Panther-heavy haul this time.
the White Panther:
The White Panther is (along with his ancient father) the last survivor of some sort of lost jungle civilization that seems to have based their fashion sense along Jack Kirby lines, not that I'm complaining. He only has one appearance, in which he uses his supposed precognitive abilities to help a scientist and his daughter get ahold of some healing gemstones before a crook does.
Since he never appeared again, by far the most interesting thing about the White Panther is his outfit, in which the lower portion seems to be pants and the upper to be his unclothed, chalk-white torso. Also, he appears to be using an unsheathed dagger as a belt buckle and while wildly impractical you can't deny that that is very cool. (Jungle Comics 001, 1940)
the Red Panther:
The White Panther never returned, but the next issue of Jungle Comics featured the first appearance of the Red Panther (no relation), a fairly standard jungle hero and also a fairly standard costumed vigilante, a combination that I have a lot of affection for. Don't get me wrong, the broader structural problems of the jungle adventure comic are still front and centre but at least the protagonist has a fun look so you can distract yourself occasionally with a chuckle. (Jungle Comics 002, 1940)
Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle:
Tabu, the Wizard of the Jungle! He saved a witch-doctor's life and was blessed with a "sixth sense" in turn unlocked a very wide range of powers and abilities that he uses to keep the peace in his jungle home! These powers include: physical abilities that outstrip those of the various jungle animals around him, including flight; the ability to communicate with and compel the actions of the animals and plants of the jungle; the ability to control the elements of the jungle to cause weather events (mist, wind) or disasters (earthquakes, plagues of insects); and his most spectacularly realized power, to change shape into animals or plants:
Yes, this is the power that Tabu uses to dispose of a group of "slave raiders" in his first appearance by transforming into a carnivorous tree and... eating them? It's possible that Tabu ate those guys, you guys.
At the end of that first appearance the witch-doctor (who implicitly loved the way that Tabu ate those guys) grants him a seventh sense to allow him to "be in touch with the invisible spirits of the jungle." Who knows what might have come of this new well of power if Fletcher Hanks had ever returned to the character but he had better things to do (see below) but sadly he never did. Tabu kept on appearing in Jungle Comics basically for the entirety of its run and the things he could or could not do varied wildly depending on who was on Tabu-duty that issue. (As far as I know he never ate any more guys) (Jungle Comics 001, 1940)
Fantomah:
The reason that Fletcher Hanks never went back for another pass at Tabu was presumably because he was too preoccupied with what is perhaps his finest creation: Fantomah!
I won't spend too much time attempting to write the definitive Fantomah biography a) because many people have already written a lot about her and what can I add and b) because there isn't really too much to write about. Like Stardust the Super Wizard she is just this omnipotent, all-seeing justice force who unleashes variably-proportional retribution on various Chaotic Evil criminals, only Fantomah confines her activities to either a jungle or all jungles - it's hard to tell if Hanks was depicting different cultures and areas on purpose or just didn't care about, eg, whether tigers lived in Africa or not.
Fantomah continues after Fletcher Hanks stops making comics, so watch out for her wild new look when we cover the 1941 issues of Jungle Comics! (Jungle Comics 002, 1940)
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