Nyoka the Jungle Girl

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Nyoka the Jungle Girl is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared the pulp magazine Blue Book. She later appeared in comics books pulished by Fawcett, Charlton, and AC Comics.

[edit] Publication history

Nyoka's first appearance was in the short story "The Land of Hidden Men" by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the May 1931 issue of Blue Book. The short story was later expanded into the novel Jungle Girl, published in 1932.

Burrough's story was loosely adapted for screen, with Nyoka Meredith appearing in the serial Jungle Girl, staring Frances Gifford in 1941. One year later, the serial Perils of Nyoka would debut, featuring a new actress, Kay Aldridge, as a new Nyoka with a new last name (Gordon) and a new father to replace the one that died early in the first serial. Thus the Nyoka character was divorced from the original Edgar Rice Burroughs source material.

Fawcett Comics used the serial version of Nyoka as the basis for Jungle Girl comics. Issue #1 appeared in 1942; the character would appear irregularly in Fawcett-published comics until 1953, when Fawcett ceased publication

Nyoka was one of the intellectual properties sold to Charlton by Fawcett in the 1950s after the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications lawsuit. Her first Charlton appearance was in Nyoka, Jungle Girl #14 (November 1955). Her final Charlton appearance was issue #22 (November 1957).

Once Charlton Comics ceased publication, Nyoka's rights were sold again. AC Comics purchased the rights from Charlton in 1987, though their rights to do so were somewhat dubious. Nyoka appeared in AC Comics The Further Adventures of Nyoka the Jungle Girl; there were five issues printed between 1988 and 1989, consisting mostly of reprints and movie stills. Nyoka has since appeared in other AC Comics' titles.