Konga #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeKonga #1 holds a distinctive place in Silver Age comics history as one of the earliest examples of a publisher launching a long-running comic book series that began as a film tie-in and then evolved into its own original ongoing narrative — a template that later influenced Marvel's Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, and other licensed series. The issue also represents a notable early showcase for Steve Ditko's interior art at a moment just before his co-creation of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange for Marvel, demonstrating that his expressive creature-feature visuals were fully formed during his Charlton period. As part of Charlton's trio of giant-monster movie adaptations alongside Gorgo and Reptilicus, it helped establish that the genre could sustain serialized comic storytelling well beyond the source material, a precedent the medium would revisit for decades.
A scientist develops a serum from seeds that accelerates human evolution, seeking to transform mankind into superior beings. A witch doctor provides him with the oil needed for his experiments, and after injecting a creature with the serum, the scientist's laboratory is mysteriously destroyed by fire and he dies in the flames. Dr. Decker, investigating the incident, becomes suspicious of the scientist's assistant Bob and his fiancée, ultimately leading to a dark revelation about the origins of the experiment. The issue concludes with a separate prose story, "The Land of the Nevermore," about a Depression-era town called Sharpesville and an elderly Spanish-American War veteran named Grandpappy Thomas Harley.
In the jungles of Africa, a plane crash leaves scientist Doctor Decker stranded—until he befriends a curious monkey named Konga and encounters a tribe of towering natives. Drawn into a mystery surrounding a mysterious plant serum that fuels their size, Decker returns to England with seeds and Konga, only to unleash an unintended transformation. The story, written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, follows the strange bond between man and monkey as science spirals beyond control.
In the heart of Africa's impenetrable rain forest, Gorilla Berengei roams the high slopes of the Belgian Congo, a master of a landscape where towering mahogany trees and unseen orchids thrive in perpetual darkness. When a pair of men discover the valuable timber hidden deep within the jungle, they face the brutal reality of a wilderness that guards its secrets jealously. This tale captures the raw power and mystery of the equatorial jungle and the creatures that call it home.
A history lesson unfolds tracing cinema from its humble nickelodeon beginnings in 1895 through the technological and artistic innovations that transformed movies into a global spectacle—from the addition of sound and monster-movie makeup wizardry to 3D glasses, Cinerama, and the latest sensory experiments. As filmmakers pushed the boundaries of what audiences could experience on screen, each new era brought grander battles, more convincing illusions, and ever-wider vistas. The story celebrates the artistry and ingenuity behind the screen, leaving us wondering what thrilling new frontiers the movies will conquer next.
Africa—the second largest continent, a land where ancient mystery meets modern civilization, from towering watusi and pygmy peoples to vast game herds roaming the veldts and the gleaming towers of Johannesburg rising from primeval jungle. "The Land of Konga" presents a world of extremes and contradictions, where the secrets of ages past still lie hidden beneath the lush green wilderness.
Among the great apes roaming Earth's wild places—from the chimp to the orang-utan to Africa's mighty gorilla—lies a fascinating spectrum of intelligence and power that draws us closer to understanding our primate cousins. "One Step Below" explores these remarkable creatures in their natural habitats, from the playful to the fearsome, revealing why anthropoids have captivated human imagination across continents and centuries.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 17 grades ▾
Find on ebay
Read it digitally
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 ▸History
Konga #1 was produced by the Charlton Comics Group under executive editor Pat Masulli, with the script written by the extraordinarily prolific Joe Gill and interior art by Steve Ditko — both working from the screenplay of the 1961 Anglo-American AIP film rather than the finished movie itself, since the comic went on sale in November 1960, roughly four months before the film reached U.S. theaters on March 22, 1961. The cover was drawn by Dick Giordano, who was then one of Charlton's core house artists. The issue was published without a printed month on its cover or in the indicia, a common Charlton practice; the Grand Comics Database records its on-sale date from a contemporary trade publication, Bestsellers Vol. 15 #9.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First comic book appearance of Konga, the giant ape character adapted from the 1961 British-American AIP/Anglo Amalgamated horror film directed by John Lemont.
- Script by Joe Gill, interior pencils and inks by Steve Ditko, cover art by Dick Giordano — all working under editor Pat Masulli at Charlton Comics.
- The comic went on sale November 3, 1960, predating the film's U.S. theatrical release (March 22, 1961) by roughly four months; it was adapted from the film's script, not the screen version.
- The issue contains five stories total: a main Konga film-adaptation story plus four backup tales ('Darkness at Noon,' 'The Movies Come of Age,' 'The Land of Konga,' and 'One Step Below'), with additional text features about Africa and apes on the inside covers and back cover.
- The comic adaptation diverges from the film in several ways: Konga injects himself with the growth serum rather than being injected by Decker's assistant, and the final military confrontation uses artillery rather than machine guns and bazookas.
- The series the issue launched ran for 23 issues (plus a Fantastic Giants reprint one-shot as issue #24), with Ditko returning to draw issues #3–15 after Charles Nicholas handled #2; a companion mini-series, The Return of Konga / Konga's Revenge, ran from 1962–1964.
- Konga's name was licensed from RKO Pictures, whose King Kong franchise the film's producer Herman Cohen paid to exploit; the comic carried the banner 'Based on An American International Picture.'
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times: the Fantastic Giants one-shot (1968, Charlton) reprinted the first-issue adaptation; IDW Publishing/Yoe Books collected all Ditko issues including #1 in Ditko's Monsters: Konga! (August 2013); and PS Artbooks began reprinting the entire series in hardcover and trade paperback editions starting March 2023.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Cinemin (2ª Série) #34 (1963), Fantastic Giants #24 (1966), Ditko Monsters: Konga! #[nn] (2013), PS Artbooks Softee: Konga #1 (2023), Secrets of the Unknown #80
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.