearances, was actually the first issue of the comic in that form; its numbering carried on from six issues of “''Jo-Jo Comics''” by the same publisher which did not feature the Congo King character at all, instead focusing on a cast of funny-animals characters).  
}}'''''Jo-Jo Congo King''''' is a now-public-domain comic story which was originally printed in July 1947 in ''[[Jo-Jo Congo King]]'' [[Jo-Jo Congo King 7A|#7A]] (which, despite appearances, was actually the first issue of the comic in that form; its numbering carried on from six issues of “''Jo-Jo Comics''” by the same publisher which did not feature the Congo King character at all, instead focusing on a cast of funny-animals characters).  


It introduced the titular [[Jo-Jo the Congo King]], and gave him the love interest of [[Gwenna (Jo-Jo Congo King)|Gwenna]]. After falling into the public domain, a [[Gwenna (Reality Z-25 31-H)|rebooted Gwenna]] would gain a new lease of life as the protagonist of the [[Jenny Everywhere]]-adjacent webcomic ''[[Kaza's Mate, Gwenna (series)|Kaza's Mate, Gwenna]]'', now paired up with [[Kaza]], a distinct jungle-hero character who originated a renamed version of Jo-Jo in a reprint of a later ''Jo-Jo Congo King'' story. Gwenna was short-lived within the pages of ''Jo-Jo'', being replaced as early as the very next ''Jo-Jo'' story by a largely-identical character instead known as Geesha.
It introduced the titular [[Jo-Jo the Congo King]], as well as [[Gwenna (Jo-Jo Congo King)|Gwenna]]. After falling into the public domain, a [[Gwenna (Reality Z-25 31-H)|rebooted Gwenna]] would gain a new lease of life as the protagonist of the [[Jenny Everywhere]]-adjacent webcomic ''[[Kaza's Mate, Gwenna (series)|Kaza's Mate, Gwenna]]'', now paired up with [[Kaza]], a distinct jungle-hero character who originated a renamed version of Jo-Jo in a reprint of a later ''Jo-Jo Congo King'' story.  
 
Gwenna was short-lived within the pages of ''Jo-Jo'', being replaced as early as the very next ''Jo-Jo'' story by a largely-identical character instead known as Geesha. Notably, although Geesha (like multiple further renamed variations on the same character archetype) was a love interest to Jo-Jo, this was not explicitly the case with Gwenna, who was referred to only as his friend. Another notable trait of this original Gwenna is that the script patently assumed her to be a native woman, only for her to be coloured as white (an ethnicity retained by the ''Kaza's Mate Gwenna'' version).


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Line 33: Line 35:


==Behind the scenes==
==Behind the scenes==
===Background===
[[File:Jo-Jo Congo King 7A Cover Crop.png|thumb|left|The spurious cover of [[Jo-Jo Congo King 7A|''Jo-Jo Congo King'' #7A]].]]On the cover of [[Jo-Jo Congo King 7A|''Jo Jo Congo King'' #7A]], which ostensibly depicted the climax of this first story, Gwenna was depicted as being tied to the side of [[the Iron Beast]] during the final showdown, thus presenting Jo-Jo with a dilemma as he hesitated to throw a spear at the [[outlaw (Jo-Jo Congo King)|outlaw]], which would risk injuring her if he missed. However, no such scene occur, or could occur, in the actual story, where Gwenna is clearly shown to simply be walking with the convoy with her arms bound behind her back, some distance behind the elephant, on the second panel of Page 5. Jo-Jo also never tries to attack the outlaw with a spear; he initially ambushes the convoy, and, when he does attack the Iron Beast head-on, it is with a burning torch in hand instead of a spear.
===Read online===
===Read online===
Being in the public domain in the U.S., the comic is available for free [https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=14669&page=3 on the Digital Comics Museum website]. It can also be read here:
Being in the public domain in the U.S., the comic is available for free [https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=14669&page=3 on the Digital Comics Museum website]. It can also be read here:

Latest revision as of 02:10, 13 July 2023

Jo-Jo Congo King is a now-public-domain comic story which was originally printed in July 1947 in Jo-Jo Congo King #7A (which, despite appearances, was actually the first issue of the comic in that form; its numbering carried on from six issues of “Jo-Jo Comics” by the same publisher which did not feature the Congo King character at all, instead focusing on a cast of funny-animals characters).

It introduced the titular Jo-Jo the Congo King, as well as Gwenna. After falling into the public domain, a rebooted Gwenna would gain a new lease of life as the protagonist of the Jenny Everywhere-adjacent webcomic Kaza's Mate, Gwenna, now paired up with Kaza, a distinct jungle-hero character who originated a renamed version of Jo-Jo in a reprint of a later Jo-Jo Congo King story.

Gwenna was short-lived within the pages of Jo-Jo, being replaced as early as the very next Jo-Jo story by a largely-identical character instead known as Geesha. Notably, although Geesha (like multiple further renamed variations on the same character archetype) was a love interest to Jo-Jo, this was not explicitly the case with Gwenna, who was referred to only as his friend. Another notable trait of this original Gwenna is that the script patently assumed her to be a native woman, only for her to be coloured as white (an ethnicity retained by the Kaza's Mate Gwenna version).

Plot

A white outlaw visits the jungle Jo-Jo the Congo King calls home, looking for the origin of a golden statuette he found. The corrupt tribal chief Ungulla informs him that the object originated with, and indeed depicts, his hated rival Gwenna, the Queen of the Bonangi. He is more than willing to go along with a plan to rob her village of all its gold, but fears Gwenna's friend, Jo-Jo — who at this very moment is imploring Gwenna to get rid of her prized golden kitchenware and decorations, having foreseen that they will attract evil to the village sooner or later.

This comes to pass sooner rather than later as the white outlaw initiates his plan: he brought steel plates and uses them to armour Ungulla's elephant, dubbing him “the Iron Beast”. With this living and invulnerable battering ram fronting the army of Ungulla's men, they attack the village and quickly ransack it. Jo-Jo runs rather than stay to be shot, and, gathering surviving Bonangi, stages an ambush on the way back to Ungulla's village, collapsing trees in the Iron Beast's path. Leaping onto the elephant, Jo-Jo uses a burning torch to smoke the outlaw out of the tank-like compartment he'd built into the Beast's armour. As he tries to flee, the villain is crushed by the panicking elephant.

Subsequently, the Bonangi capture Ungulla but, on Jo-Jo's advice, let the rest of his people go free. Gwenna, now seeing the truth of Jo-Jo's earlier warning, promises to heed her friend's advice in the future.

Worldbuilding

Universes

Behind the scenes

Background

The spurious cover of Jo-Jo Congo King #7A.

On the cover of Jo Jo Congo King #7A, which ostensibly depicted the climax of this first story, Gwenna was depicted as being tied to the side of the Iron Beast during the final showdown, thus presenting Jo-Jo with a dilemma as he hesitated to throw a spear at the outlaw, which would risk injuring her if he missed. However, no such scene occur, or could occur, in the actual story, where Gwenna is clearly shown to simply be walking with the convoy with her arms bound behind her back, some distance behind the elephant, on the second panel of Page 5. Jo-Jo also never tries to attack the outlaw with a spear; he initially ambushes the convoy, and, when he does attack the Iron Beast head-on, it is with a burning torch in hand instead of a spear.

Read online

Being in the public domain in the U.S., the comic is available for free on the Digital Comics Museum website. It can also be read here: