Collecting Jungle Action #6-24, written by Don McGregor.

Rich Buckler is the regular artist starting from Jungle Action #6. T'Challa returns to Wakanda to find one of the mountain villages in revolt, led by a man named Erik Killmonger.

The Black Panther movie inspired me to read more Black Panther comics. I have read plenty of stories with the Black Panther as part of the Avengers, but I haven't read any of his solo adventures. I thought it would be best to start here because this series is T'Challa's first solo series. I also thought that this series would be important because it introduced Erik Killmonger. This issue just so happens to end with Killmonger throwing T'Challa over a waterfall, just like he did in the movie. It was good to see one of the moments that inspired the movie.

In Jungle Action #7, thinking that the Black Panther is dead after their fight, Killmonger sends his lieutenant Venomm to the great vibranium mound to start mining it.

Venomm can control snakes, so that makes him an automatic win in my book. I would imagine that the character doesn't appear very often nowadays due to any possible confusion with the Spider-Man villain. We don't actually learn much about Venomm in this issue. I am looking forward to seeing more form him in later issues though. Heck, I'm interested in finding out more about the rest of Killmonger's agents as well. They all look pretty rad.

In Jungle Action #8, another agent of Killmonger named Malice infiltrates the royal Wakandan palace to free Venomm.

This version of Malice won't be the last super-villain to use the name, even in the Black Panther comics. Another woman called Malice will appear during Christopher Priest's run. Other notable Malices are the incorporeal X-Men villain and the personification of the Invisible Woman's evil side awakened by the Psycho-Man. The original Malice won't appear outside these issues. Presumably, she remains in jail with the rest of Killmonger's allies at the end of this series.

Gil Kane is on art for Jungle Action #9. T'Challa's dinner with Monica Lynne is interrupted by reports of another one of Killmonger's agents haunting a burial sight. The agent is called Baron Macabre and he can raise the dead. Meanwhile, somebody frames Monica Lynne for murder.

Don McGregor's writing is definitely wordy, but I think it fits a character like the Black Panther. T'Challa is one of the most intelligent people in the world, so you can imagine him talking all fancy. T'Challa's relationship with Monica Lynne is causing a lot of tension around the royal palace as well. Many people don't appreciate their king bringing a commoner from outside Wakanda into the palace. One of the royal advisers, W'Kabi, thinks that T'Challa's time in the outside world has made him soft, so there is more tension there. I like that this series isn't just mindless fights with villains, there is plenty of palace intrigue as well.

Billy Graham becomes the regular artist starting from Jungle Action #10. The Black Panther has a rematch with Baron Macabre and his master King Cadaver. Meanwhile, Killmonger has been busy looting the royal armoury.

T'Challa seems to be getting his butt kicked an awful lot in this series. The series started with him getting a beating from Killmonger and getting thrown over a waterfall. This issue started with him barely surviving a fight with a crocodile. The way the narration goes into gory detail about T'Challa's injuries it's a miracle that there is anything left of him. At least Don McGregor isn't afraid to show that the Black Panther is fallible. He isn't a boring invincible hero that never gets anything wrong like some people.

In Jungle Action #11, the Black Panther leads an assault on Killmonger's village of N'Jadaka. Meanwhile, the truth behind the identity of the person who framed Monica Lynne for murder is revealed.

Killmonger's real name is N'Jadaka. The village was named after him before he changed his name and started planning his campaign to take over Wakanda. This series isn't completely serious however as there are a pair of bungling henchmen called Tayete and Kazibe that serve as comic relief. The pair keep talking up how mean they are only to turn into quivering wrecks whenever the Black Panther inevitably drops in on them. This issue's Killmonger lackey is called Lord Carnaj. I love all these rad names Don McGregor is coming up with. As for the subplot about Monica Lynna being framed for murder, it is revealed that the handmaiden Tanzika was responsible for the murder. She had a fling with Zatama, one of T'Challa's advisers. He wanted it to be kept quiet and she didn't like it, so she killed him.

