Astonishing Tales #10
Astonishing Tales #10 marks an important structural moment in the Ka-Zar strip: coming just two issues after the Doctor Doom backup feature was retired, it is part of the first wave of full-length, solo Ka-Zar adventures in color comics, giving the jungle lord room to carry a complete story arc on his own. The issue's plot — stranded WWII combatants still fighting a manufactured war in the Savage Land — is a pointed, early-Bronze Age allegory about the human cost of ideology and deception, standing out from the straightforward adventure fare typical of the era. It also continues the slow-burn development of Bobbi Morse (the future Mockingbird) and her S.H.I.E.L.D. associate Paul Allen as Ka-Zar's supporting cast, a throughline that would eventually produce one of Marvel's most durable female heroes.
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The issue carries a dual writing credit — Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas — which contemporary reader commentary and collector analysis suggest reflects a significant editorial rewrite of an existing script, a common practice under Thomas's tenure as editor-in-chief. Barry Windsor-Smith's pencils were inked by Sal Buscema, an unusual pairing that observers have noted pushes the finished art closer to Buscema's house style than Smith's more ornate line; this, combined with the dual writer credit, points to the pages having been held as inventory before publication. Roy Thomas himself handled the letters column for the issue, personally defending the series' frequently changing creative teams in response to reader complaints — a candid editorial moment preserved in the book's letter pages.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: February 1972; on-sale date: November 1971 — one of the first full-length (21-page) solo Ka-Zar stories after the Doctor Doom backup feature ended with issue #8.
- Script credited jointly to Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas, with pencils by Barry Windsor-Smith and inks by Sal Buscema; cover art by Gil Kane.
- The story, 'To End in Flame,' concludes a multi-part arc (continued from #8) in which Ka-Zar discovers British and German survivors of a WWII naval battle still locked in combat inside the Savage Land, manipulated by their own commanders who knew the war had ended.
- Antagonists Heinrich Draco and Captain Christopher both die in this issue, ending the prolonged false war — one of the more morally blunt endings in the early Ka-Zar run.
- Bobbi Morse (later Mockingbird) and Paul Allen both appear, though neither character's full name is revealed until Astonishing Tales #12; this issue is part of the arc that establishes them as Ka-Zar's recurring companions.
- Bobbi Morse had first appeared (unnamed) in Astonishing Tales #6 (June 1971), created by Gerry Conway and Barry Windsor-Smith; this issue is an early continued appearance building her role in the series.
- The issue was later reprinted internationally, including French and Danish editions, per Grand Comics Database records.
- Select Bobbi Morse material from this issue was collected in Marvel's trade paperback Mockingbird: Bobbi Morse, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Cast · 6 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Ka-Zar uncovers the truth that Heinrich Draco and Captain Christopher, the leaders of the two warring factions in New Britannia, know that the war is over and are prolonging it for their own reasons. He and Zabu manage to stop the two when they try to blow up the Savage Land by dropping a bomb into a volcano.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).