Gwenna

Gwenna was a “jungle heroine” who existed in several universes. Reality Z-25 31-H's version, who was the one documented most often, lived in the Naked Jungle in Buranda with her “mate”, Kaza, and was a friendly acquaintance to the versions of Jenny Everywhere and Jenny Anywhere often associated with this reality. In this universe, “Gwenna” was an alias she had adopted after moving to the jungle, having originally been known as Gwen Davis.

Description

Physical appearance

Across her known variants, Gwenna was typically an attractive white woman with long, slightly-wavy hair, either black (COMIC: Jo-Jo Congo King, The Serpent Sorceress) or red. (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man, etc.) In one universe, she wore a bikini-esque two-piece outfit, red with yellow spots, (COMIC: Fear in the Jungle) while the better-known Reality Z-25 31-H incarnation was a wholesale nudist who merely wore some jewelry and a flower in her hair, (COMIC: The Serpent Sorceress) in ironic contrast to which the Gwen Davis of Earth-N was one of the few people who insisted on wearing clothes in a world where nudism was the norm. (COMIC: Situation on Earth-N)

Personality

Gwenna was a generally heroic and benevolent individual, (COMIC: Jo-Jo Congo King, The Serpent Sorceress) although one version of her was somewhat reckless, having to witness firsthand the danger that hoarding gold in her jungle village could bring before she agreed to get rid of her golden belongings. (COMIC: Jo-Jo Congo King)

Biography

Queen of the Bonangi

See main article: Gwenna (Jo-Jo Congo King)

In one universe, a black-haired version of Gwenna lived in Congo as the Queen of the Bonangi. Although she appeared white, she appeared to be a native member of the tribe, with her father having already belonged to it and having been more traditional than she was. At any rate, in her adult life, this Gwenna was friends with the jungle-hero Jo-Jo the Congo King, who once rescued her from her rival Ungulla after he teamed up with a white outlaw to raid her village astride an armoured elephant. (COMIC: Fear in the Jungle)

In Reality Z-25 31-H

See main article: Gwenna (Reality Z-25 31-H)

A version of Gwenna existed in the Beholderverse. She resided in the Naked Jungle with her “mate” Kaza. The two were nudists, as their jungle's nickname implied. (COMIC: Whatever Happened to Jenny Everywhere?!) She was originally a socialite called “Gwen Davis” before she decided to live her original life behind to move into the jungle as “Gwenna”. Though one account depicted this Gwenna with black hair (COMIC: The Serpent Sorceress) similar to her “Queen of the Bonangi” counterpart, (COMIC: Jo-Jo Congo King) as well as blue eyes, (COMIC: The Serpent Sorceress) later accounts typically depicted her with red hair and green eyes. (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man, etc.)

On Earth-N

See main article: Gwen Davis (Earth-N)

On Earth-N, a universe where nudism had become normalised on 21st century Earth, there existed a physically-identical analogue to the Gwenna/Gwen Davis of Reality Z-25 31-H. In ironic contrast to her other self's status as a nudist in a world with ordinary nudity taboos, this Gwen, who never moved to the jungle, was one of a minority of people who went against the social norm and preferred to wear clothes. (COMIC: Situation on Earth-N)

Behind the scenes

Origins

Gwenna originated as an obscure public-domain character in the adventures of Jo-Jo, Jungle King. She appeared as Jo-Jo's female counterpart in the first story in the character's debut issue, where she was depicted as the Queen of the Bonangi. Notably, although she was coloured as white, nothing in the script indicated this. In the next story, Gwenna was replaced with the identically-drawn Geesha — likewise coloured as white, but outright depicted in the script as the daughter of a black man. Though typically understood to be the first version of the stock character of Jo-Jo's love interest (who would go through several other name-changes over the book's run), Gwenna was not, in her sole appearance by that name, explicitly identified as a romantic interest for him, merely being referred to and depicted as his “friend”.

Starting in 2010, Jay Epps paired a rebooted form of Gwenna with an unrelated public-domain “jungle king” character, Kaza, for his webcomic Kaza's Mate, Gwenna. Epps's Gwenna was officially Caucasian, being given a new backstory explaining her presence in the jungle, and eliminating the “queen” element. In her first outing, Epps's Gwenna shared her Golden Age counterpart's black hair. In the next story, Ruthless Ro-Man, this was changed to a dark, reddish brown and finally to outright red hair, which she retained throughout the rest of the webcomic.

External Links

Incarnations of Gwenna
Reality Z-25 31-H • Earth-N • Jo-Jo Congo King

Incarnations of Kaza
Reality Z-25 31-H • Fear in the Jungle