In Jungle Action #12, the Black Panther infiltrates Killmonger's lair but ends up getting captured and left to die in the Land of Chilling Mists.

It looks like Wakanda has quite the diverse landscape, it isn't all the stereotypical jungle landscape. In this issue we get to see the icy landscapes of the mountains. T'Challa isn't the only one on this quest, Killmonger's bumbling goons Tayete and Kazibe are acting as his guides. T'Challa proves that he isn't without a sense of humour as he relishes in trolling the two goons. T'Challa's rematch with Killmonger goes just as well as the first one did. This time he is left for dead in the snowy wastes and has to fight for his life against a pack of wolves.

In Jungle Action #13, the Black Panther's that Killmonger's agent Sombre has gained control of the mythical white gorillas.

Presumably, these white gorilla's are the same ones that M'Baku the Man-Ape worships. I should be disappointed that Don McGregor isn't using the Black Panther's regular villains such as Man-Ape and Klaw, but he has created plenty of his own interesting villains. it's a pity that most of the villains here won't appear much after this series is done. I believe Killmonger is the only one that returns in Christopher Priest's run. I haven't read thoe issue, so maybe I am wrong and more of the villains from this series return as well.

In Jungle Action #14, T'Challa pursues Killmonger and his agents into Serpent Valley, home to rampaging dinosaurs.

As if this series couldn't get any cooler with T'Challa fighting giant snakes, wolves and giant apes, now we have an issue with him fighting dinosaurs. Killmonger is capturing dinosaurs for his own use, so you know we will be seeing the Black Panther fighting dinosaurs again. Just how many lost jungles full of dinosaurs does the Marvel Universe have any way? Most notable is the Savage Land, but I'm sure there are more.

In Jungle Action #15, T'Challa encounters Salamander K'Ruel, yet another one of Killmonger's agents, in the Forest of Thorns.

Another issue, another one of Killmonger's agents with a corny name. Salamander K'Ruel is an archer whose body is covered in pustules which inject toxic spines into his victims. T'Challa continues to be put through the ringer in this issue. His fight with Salamander K'Ruel is another one that he barely walks away from. I think the poor guy will need a nice lie down after this is all done.

In Jungle Action #16, the imprisoned Venomm reveals how he came to be in Wakanda before staging a breakout.

Venomm has been locked up ever since his first appearance, but it seems like he has struck up quite the friendship with communications chief Taku. I hope that Venomm's friendship is genuine and I would hate to think it is just a ploy to get free. I did a bit of research on the characters and it seems like Don McGregor intended Taku and Venomm to be a couple but the Comics Code forbade him from making it explicit. I am glad that they will continue to appear, even if it's only in comics that McGregor writes. We also find out why Killmonger has such beef with T'Challa. His father was forced to help Ulysses Klaue when he attacked Wakanda. Killmonger's family were then exiled by then-king T'Chaka and he has been nursing a hatred for T'Chaka ever since. Obviously, that hatred moved on to T'Challa when Klau killed T'Chaka.

In Jungle Action #17, Killmonger invades Central Wakanda as his final battle with T'Challa begins.

Don McGregor's stories aren't exactly fast-paced. The Panther's Rage story seemed to drag a bit, introducing all of Killmonger's agents one at a time, but now the story is coming to an end and Killmonger is finally ready to attack. All of his rad henchmen would have been fine on their own, but Killmonger has his captured dinosaurs as well. People fighting dinosaurs is always a big plus for me. Venomm ends up switching sides when he sees King Cadaver messing with Taku's mind. T'Challa is outmatched in his fight with Killmonger again, but the day is saved when Kantu, the boy that T'Challa rescued from a charging rhino in Jungle Action #9, knocks Killmonger off the very same ledge that he threw T'Challa off in #6. This won't be the last we see of Killmonger. He will return in Christopher Priest's run.

In Jungle Action #18, with Killmonger seemingly dead, T'Challa must deal with Madam Slay who wants vengeance for the death of her lover.

