Bob Haney was born on this date in 1926. Haney was a delightful writer who did most of his work for DC and is most famous for his wonderful The Brave and the Bold stories featuring Batman. He created many of DC's characters in the Silver Ager including the focus of today's Dojo celebration -- the wacky B'Wana Beast.
I have no earthly idea what prompted the creation of B'Wana Beast, one of the strangest characters ever to erupt onto the comics world. He appeared in two issues of DC's venerable Showcase and then was seen no more...almost. He appears to be a blend of classic jungle action and superhero craziness, cross of Tarzan and the Phantom. He's strange right down to the logo.
I never owned these two B'wana Beast comics, but I was transfixed by the ads for his debut. Like so many DC characters, which are peculiar and odd, there is a fundamental dynamic which is nonetheless fascinating. Created by Bob Haney and Mike Sekowsky, two of DC's most iconoclastic creators, B'wana Beast has a handsome pedigree Apparently his "superpower" was the ability to communicate with animals and to blend two animals into one creature. It was an idea ideal for the visual feast of comics, but it was at best a limited notion.
B'wana disappears for years and years before surfacing during the Crisis on Infinite Earths alongside every other DC hero.
He did get a try-out of sorts in DC's offbeatChallenge comic, which featured scores of characters in a bonanza of weird stories by a gaggle of DC creators.
He shows up in Animal Man for a few issues, even making the cover once. This is a typically handsome Brian Bolland effort and makes the most of the design disaster which was B'wana Beast.
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Jambo! This is one whacked out title! One might almost classify it as a psychedelic comic, it's so mind-blowing. It was the 60s after all... I love the intro text box "...the howling new one from DC -- which roars where other jungle books purr!" Too much! And that mask, it looks like a pair of 3-D glasses from some crazy B-horror movie. Some say that Sekowsky might have written it instead of Haney, but who knows? Thanks for the weird memories...
ReplyDeletePossible. But given Haney's track record, it falls right into place. They don't make comics like these anymore. Sad, but I get the reason.
DeleteYou are probably aware Bwana Beast has shown up in animation. He has a brief part in Justice League Unlimited as an expert tracker who is heavily distracted by Zatana’s gams. He has a more substantial part in Batman Brave and the Bold. He is pivotal to a plot line involving Starro.
ReplyDeleteI've seen him in those cartoons and enjoyed him. Those are outstanding renditions of a favorite team.
DeleteNo one did weird characters like 1960s DC . B'wana Beast is a character im not that aware of so it was nice to get some info on him.
ReplyDeleteGlad to serve. Those oddball characters lived in my imagination for years because I mostly only ever saw the ads.
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