Number 1143: Lorna and the King Kong klone

From the Wikipedia entry on the 1933 version of King Kong:

“[King Kong] was re-released in 1952, becoming one of the media events of that year. Time magazine named it “Movie of the Year.” The film’s studio, RKO. tried an experimental reissue of King Kong in the Midwest United States in 1952. In an unprecedented move they committed most of King Kong’s promotional budget to television spots. The re-release was an enormous success, with the film attracting triple the usual business in its markets.

. . . King Kong generated more box office receipts than the original 1933 release . . . Theatre owners named it Picture of the Year. It was at this time that King Kong acquired its reputation as a popular culture phenomenon.”

It's no wonder that comic books of the era used it for inspiration. There was "Ping Pong" in Mad #6, for example.

Atlas Comics' Lorna the Jungle Queen used a Kong lookalike, named Agu, as a character who appeared more than once. I have three Agu stories, "Agu the Giant," from Lorna the Jungle Queen #1 (scanned from the later 1970s reprint in Marvel Comics' Jungle Action), "The Return of Agu the Giant" from Lorna #3, and "The Battle of the Giants" from #9. The stories are written by Don Rico, and drawn by Werner Roth.

Like the movie Kong's love for Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), Agu had a thing for Lorna.

Blondes have more fun, as the old Miss Clairol ad used to tout, but in the company of a twenty-foot-tall ape, a little fun goes a really long way.

















If you want more giant apes, check out the Indian headband-wearing, bow-and-arrow-shooting giant ape from Tomahawk #107 (1966) in Pappy's #848.