Review: Savage! Jungle Princess #3 / Author: John A. Short / Artist: Gabrielle Noble / Publisher: Kult Creations / Release Date: Out Now
In case you didn’t catch our reviews of the previous two issues, what we have here is a saucy romp with a WWII setting, somewhat in the manner of the Daily Mail’s Jane comic strip. Nazi U-boat girls have made their way onto a lost island in search of magical stuff that will assist in the Axis’ war effort, and standing in their way is a scantily clad castaway – Arabella Savage, the Jungle Princess of the title – and her cockney sidekick, MI5 secretary Friday Robinson.
This instalment sees the return of the Nazi expedition’s leader, Countess Von Kraus (looking very chic in a black leather trench coat, bra and eyepatch). Meanwhile, Arabella faces a challenge for the leadership of the all-women tribe who inhabit the island, and Friday nearly takes a header into a lagoon full of piranhas.
To be fair to Short and Noble, this kind of confection is much harder to pull off than it might seem. You want it to be jokey and mildly erotic, but at the same time you can’t neglect plot and character. #3 is a little lacking in sexiness, but it advances the storyline and gets the humour just about right (there’s a very nice dream prologue featuring Winston Churchill and Friday in a barely there outfit). If you harbour a nostalgic fondness for Carry On films and naughty seaside postcards, there’s every chance you’ll warm to this charmingly cheeky comic.
