"Frenzy On The Fortieth Floor!"

 

When Marvel's two new double-feature mags, Astonishing Tales and Amazing Adventures, premiered in 1970, artist Jack Kirby received assignments for each. For Astonishing Tales, he would provide art for Stan Lee's two-part Ka-Zar story featuring Kraven the Hunter; and for Amazing Adventures, Kirby would both write and pencil a two-part tale featuring the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans, followed by another two-parter which had the Inhumans going up against the Mandarin. Along with his art on the final issue of Silver Surfer, and his lead-in to the Sub-Mariner/Magneto story in Fantastic Four (and we should also include some of his work salvaged for issue 109 of that title), this would be Kirby's closing work for the company before resigning his position.

This being my first read of the Ka-Zar story, over fifty years after it was published, I was still amazed at how well Lee and Kirby could mesh their talents in a clash between opponents who were fairly well-matched in their abilities, particularly when Lee didn't skimp on his dialog and took an active interest in the characters' interaction. That might be understandably hard to pull off when it came to Ka-Zar, who in 1970 was still a character who conversed in only the most basic manner and generally reacted to hostilities by lashing out without much verbal elaboration. (Contrast that with Ka-Zar's follow-up meeting with Kraven in Ka-Zar The Savage in late 1982, where Ka-Zar's thoughts and speech were indistinguishable from practically any American man-on-the-street from the '80s.) Lee received some help from Kraven's ego in that regard, however, as both characters tended to refer to themselves in the third person.

Yet it bears mentioning that Kraven has the edge in this matchup, even without taking into account his steadfast belief in his own fighting prowess. Aside from the fact that he will first spend time researching his prey's habits and potential weaknesses, while his unsuspecting target has no such advantage, he will usually have prepared the means to incapacitate and/or capture his intended victim rather than rely solely on a hand-to-hand struggle. (When was the last time you saw a hunter who didn't pack gear against which their prey would be defenseless? Only Wolverine has a blunt but rational assessment concerning the so-called "skill" needed to kill.) That said, Kraven, unlike Ka-Zar, pairs his instincts with a knowledge of strategy, tactics, and physical vulnerabilities--and, yes, belief in a superiority over your foe probably doesn't hurt, either.

The twist in this story, however, is the fact that Ka-Zar is only a means to an end when it comes to Kraven's true target.

Even nowadays I wouldn't be surprised if stories are probably still referring to the Savage Land as the "hidden jungle," since it probably continues to add an air of mystery and drama to this prehistoric region in the South Pole. Naturally, the locale is all Kraven could ask for in pursuit of his goal, a "hunt" which is accomplished with (you'll pardon the word) astonishing ease.

With the sight of Kraven's helicopter in the distance, it would be easy to believe that it would be pointless for Ka-Zar to attempt pursuit; as a matter of fact, the Ka-Zar we meet in the '80s might well have reached the same conclusion and begun to consider other options, few as they would have been. This Ka-Zar, however, is going to have only one response.

Fortunately passing jets drop an inflatable raft which keeps Ka-Zar afloat while they radio for assistance--but even with two strikes against him when it comes to stopping Kraven, Ka-Zar's single-minded perseverance in reclaiming Zabu, an animal which has become his friend, leaves no doubt as to what his next move will be once he reaches what is likely to be Kraven's destination.

Judging by the opening pages to the next issue, it looks like Ka-Zar isn't a bad hunter himself, as his "jungle instinct" appears to have no problem tracking Kraven in a steel and concrete city the size of New York--specifically, to the Arlington Arms, a strange place to take your captured prehistoric saber-toothed cat (but what do I know). For what it's worth, Kraven doesn't have the advantage this time of having planned ahead for dealing with Ka-Zar; still, having the confidence from a prior victory over the jungle lord, it doesn't take long for Kraven to once again have his foe on the ropes (so to speak), though Ka-Zar has also learned a thing or two about his enemy's tactics.

When it comes to a battle between these two in a city environment, Kraven's hotel turns out to be as good a site as any, though it doesn't take long for their brawl to move outside, where Kirby choreographs a visibly riveting struggle between the two. Kraven's reliance on weaponry continues to be a source of pride for him, even against a defenseless foe--but against Ka-Zar's persistence and his own impressive skill, Kraven finds that a standoff is the most he can achieve, at least this day.

(No worries here--one snarl from Zabu should dissuade hotel management from sticking Ka-Zar with Kraven's bill.)

COMING UP:
Just how much frenzy was going on in the Marvel Universe?? The PPC runs it down for you!