Bomba the Jungle Boy was a series of American boy's adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate

Stratemeyer Syndicate

The Stratemeyer Syndicate was the producer of a number of mystery series for children, including Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the various Tom Swift series, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys, and others.- History :...

 under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood

Roy Rockwood

Roy Rockwood was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is most well-remembered for the Bomba the Jungle Boy and Great Marvel series.- Series :...

 and published by Cupples & Leon in the first half of the 20th century in imitation of the successful Tarzan

Tarzan

Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

 series.

There were 20 books in the series. The first ten were set in South America, where Bomba, who grew up in the jungle, tries to discover his origin. The second set of ten books shift the scene to Africa, where a slightly older Bomba has jungle adventures.

A common theme of the Bomba books is that Bomba, because he is white, has a soul that is awake, while his friends, the dark-skinned natives, have souls that are sleeping. Richard A. Lupoff

Richard A. Lupoff

Richard Allen Lupoff is an American science fiction and mystery author, who has also written humor, satire, non-fiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he has also edited science-fantasy anthologies. He is an expert on the writing of Edgar Rice...

, in his book "Master of Adventure," a study of the works of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

, describes the Bomba tales as far more blatantly racist than the oft-criticized Tarzan books.

In 1949, Monogram Pictures

Monogram Pictures

Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...

 brought the character to the motion-picture screen, in the person of Johnny Sheffield

Johnny Sheffield

Johnny Sheffield was an American child actor.-Early life:He was born as John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon...

. Sheffield was already established as an outdoor star; he had portrayed the character Boy in the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...

. When the Bomba films proved popular with young audiences, the first 10 Bomba books were reprinted in the 1950s by Grosset & Dunlap

Grosset & Dunlap

Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898.The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group....

, a publisher of many popular series books such as the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...

. These same books were reprinted again by Clover Books, a short-lived publisher that also reprinted the Grosset & Dunlap series Tom Quest

Tom Quest

Tom Quest is the central character in a series of eight adventure novels for adolescent boys written by Lone Ranger series author Fran Striker. The first six novels were published by Grosset & Dunlap between 1947 and 1952. The series was later reprinted by Clover Books, when #7-8 were published...

.

In 1962, WGN-TV

WGN-TV

WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...

 repackaged the Bomba films as a prime time

Prime time

Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...

 series called Zim Bomba that became a local ratings sensation. WGN executive Fred Silverman

Fred Silverman

Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...

 joked that "Zim" meant "Son of" in Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

.

In 1967-68, DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

published a series of seven comic books based on the character.

Books

The first editions all had the same picture on the dust jacket, only the title was different. The Grosset & Dunlap books had different pictures on the dust jacket of each title. The Clover editions had no dust jackets but had picture covers reprinting the Grosset & Dunlap art.

1. Bomba the Jungle Boy, 1926
2. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Moving Mountain, 1926
3. Bomba, the Jungle Boy at the Giant Cataract, 1927
4. Bomba, the Jungle Boy on Jaguar Island, 1927
5. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Abandoned City, 1927
6. Bomba, the Jungle Boy on Terror Trail, 1928
7. Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Swamp of Death, 1929
8. Bomba, the Jungle Boy Among the Slaves, 1929
9. Bomba, the Jungle Boy on the Underground River, 1930
10. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Lost Explorers, 1930
11. Bomba, the Jungle Boy in a Strange Land, 1931
12. Bomba, the Jungle Boy Among the Pygmies, 1931
13. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Cannibals, 1931
14. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Painted Hunters, 1932
15. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the River Demons, 1932
16. Bomba, the Jungle Boy and the Hostile Chieftain, 1934
17. Bomba, the Jungle Boy Trapped by the Cyclone, 1935
18. Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Land of Burning Lava, 1936
19. Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Perilous Kingdom, 1937
20. Bomba, the Jungle Boy in the Steaming Grotto, 1938

Movies

1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY (1949 - 70 minutes)

   Peggy Ann Garner. Onslow Stevens. Charles Irwin. Smoki Whitfield. Martin Wilkins.

   A photographer and his daughter arrive in Africa hoping to capture the local wildlife on film. Instead, they encounter (and never photograph) a killer leopard, a swarm of locusts, deadly lion worshippers, and Bomba the Jungle Boy!

   Bomba was raised by an aged naturalist, Cody Casson (since deceased) and lives beyond the Great Rift (similar to, but smaller than, Tarzan's Escarpment). The photographer's daughter, wearing a well-tailored leopard skin, spends most of the movie with Bomba, while her father, Commissioner Barnes, and Eli search for her. [Lita Baron]

2. BOMBA ON PANTHER ISLAND (1949 - 76 minutes)

   Allene Roberts. Lita Baron. Harry Lewis. Charles Irwin. Smoki Whitfield.

   A developer brings his sister with him to Africa with plans to build a plantation. Commissioner Barnes and Eli are back again to lend a hand, but unfortunately for them (and Bomba's monkey friend) a rogue panther is on the loose.

   Bomba, with revenge on his mind, is hunting the panther when he comes upon the construction site. He gets sidetracked (and who can blame him) by the sister and her exotic traveling companion, but recovers in time to battle the panther in an exciting finish!

