Halloween Heroines FANTOMAH "Mystery Woman of the Jungle"

Jungle Heroine or Spirit of Vengeance?

Can you tell which one she is, dear reader?

I certainly can't!

As rendered by the...unique...Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah was the first comic book superheroine (as in heroine with super-powers instead of a costumed "normal" woman), predating Wonder Woman by a year!

This particular story, from Fiction House's Jungle Comics #2 (1940), was her premiere appearance, and reads like a drug-induced nightmare!

Hanks handled the character from her premiere in #2 to #15, with the stories becoming even more surreal every issue!

When new creatives took over with #16, the character was immediately "toned-down", eliminating the skull-face look, and limiting her almost-limitless powers.

As of #27, she was rebooted as "Daughter of the Pharaohs", queen of a lost civilization made up of descendants of an ancient Egyptian expedition stranded in central Africa centuries earlier.

Her series ended in #51 (1944).

Trivia: Despite being popular enough to run for several years in Jungle Comics, Fantomah never made the cover!

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Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Kill Them All!

Complete Works of Fletcher Hanks
(which includes all his Fantomah tales and so much more!)
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FANTOMAH "and the Super-Gorillas"

With Halloween around the corner, let's look at some weird  heroines...

...beginning with the weirdest of all...the "Mystery Woman of the Jungle"...Fantomah!

As rendered by the...unique...Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah was the first comic book superheroine (as in heroine with super-powers instead of a costumed "normal" woman), predating Wonder Woman by a year, and the non-powered Woman in Red by a month!
This particular story, from Jungle Comics #4 (1940), was her third appearance, and one of the first really wild tales that read like drug-induced nightmares.
Hanks handled the character from her premiere in #2 to #15.
When a new writer and artist took over with #16, the character was immedately "toned-down", eliminating the skull-face look, and limiting her powers.
As of #27, she was rebooted as "Daughter of the Pharaohs", the queen of a lost civilization made up of descendants of an ancient Egyptian expedition stranded in central Africa centuries earlier.
Her series ended in #51 (1944).
Trivia: Despite being popular enough to run for several years in Jungle Comics, Fantomah never made the cover!

Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic comic grrrl power!

Support Heroines!

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Kill Them All!

Complete Works of Fletcher Hanks

(which includes all his Fantomah tales and so much more!)

Paid Link