Here's the cover by the late Dave Stevens for the 1985 SHEENA 3-D SPECIAL. Although he may be best known for his creation of the Rocketeer (and that because it was made by Disney into a feature film), Stevens did a lot of covers, pin-ups and promotional art. His glossy, sleek style was well suited for poster shots. Stevens did a lot to re-popularize Bettie Page, basing the heroine of the Rocketeer strip on the 1950s cheesecake princess.
Although she was amazingly successful as a character -- appearing on newstands in JUMBO COMICS and her own title from 1938 to 1953, not to mention her live action adaptations -- Sheena's strip never seemed to have more than adequate art or writing. As it is, though, I think the character could make a major comeback in today's market.
My favorite SHEENA cover. I like the extra care that went into giving the leopardskin rig some texture, and the highlights on our gal's arms and legs give a nicely three-dimensional look. You can't go wrong with a squad of rampaging gorillas, of course, and these seem to be wielding clubs, an ominous development if there ever was one. It looks like there's the ruins of some lost city, too. (Just noticed that she is sticking her toes in an angry gorilla's EYE! Man, Sheena is brave.)
This is actually what your average citizen thinks of when you mention Sheena (if not just a blank stare). SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE was a 1955 series that had only 26 episodes but which ran in syndication for years and years. Irish McCalla was a tall (just over six foot, most sources say) ex-model who was perfect for the role. she may have not shown polished acting skills to make Anne Bancroft fret over the competition, but she had presence and charisma. For a role like this, those are essential qualities.
Well, what can I say? Tanya Roberts was a beautiful woman but she just was not imposing. She didn't have the screen magnetism to convince you she coud be Queen of a Jungle. Too bad. I still haven't seen her 1984 flick all the way through, it just doesn't hold my interest. There's a little inset of Irish McCalla glaring down at her successor.
There seems to be an awful lot wrong with that lion's anatomy.
Yep, behind every beautiful woman is a beautiful behind. Poor old Bob is a prisoner again. He did help out in the stories and saved Sheena now and again (sometimes she took on more than she could handle), but mostly Bob was the sidekick who got taken prisoner. Here he seems to be tied to the forehead of an Indian elephant (judging by the ears), leading Sheena to wonder just how such a beast ended up in her African territory. Oh well, it probably came on the wrecked cargo ship with all those tigers.
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Even if you've never read a comic, you might well be familiar with something this artist helped create.