Issue(s): Jungle Action #10
Published Date: Jul 74
Title: "King Cadaver is dead and living in Wakanda"
Credits:
Don McGregor - Writer
Billy Graham & Klaus Janson - Penciler
Klaus Janson - Inker

Review/plot:
The art credits just say "Billy Graham and Klaus Janson - artists". In addition to a bit of musical artists, there seem to have been major scheduling issues with this series, with issue #9 being four months late. That had to be a bit of a momentum killer for a title that was obscure to begin with. Most issues in this series have some kind of filler in the back, including recaps of previous issues (makes sense due to how infrequently they came out), maps, archive art, etc..

Despite the changes in artists, the style remains fairly consistent (and good) leading me to believe that Klaus Janson was really the driving force in the art.

Descriptions in the letters pages also indicate that Don McGregor was much more explicit about the look of the book than is typical of writers in the Marvel style.

This issue features a rematch with Baron Macabre, and a confrontation with Macabre's mutated boss, King Cadaver, who has strange mind-control powers.

Panther resists the mind-control and then discovers that Killmonger has been raiding Wakanda's weapon's depot to arm his troops.

I'm not sure if the over-the-top super-villain names are a concession to the sales climate or a deliberate send-up of some kind, but the story is a lot more serious than the silly sounding names may imply. According to Sean Howe in Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, McGregor was reportedly pressured to include more white characters and especially guest stars due to the low sales on the book. McGregor was able to resist due to the fact that he had a staff position and he and Steve Gerber had an arrangement where they wouldn't actually "proof-read" (this was before there were formal editors on staff) each others books.

Quality Rating: A-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: N/A

This issue also contains Jack Kirby's original "Coal Tiger" design for the Black Panther.