Nick Peron

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Jann of the Jungle #8

Jungle Outlaw!

Jann of the Jungle swings past her friend Pat Mahoney's hut just as Congo, one of two caged gorillas on the property, has broken the bars of his prison to attack his brother Baddo. While Pat snaps pictures, Jann easily subdues Congo and forces the delinquent ape back into his pen. Jann suspects that Congo is going outlaw, but suddenly notices something strange about the apes food. Examining the mush she and Pat's jungle guide find traces of Lulix in the food, a drug that drive animals mad.

Realizing that someone must be feeding the Lulix to the animals, Jann decides to head into the forest to investigate. In her search she is ambushed by a Communist spy seeking to eliminate her, but Jann manages to smack him in the face with a small tree branch and flees. Following after the Communist she observes him entering a secret passage into a cave and follows after him. Inside she finds a mine that is harvesting Uranium dust.

When the spy tries to catch her from behind, Jann tosses a handful of the Uranium dust into his face and hides out. Thinking she left the cave, the spy opens the secret door and is suddenly attacked by Congo. Not far behind is Pat who holds the spy at gun point while Jann calms Congo down. Jann explains that Congo's love of his home drew him back to the mine despite the drugs that the spy was feeding him to keep him away from the mine. In all of the excitement, Pat realizes that he forgot his camera back at his hut and did not have a single picture.

Recurring Characters

  • Jann of the Jungle

  • Pat Mahoney

Pool of Doom!

Waku comes to the aid of one of the young children of his tribe who is about to be attacked by a lion. Waku learns that with the swamps drying they must go out further and into more dangerous lands in order to plant the rice that feeds the tribe. Waku tells his people that they will find free water soon, unaware that two of his tribesmen: Omado and Chomachi are plotting to overthrow him and take control of the tribe and trick him into going to try and break up the lava flow that has choked off the supply of water to the area, knowing that the lava is still hot and that it will surely kill Waku. Overhearing this is Lalei who rushes into the jungle after Waku to warn him.

Meanwhile, Waku comes across some rhino tracks and has to fend off the giant beasts. When Lalei stumbles into their path, Waku comes to her rescue and she tells him of Omado and Chomachi's plans to get rid of him. Coming to the lava flow, Waku decides that he must try to free the water despite the threat and swings into the water in front of the rock dam formed by cooling lava. Finding that the lava had cooled enough to break through, Waku uses a log to break through it. Meanwhile, Omado and Chomachi had followed Waku and Lalei and try to capture the girl. Suddenly the breaking of the dam causes water to flood the area, sweeping the two usurpers and Lalei. Waku dives in and saves Lalei and takes her back to the tribe, where the locals have already rounded up Omado and Chomanchi and have punished them by forcing them to tend to the tribes pig herd.

Recurring Characters

  • Waku

  • Lalei

Most Dangerous Game!

Cliff Mason has been hired by a group of women who want to go on a hunt. Realizing that he was hired by a woman, Cliff refuses to take them out into the jungle as he believes it is too dangerous for a woman to go into. The group leader Linda Sawyer demands that Cliff honor their contract and take the women out hunting the "most dangerous game" in the jungle. When he notices that the other women are sheepish about going into the jungle, Mason makes a deal with Linda: He will take her into the jungle alone to hunt and after they come back she can tell them how easy it was or not, Linda agrees and the pair then go into the jungle.

As they travel through the jungle, Linda continues to ask Cliff what the most dangerous game is, and each time they come across an animal that she thinks is the most dangerous, he stops her and tells her that it is not it. Finally Cliff shows her the most dangerous animal: buffalo.

Cliff tosses a stick to draw one of them away from the herd, but when Linda cannot bring herself to shoot, Cliff has to shoot it to save their lives. Suddenly they are attacked by two more, while Cliff manages to kill one, Linda musters the guts to kill the other. Cliff explains that a buffalo will still charge at an attacker even when it appears that it is dead, thus quantifying it as the most dangerous game. After the experience, Linda decides that it is safer to return to the camp with the rest of her friends, finding the jungle far too dangerous.

Recurring Characters

  • Cliff Mason