Nyoka the Jungle Girl #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeNyoka the Jungle Girl #3 (September 1946) is the first comic book appearance of Pistol Packin' Patty, a wisecracking, sharpshooting supporting character who embodied the era's appetite for capable, comedy-forward women alongside its action heroines. The issue also demonstrates how squarely Fawcett's Nyoka line was aimed at a broad, mixed-age readership: a four-part main adventure about a peace-bringing plant sits alongside humor strips and filler features, making this a representative artifact of the anthology format that dominated mid-Golden Age publishing. As part of a series grounded in the 1942 Republic serial Perils of Nyoka, the comic extended one of cinema's earliest recurring female-led action franchises into print, reinforcing Nyoka Gordon's status as one of the few female characters to headline her own Golden Age title for a sustained run. The issue's survival in original art — portions from the George Frese estate are documented — gives it unusual scholarly value for researchers studying mid-tier Fawcett production.
Part II of Nyoka's jungle adventure finds her returning to camp where wild elephants are stampeding toward her companions' tent. Nyoka acts quickly, using a burning branch to drive the animals away and save the men. The story then shifts to a humorous subplot involving a sharpshooter named Wal who boasts about his marksmanship but is repeatedly outshot by Nyoka, who demonstrates superior skill with a pistol. The narrative concludes with Captain Duff's expedition discovering wild big cats—a lion and leopard—that initially battle but then become friendly, before the captain resolves to rename his mission "The Great Nyoka's Expedition" in recognition of her heroic contributions.
When Nyoka brings a mysterious peace plant extract to a Scientific Explorers Club meeting, a silent gunshot shatters a bottle in her hands—and someone doesn't want the world to know the plant exists. Convinced the legendary peace plant is real and hidden in the jungle, Nyoka, her father Dr. Gordon, and their friend Larry Grayson set out on an expedition with Captain Puff, unaware that a ruthless enemy is already in the jungle, determined to stop them at any cost. As their first night in the wild unfolds, danger closes in from an unexpected and thunderous direction.
Pistol Packin' Patty needs work on a frontier ranch, so she decides to prove her shooting skills to a skeptical foreman—with spectacularly reckless results. This short Western-humor piece from 1946 trades gunplay for laughs as Patty's marksmanship gets a little too enthusiastic for everyone's comfort.
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Fawcett Publications built its Nyoka comic line directly on the success of Republic Pictures' two serials — the 1941 Jungle Girl and the 1942 Perils of Nyoka — with all licensing flowing from the second serial, which established the Nyoka Gordon surname used throughout the comics. The self-titled series launched at issue #2 (Winter 1945), continuing the numbering from the one-shot Jungle Girl #1 (November 1942), meaning issue #3 was only the second entry in the renamed run. Art credits for the issue, established through Jerry Bails' Who's Who and confirmed by surviving original art from the George Frese estate, point to George Frese, W. Jourdain, and Howard Boughner as the creative team — a rotating stable typical of Fawcett's workmanlike but reliable production pipeline of the period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published September 1946 by Fawcett Publications; 32 pages, full color.
- First comic book appearance of Pistol Packin' Patty, a comedy-action supporting character, in the story 'Pistol Packin' Patty Looks for a Job!'
- Main lead story is a four-part serial, 'The Peace Plant!', in which Nyoka Gordon escorts explorer Captain Puff in search of a plant he claims can end human violence.
- Art and story credits attributed to George Frese, W. Jourdain, and Howard Boughner, with credits derived from Jerry Bails' Who's Who and corroborated by surviving estate original art.
- Original art pages for parts two and three of the lead story are documented as surviving from the George Frese estate.
- The series numbering originated with Jungle Girl #1 (November 1942); the self-titled Nyoka the Jungle Girl series began at #2 (Winter 1945), making this only the second issue under that banner.
- Nyoka Gordon as a character was licensed from Republic Pictures' 1942 serial Perils of Nyoka, starring Kay Aldridge — the Fawcett comic run continued through 1953.
- The issue's contents — and the entire Fawcett run — have entered the public domain and have been reprinted by publishers including Golden Age Reprints and Retro Comic Reprints.
Cast · 2 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Mon Journal #26 (1947), Nyoka the Jungle Girl #44
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