Kazanda, Wild Girl of the Lost Continent in Rangers Comics, at Auction

Kazanda, the Wild Girl of the Lost Continent is an intriguing and little-remembered Australian comic book saga that ran in the U.S. in Rangers Comics #23-28. The story is a good fit for a Fiction House line best known for jungle girls, because Kazanda is in a sense just that. Kazanda’s Lost Continent is protected from detection by outsiders through the machinations of its evil ruler Sylf. But when explorers from the outside world do find it, Kazanda helps them and opposes Sylf with various psychic and psychokinetic powers.  A brief but fascinating saga from Fiction House, you can get the entire Kazanda storyline in Rangers Comics #23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 up for auction in the 2022 October 13 The Fiction House Showcase Auction #40199 at Heritage Auctions.

Created by artist Brodie Mack and writer Archie E. Martin, Kazanda first appeared in the Australian comic book publications Kazanda the Wild Girl and the Lost Continent (1942) and Kazanda Again (1944) from publisher N.S.W. Bookstall, which was reportedly the first Australian company publishing original comic books during WWII, when imports were restricted.

Archibald Edward Martin (1885-1955) was an Australian writer and theater publicist, best known for a series of detective fiction thrillers including The Outsiders, The Misplaced Corpse, and Death in the Limelight. Born in Adelaide, Australia, Martin co-founded the satirical weekly The Gadfly at the age of 18, which attracted some of the best cartoonists and writers in Australia during that early 1900s era. Afterward, he spent some time traveling the world with carnival and theater acts, with legendary stage magician Houdini becoming a mentor. He worked as a publicist for theaters for a time which may be where he first met Brodie Mack, who had done similar work during the same period. Martin and Mack produced a number of comics including Kazanda for N.S.W. Bookstall during the early WWII era.

Brodie Mack (1897-1965) was a booking manager for Fullers’ Theaters before turning to cartooning. A large portion of his career was spent as a political and sports cartoonist for newspapers such as the Sydney Truth and the Daily Telegraph, among a range of cartooning work for other publications. Mack created comic books such as Kazanda in association with writer Martin for publisher N.S.W. Bookstall. He is perhaps best remembered for his Brodie Mack Correspondence Art School, which began in the mid-1930s and operated after his death through the early 1970s. Mack was a prolific artist and a legend in 20th-century Australian cartooning history.

Created by a pair of Australian publishing legends, Kazanda was a perfect fit for a Fiction House line best known for Jungle Girls. You can get the entire Kazanda storyline in Rangers Comics #23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 up for auction in the 2022 October 13 The Fiction House Showcase Auction #40199 at Heritage Auctions. In addition to the items listed in this post, you can check out Fiction House titles such as Planet Comics, Jumbo Comics, Jungle Comics, Fight Comics, Rangers Comics, Wings Comics and much more. New to collecting Fiction House or want to learn more?  Bleeding Cool is doing an ongoing deep dive into the history behind Fiction House in the run-up to this auction. If you’ve never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.

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