Lord of the Jungle Annual #1
Written by Mark Rahner
Illustrated by Sergio Fernandez Davila
Colors by Santosh Kumar Rath
Letters by Simon Bowland
Based on the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Cover by Lucio Parrilo
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 23, 2012
Cover Price: $4.99

Lord of the Jungle Annual #1 is a good read for anyone that’s a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs or Tarzan in general. It’s a classic story that some of you might be familiar with, but entertaining nonetheless.

Writer Mark Rahner brings us Tarzan’s first trip to civilization! And believe me, it’s a really fun read. There’s been many versions of this story told in countless media, but it’s your classic fish out of water story, with a couple of great twists thrown in for good measure.

The only problem? Timing. And that’s no fault of anyone, but editorial. This story takes place after Lord of the Jungle #8, comes out in July. So far, only four issues have come out, and needless to say, there’s some spoilers in this issue that regular readers might get upset about. Yes, it’s a good comic, but did it really need to come out NOW? There would be NO problem with this issue coming out four months from now when issue #8 was actually out on the stands.

Artist Sergio Fernandez Davila does a fine job here with settings of both jungles, both urban and actual. His art, in my opinion, works a little bit better in the New York pages than the jungle pages. Also, he goes a little bit sparse on the backgrounds, which is disappointing. If I was forced to give this a letter grade, it would be a C+. Not great, but a little better than adequate.

While not blown away by this issue, it’s not a total loss. It is entertaining on a lot of different levels, I just wanted it to be better. I think this would’ve been better told as a four-issue story arc than as an annual. If your a Burroughs fan, pick this up. If not, you might want to pass or buy it at a later date.