Cover: John Byrne & Dan Adkins

Jungle Action #23

Sep 1976 · Marvel · 0.30 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“A Life on the Line”

About this Issue

Jungle Action #23 is a unique interruption within Don McGregor's groundbreaking Black Panther run — specifically a fill-in slot during the 'Panther vs. the Klan' arc — reprinting the 1970 Daredevil #69 story 'A Life on the Line,' which marks the first appearances of street-level recurring villain Turk Barrett, brothers Billy and Lonnie Carver, and the Thunderbolts gang. The issue is notable as the debut vehicle for Turk Barrett, who would become one of Daredevil's most enduring minor antagonists across decades of comics and the Marvel Netflix television universe. The story also depicts T'Challa operating undercover in New York City as teacher Luke Charles, and includes a rare scene in which Daredevil and the Black Panther mutually confirm each other's secret identities — an unusually intimate piece of Bronze Age continuity-building. Though not part of McGregor's original narrative, this reprint bridges two of Marvel's most socially engaged Bronze Age titles under one cover.

Was this helpful and accurate?

writer Roy Thomas · artist Gene Colan · inker Syd Shores · letterer Artie Simek · cover John Byrne, Dan Adkins

Find on ebay

Search eBay for Jungle Action #23 ▸

No confirmed live listings for this exact issue right now — this opens an eBay search.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

The story content originated in Daredevil #69 (October 1970), written by Roy Thomas with interior art by penciler Gene Colan and inker Syd Shores, under editor Stan Lee. When Marvel slotted issue #23 as a fill-in during the 'Panther vs. the Klan' arc — a period when that storyline's controversial Ku Klux Klan subject matter was creating editorial difficulties — the original Daredevil story was selected for reprint because it prominently featured T'Challa as a guest. Marvel commissioned an entirely new cover from the then-rising John Byrne, inked by Dan Adkins, under the editorship of Marv Wolfman, giving the reprint a fresh Bronze Age identity distinct from its 1970 origin.

Trivia · 10 facts

This issue is a reprint of Daredevil #69 (October 1970), titled 'A Life on the Line,' with interior script by Roy Thomas and pencils by Gene Colan.
First appearance of Turk Barrett, created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan — a small-time Hell's Kitchen crook who became one of Daredevil's most persistent recurring minor villains across more than five decades of comics.
First appearance of brothers Billy Carver (a Vietnam veteran) and Lonnie Carver (his 15-year-old brother), as well as the Thunderbolts street gang and its leader Turk Barrett.
First appearance of the Thunderbolts gang, a street-level criminal organization using revolutionary rhetoric as cover for robbery and violence, backed by the Zodiac Cartel.
The issue features Daredevil and Black Panther mutually confirming each other's civilian identities — Matt Murdock and T'Challa — during their team-up.
T'Challa is depicted in his civilian alias as 'Luke Charles,' a teacher in the community from whose students the Thunderbolts were recruiting members.
Billy Carver's storyline continued through the Marvel Universe: he eventually gained superspeed, became the costumed hero Thunderbolt in Power Man, and was killed by accelerated aging — with Lonnie later murdered by a Thunderbolts member in Power Man & Iron Fist.
The new cover was penciled by John Byrne and inked by Dan Adkins, edited by Marv Wolfman; the issue was published on-sale June 25, 1976 with a September 1976 cover date. The interior story's original cover was by Sal Buscema.
The issue exists within the 'Panther vs. the Klan' story arc window (Jungle Action #19–24) but is explicitly not a chapter of that arc — it stands alone as a filler reprint.
The Grand Comics Database records at least nine reprints of the original Daredevil #69 story across international and domestic editions, including French (Strange #68, 1975), Spanish, Marvel UK (Mighty World of Marvel #215–216, 1976), and multiple modern trade paperback collections including Essential Daredevil Vol. 3 and the Black Panther Epic Collection.