Shanna vs. Nekra

[starwolf_oakley]

I don't know if it is Shanna Week or not, here are some pages that show Shanna vs. Nekra. Nekra would later become an Avengers villain. This is the 1970a SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #4.



You know Straw Men? Nekra takes that literally.



Nekra was in love with Mandrill, I think. Later she fell in love with Eric Williams, aka The Grim Reaper. I think they were going for irony on a character whose powers were based on hate falling in love. Nekra is more associated as an Avengers villain due to her relationship with Grim Reaper.

Some info on Nekra: http://marvel.com/universe/Nekra



"The Stranger" is a philosophical novel about free will, colonialism, man's link to society, and enjoying life in the face of death. Like, deep, man!




It is an interesting paradox, that a civilized woman can only really feel alive in the "savage" jungle. Or something. Maybe Steve Gerber and other writers were trying to examine the "1940 B-movie jungle goddess" idea.

As she swings through the jungle, Shanna wonders if she's more animal than woman. (!) She meets Nekra, the "priestess of the Mandrill" who is trying to kill Patrick, Shanna's "boyfriend."





"Sinewy back." This is an underrated issue.




Marvel heroes know a lot about pressure points being better than full-on punching. It shows how clever they are, or something.

Comments

[jkcarrier]

I suppose that heavy-handed philosophical narration hasn't aged well, but I ate it up as a kid. I really like Ross Andru's art, although the inking here isn't that great.

Shanna was part of a short-lived initiative to launch some new heroines with women writers: Shanna by Carole Seuling, The Cat by Linda Fite, and Night Nurse by Jean Thomas. A noble attempt, and the books were for the most part pretty good (haven't read Night Nurse). But, y'know, girls have cooties, so none of them lasted more than five issues.

[kenn_el]

I remember that period! The Cat was also drawn by a woman at first! It really was a decent concept, but they had production problems IIRC, and Greer eventually became Tigra (never nearly as interesting, IMO), and the suit became Patsy's.

[hyperactivator]

This is good. Now that Marvel is mulitmedia this would make a great syndicated series.