Panther's Rage isn't quite over yet. We still have this aftermath issue with Madam Slay wanting vengeance for the death of her lover. She tries to use Killmonger's pet leopard Preyy in her plot to kill the Black Panther. T'Challa seemingly killed Preyy in their first encounter, but I guess the leopard got better. There is some action with the Madam Slay plot line, but this is mostly a downtime issue that focusses on the survivors of Killmonger's rebellion.

In Jungle Action #19, T'Challa and Monica Lynna travel to Georgia to visit her parents but end up getting attacked by the Dragon's Circle and the Klu Klux Klan.

After a story with the Black Panther in his element fighting super-villains, now we get a story with him out of his element fighting racists in the American South. T'Challa is in Georgia to investigate the death of Monica Lynne's sister, which was put down to being a suicide. There are actually two different groups in this issue. There is the Dragon's Circle, who wear multi-coloured robes and have a multi-racial membership. Then there is the real Klan, but they are never actually called the Klu Klux Klan, only the Klan. There is also an idealistic journalist called Kevin Trublood who believes that Monica's sister uncovered some real estate corruption involving the Klan before she died.

In Jungle Action #20, the Black Panther gets more than he bargained for when he investigates rumours of a secret Klan meeting.

Monica takes T'Challa, in full Black Panther garb, to the supermarket. Inevitably they end up getting menaced by the Klan. These are actually the real Klan and not the made-up Dragon's Circle Clan. The people in the supermarket and the police start attacking T'Challa instead of the Klansmen. Thee is a story that Marvel editorial was pressuring Don McGregor into bringing more white characters into the series, so he ended up having the Black Panther fight a bunch of white racists. I'll leave it up to you whether the story is true or not.

In Jungle Action #21, barely escaping from being tied to a cross and set alight, T'Challa jumps right back into action by trying to disrupt a Klan rally.

Don McGregor's tradition of putting the Black Panther through the wringer continues as T'Challa ends up getting tied to a cross and set on fire. There is some cool imagery of the Black Panther running around with a flaming cross on his back. At least having the Black Panther disrupting a Klan rally gives us an excuse to have him beating up racists. That's always a bonus for me. Unfortunately, we are no nearer to solving the mystery of Angela Lynne's death.

Rich Buckler joins Billy Graham on art for Jungle Action #22. Monica Lynne's mother tells a tale of a freed slave dealing with the Klan and Monica re-imagines the story with the Black Panther instead.

The story Monica's mother tells is a rather depressing tale about a freed slave going to the Freedman's Bureau only to find a pair of corrupt politicians and getting lynched by the Klan. Monica imagines a retelling of the story with te Black Panther helping out and standing up to the Klan. The main Klansman in the story is called the Soul Strangler. There's no indication if he was supposed to have a link with the made-up Dragon's Circle Clan. They haven't been seen since #19.

Jungle Action #23 is a reprint of Daredevil #69 and is therefore not included here.

Keith Pollard joins Rich Buckler on art for Jungle Action #24. The Black Panther continues his search for the truth about the murder of Monica Lynne's sister and is attacked by a villain named Wind Eagle.

The Black Panther uncovers yet another version of Angela Lynne's death. He goes to a country club to follow up with the real estate magnate that was potentially a witness only to be attacked by a villain called Wind Eagle. While the fight is going on, members of the Dragon Circle arrive and tie T'Challa to a watermill. Unfortunately, Jungle Action is cancelled with this issue. Jack Kirby will start writing a new Black Panther series soon after this and ignores everything that has happened. The Klan story line will end up getting finished by a different creative team in Marvel Premiere.

Don McGregor's writing is definitely an acquired taste. Many may not like how wordy his writing is, but I don't have a problem with it. There are plenty of interesting villains for the Black Panther to fight and the second story arc involves him fighting racists. If there is anybody that needs a beating, then it is racists. It's a pity that McGregor doesn't get to finish the story himself.

My rating: 4 stars.

Next time: Batman Arkham- Clayface