Kaanga: Jungle Queen?

Click on the pic to see a full size version of the image.

When I did the Wonder Woman story, I found many non-bondage or non-Wonder Woman images that really deserved commentary, or at the very least some snark, but I couldn't use them for various reasons, such as, "too much work for one story."

But now that I have a blog, there's no reason I can't haul them out for some fun as occasion demands.

Take this cover from Ka'anga the Jungle King for example. Now am I wrong, or is Ka'anga looking a little Jungle Queenish here?

Maybe it's the unfortunately full, unfortunately reddish lower lips on Ka'anga -- a very femme look. Or maybe it's his extremely regular features -- he's boyishly, almost girlishly handsome.

But mostly I think it's the way he stares off into the distance instead of at the damsel he's rescuing, and that fakey beauty queen smile he's wearing. It's like he's posing for a photo.

I mean, he's in the middle of climbing a limb hanging across a waterfall to rescue a bound and bikini clad damsel from certain death as the canoe she's in is just beginning to plummet to its doom, and he can't be bothered to even look at her in all her nubile helplessness or at what he's doing as he rescues her. It's like he's saying, "Hey, sorry I've got my hands full at the moment rescuing this ditzy chick from doom and all, but the important thing is, let's make sure we get my good side for this cover shot."

The damsel also seems to be almost smiling. Nobody is taking plunging to her doom thing seriosly, including her. It could, of course, be a matter of perspective -- don't look at all carefully at the various items in the foreground and background and then especially don't think how they might relate to one another. The canoe, the waterfall, the branch Ka'anga is hanging from, everything is wrong. The waterfall is too far away. The branch looks like it's growing from a tree hanging in midair over the waterfall. The canoe looks like it has magically adhered to the damsel because it's been quite awhile since either was near the waterfall.

All in all, a very disquieting image.