In Jungle Comics #1 by Fletcher Hanks, Tabu was a White man who, while wandering the jungle, wound up saving the life of a powerful shaman. The shaman gave him the power of the “extra sense.” Somehow, this translated into heightened strength, speed, and agility, as well as enhanced senses and, in true Fletcher Hanks fashion, unlimited magical powers. Tabu used these powers to stop slave raiders from “robbing and murdering jungle people”, punishing them in an over-the-top, gruesome fashion. The shaman was pleased with Tabu’s actions and gave him the “seventh sense”, the ability to communicate with the “invisible spirits of the jungle.” In Jungle Comics #2, without Fletcher Hanks, Tabu’s methods became less extreme, although his unlimited magical powers remained. In Jungle Comics #79, Tabu’s origin story is changed. Here, Tabu was a baby brought along by a pair of Western explorers who ventured deep into the African jungle. The boat he and his parents were traveling on was tipped over by a passing hippo. A young shaman named N’moli saw this happen in his visions, and arrived in time to save Tabu. He raised him as his son. N’moli taught Tabu some magic, but held off for fear that Tabu would want want to leave the jungle and rejoin the Western world. When N’moli learned that he was fated to die soon, he summoned Tabu, and when Tabu assured the shaman that he had no intention of forsaking his adopted home, Tabu was gifted a magic cape. By donning the cape, Tabu gained all of N’moli’s power. Tabu used his magical abilities to protect the local tribes and innocent explorers from the malevolent forces that threatened them. In Jungle Comics #116, Enrico Bagnoli changed the name of Tabu’s teacher again, to Zan, an ancient mystic, with whom Tabu helps defeat a wayward apprentice, Langa. As originally depicted by Hanks, Tabu had heightened strength, speed, and agility, enhanced senses, and that magical ability to manipulate his environment in any way he saw fit. After Hanks, Tabu had more rudimentary magical abilities that were significantly boosted by the magic in N’Moli’s cape. Among other things, they allowed him to change shape, transform creatures and objects, predict the future, project his spirit form over vast distances, create convincing illusions, and control the forces of nature. Without the cape, he had to rely on more low-key magic and his physical abilities. Fortunately, Tabu was a physically strong and resourceful fighter.
Description In Jungle Comics #1 by Fletcher Hanks, Tabu was a White man who, while wandering the jungle, wound up saving the life of a powerful shaman. The shaman gave him the power of the “extra sense.” Somehow, this translated into heightened strength, speed, and agility, as well as enhanced senses and, in true Fletcher Hanks fashion, unlimited magical powers. Tabu used these powers to stop slave raiders from “robbing and murdering jungle people”, punishing them in an over-the-top, gruesome fashion. The shaman was pleased with Tabu’s actions and gave him the “seventh sense”, the ability to communicate with the “invisible spirits of the jungle.” In Jungle Comics #2, without Fletcher Hanks, Tabu’s methods became less extreme, although his unlimited magical powers remained. In Jungle Comics #79, Tabu’s origin story is changed. Here, Tabu was a baby brought along by a pair of Western explorers who ventured deep into the African jungle. The boat he and his parents were traveling on was tipped over by a passing hippo. A young shaman named N’moli saw this happen in his visions, and arrived in time to save Tabu. He raised him as his son. N’moli taught Tabu some magic, but held off for fear that Tabu would want want to leave the jungle and rejoin the Western world. When N’moli learned that he was fated to die soon, he summoned Tabu, and when Tabu assured the shaman that he had no intention of forsaking his adopted home, Tabu was gifted a magic cape. By donning the cape, Tabu gained all of N’moli’s power. Tabu used his magical abilities to protect the local tribes and innocent explorers from the malevolent forces that threatened them. In Jungle Comics #116, Enrico Bagnoli changed the name of Tabu’s teacher again, to Zan, an ancient mystic, with whom Tabu helps defeat a wayward apprentice, Langa. As originally depicted by Hanks, Tabu had heightened strength, speed, and agility, enhanced senses, and that magical ability to manipulate his environment in any way he saw fit. After Hanks, Tabu had more rudimentary magical abilities that were significantly boosted by the magic in N’Moli’s cape. Among other things, they allowed him to change shape, transform creatures and objects, predict the future, project his spirit form over vast distances, create convincing illusions, and control the forces of nature. Without the cape, he had to rely on more low-key magic and his physical abilities. Fortunately, Tabu was a physically strong and resourceful fighter.
