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Bomba, the Jungle Boy
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Bomba, the Jungle Boy
Bomba, the Jungle Boy is a series of American boys' adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood and published by Cupples & Leon in the first half of the 20th century, in imitation of the successful Tarzan series.
Twenty books are in the series. The first 10 (published from 1926–1930) are set in South America, where Bomba, a white boy who grew up in the jungle, tries to discover his origin. The second set of 10 books (published from 1931–1938) shift the scene to Africa, where a slightly older Bomba has jungle adventures. The first editions all used the same cover illustration on their dust jackets; only the title would differ from book to book.
A common theme of the Bomba books is stated in the first volume of the series, when Bomba concludes that: "The native's souls were asleep. The white men's souls were awake. And he was white!" Richard A. Lupoff, in his book Master of Adventure, a study of the works of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, describes the Bomba tales as more blatantly racist than the often-criticized Tarzan books.
From 1949 through 1955, Monogram Pictures brought the character to the motion-picture screen in 12 Bomba films, starring Johnny Sheffield, who was already established as an outdoor star; he had portrayed the character Boy in the Tarzan films with Johnny Weissmuller. The Bomba films were all set in Africa.
When the Bomba films proved popular with young audiences, the first ten Bomba books were reprinted in the 1950s with all-new cover illustrations by Grosset & Dunlap, a publisher of many popular series books such as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. These same books were reprinted again later by Clover Books, a short-lived publisher that also reprinted the Grosset and Dunlap series Tom Quest. Although the Clover editions had no dustjackets, they retained the Grosset & Dunlap cover art.
In 1962, WGN-TV repackaged the Bomba films as a primetime summertime series called Zim Bomba that became a local ratings sensation. WGN executive Fred Silverman stated that "Zim" meant "Son of" in Swahili.
In 1967–1968, DC Comics published a Bomba comic book series. It ran for seven issues and included scripts by Denny O'Neil and artwork by Jack Sparling. Stories from this series later were reprinted in DC's Tarzan title, but the character was re-named Simba, as DC no longer held the license.
All of the first editions had the same picture on the dust jacket; only the title was different. The Grosset and Dunlap books had different cover art on the dust jacket of each title. The Clover editions had no dustjackets, but had picture covers reprinting the Grosset and Dunlap art.
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Bomba, the Jungle Boy
Bomba, the Jungle Boy is a series of American boys' adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood and published by Cupples & Leon in the first half of the 20th century, in imitation of the successful Tarzan series.
Twenty books are in the series. The first 10 (published from 1926–1930) are set in South America, where Bomba, a white boy who grew up in the jungle, tries to discover his origin. The second set of 10 books (published from 1931–1938) shift the scene to Africa, where a slightly older Bomba has jungle adventures. The first editions all used the same cover illustration on their dust jackets; only the title would differ from book to book.
A common theme of the Bomba books is stated in the first volume of the series, when Bomba concludes that: "The native's souls were asleep. The white men's souls were awake. And he was white!" Richard A. Lupoff, in his book Master of Adventure, a study of the works of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, describes the Bomba tales as more blatantly racist than the often-criticized Tarzan books.
From 1949 through 1955, Monogram Pictures brought the character to the motion-picture screen in 12 Bomba films, starring Johnny Sheffield, who was already established as an outdoor star; he had portrayed the character Boy in the Tarzan films with Johnny Weissmuller. The Bomba films were all set in Africa.
When the Bomba films proved popular with young audiences, the first ten Bomba books were reprinted in the 1950s with all-new cover illustrations by Grosset & Dunlap, a publisher of many popular series books such as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. These same books were reprinted again later by Clover Books, a short-lived publisher that also reprinted the Grosset and Dunlap series Tom Quest. Although the Clover editions had no dustjackets, they retained the Grosset & Dunlap cover art.
In 1962, WGN-TV repackaged the Bomba films as a primetime summertime series called Zim Bomba that became a local ratings sensation. WGN executive Fred Silverman stated that "Zim" meant "Son of" in Swahili.
In 1967–1968, DC Comics published a Bomba comic book series. It ran for seven issues and included scripts by Denny O'Neil and artwork by Jack Sparling. Stories from this series later were reprinted in DC's Tarzan title, but the character was re-named Simba, as DC no longer held the license.
All of the first editions had the same picture on the dust jacket; only the title was different. The Grosset and Dunlap books had different cover art on the dust jacket of each title. The Clover editions had no dustjackets, but had picture covers reprinting the Grosset and Dunlap art.