3. THE LOST VOLCANO (1950 - 67 minutes)

   Donald Woods. Marjorie Lord. John Ridgely. Robert Lewis. Elena Verdugo. Don Harvey. Grandon Rhodes. Tommy Ivo.

   The parents of a young boy think Bomba is just an imaginary friend. Luckily, they learn differently after the boy is kidnapped by a pair of crooked jungle guides who are searching for a lost city's treasure.

   [Johnny Sheffield] Bomba rescues the boy (often!), battles a croc, and with the help of an erupting volcano, finishes off the bad guys.

4. THE HIDDEN CITY (1950 - 71 minutes)

   Sue England. Paul Guilfoyle. Damian O'Flynn. Leon Belasco. Charles La Torre. Smoki Whitfield.

   A photographer and his guide meet a corrupt Emir with a dirty secret. Only Bomba knows the truth and the Emir wants him silenced! Bomba defeats the Emir and his henchmen, returning a lost princess to her throne.

   This is the first Bomba movie to be filmed outdoors and it is very effective.

5. THE LION HUNTERS (1951 - 75 minutes)

   Morris Ankrum. Ann B. Todd. Douglas Kennedy. Smoki Whitfield. Robert Davis. Woody Strode.

   A lion trapper and his daughter rendezvous with their hardheaded partner in the African jungle. Bomba, with some assistance from the local natives and lions, runs them off.

   [Leonard Mudie] Bomba uses the word, "Umgawa," for the first time. Not even the presence of the mighty Woody Strode can save this movie...

6. ELEPHANT STAMPEDE (1951 - 71 minutes)

   Donna Martell. John Kellog. Edith Evanson. Martin Wilkins. Myron Healey. Leonard Mudie. Guy Kingsford.

   A school teacher has the locals learning to read. Her beautiful assistant is teaching Bomba when two ivory poachers arrive in the village, who try to force Bomba to lead them to a hidden cache of ivory.

   Bomba calls on his elephant friends to deal out the fitting finish (a particularly grisly scene, I should add).

   A new Commissioner Barnes shows up and he appears in all the adventures that follow.

7. AFRICAN TREASURE (1952 - 70 minutes)

   Laurette Luez. Lyle Talbot. Arthur Space. Lane Bradford. Martin Garralaga. Smoki Whitfield. Leonard Mudie.

   Two unscrupulous geologists force the locals to work a hidden diamond mine. Bomba, while narrowly avoiding being buried alive, rescues them and defeats the villains.

   Bomba demonstrates some communication skills as a jungle drummer (an ability that is used in all the movies that follow). There is also some enjoyable underwater action in this movie and a cameo by Woody Strode.

8. BOMBA AND THE JUNGLE GIRL (1952 - 70 minutes)

   Karen Sharpe. Walter Sande. Suzette Harbin. Martin Wilkins. Morris Buchanan. Leonard Mudie. Don Blackman.

   Bomba decides to find out who his parents were. He starts with Cody Casson's diary and follows the trail to a native village. An ancient blind woman tells him his parents and the village's true ruler were murdered by the current chieftain and his daughter.

   [Behind the scenes...] With the aid of an inspector and his daughter, Bomba battles the usurpers in the cave where his parents were buried.

   I'm not sure which daughter is the Jungle Girl of the title - probably the villainess...

9. SAFARI DRUMS (1953 - 71 minutes)

   Douglas Kennedy. Barbara Bestar. Paul Marion. Russ Conway. Emory Parnell. Smoki Whitfield. Leonard Mudie.

   A millionaire brings a tiger and film crew to Africa in hopes of staging a lion/tiger battle. Commissioner Barnes learns that one of the crew is a murderer and asks Bomba to find out which one!

   The Lost Volcano erupts again (this film makes masterful use of previously seen footage!) and the lion/tiger battle is amazing!

10. THE GOLDEN IDOL (1954 - 71 minutes)

    Anne Kimbell. Paul Guilfoyle. Leonard Mudie. Smoki Whitfield. Lane Bradford. Rick Vallin.

    Prince Ali wants the Golden Idol of Watusi and hires a ruthless hunter to get it for him. Bomba has the idol and, with the help of Commissioner Barnes, Eli, and a beautiful archeologist, he foils Ali's plans.

    [Anne Kimbell] Ali and the hunter are noticeably more cold-blooded than most of Bomba's adversaries!

11. KILLER LEOPARD (1954 - 70 minutes)

    Beverly Garland. Barry Bernard. Donald Murphy. Leonard Mudie. Smoki Whitfield. Russ Conway. Rory Mallinson. Roy Glenn.

    Bomba is hunting a rogue leopard when Commissioner Barnes asks him to assist a movie starlet trying to find her lost husband. The husband, wanting nothing to do with his famous wife, isn't lost and is in Africa attempting to use money he embezzled to purchase illicit diamonds.

    Bomba has his hands full with both the leopard and the villain in an exciting finish!

12. LORD OF THE JUNGLE (1955 - 69 minutes)

    Wayne Morris. Nancy Hale. Paul Picerni. William Phipps. Smoki Whitfield. Leonard Mudie. James Adamson.

    Bomba must locate a rogue elephant before a stubborn group of government agents slaughter the entire herd. Surprisingly, Commissioner Barnes sides with the agents but his visiting niece helps Bomba.

    After surviving a stampede (while tied up!), Bomba identifies the guilty elephant and rescues the herd.