Writer – Otto Binder
Artist – Leo Sommers

Bomba is resting at home with Doto the monkey and Tiki the parrot when he hears a plea for help from his friend Gibo. It seems a party of explorers has been ambushed by Jojasta’s men and if there is one person who can put a stop to them, it is Bomba. Bomba is successful and so he goes to meet the men who are archeologists looking for the temple of Xamza. As it is, Jojasta is not one to give up easily and so the group find themselves under attack again, this time by some wild boars, Jojasta’s men and a panther to boot. While Bomba and his jaguar friend manage to fend them off, one of the archeologists is kidnapped and so Bomba gives pursuit. Author Otto Binder and artist Leo Sommers send Bomba right into a trap which luckily, he notices and yet he is unable to really do anything about it and is driven off. Now it is not only men that Bomba must survive but the elements and the wildlife that surrounds him as he is swept away downstream and attacked by an ocelot. Through trial and travail, Bomba prevails and makes his way back to the temple of Xamzu where he hopes to rescue the man named Crane, the prisoner that Jojasta and his men took. It is not long before he realizes that he was played and Crane is working with Jojasta, though Crane’s usefulness comes to an end once Jojasta claims the Mask of Xamzu for his own. Binder and Sommers pack the book full of action, all kinds of action and it makes it breeze by, the pace moving the story along quickly which is a good thing. Bomba is a fun Tarzan-like character that can definitely hold his own and this first outing by DC Comics is a good one. Binder packs it full of every type of creature one might encounter within the jungle while Sommers does a great job at making it pop off the page with each passing panel. Whether it be violent natives, fearsome animals or what have one, there was a lot to love in this first issue. All in all, while they might have found the hidden treasure of Xamzu, keeping it was never in the cards and though Jojasta and Crane never got the ending they wanted, for Bomba and his friends, life in the jungle continues on. A good book from cover to cover and more than good enough to tune in for the next issue.

4 out of 5