KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #34

“Savage in a Strange Land”
Writer: Mike Carlin
Artist: Paul Neary

Ka-zar and Zabu are transported by the bone. They find themselves in what looks like the Savage Land. They are attacked by a strange dragon. After cutting it in two it morphs into two dragons. As they run away they run into a wall that is painted as jungle. A door opens and aliens come through. They nerve pinch both Ka-zar and Zabu. Ka-zar wakes up in a cell with two other denizens from the Savage Land. A scream from Shanna propels Ka-zar to action. He busts out of his cell and finds Zabu. The two find Shanna strapped to a chair. The scream was phony and meant to lure him there all hopped up.

The aliens the Nuwali of Tomriv have been kidnapping people from the Savage Land and other worlds. They were the alien race that created the Savage Land for some other race as a zoo. They did this on many planets but the race that hired them stiffed them. So now they need the adrenalin from them. It is poison to the race they want to pay back. Ka-zar manages with Shanna and Zabu’s help to get free and free the other prisoners. They hijack other space ships and a big battle ensues. One of the prisoners figures out the alien tech and manages to transport all the prisoners back to their homes. Ka-zar finds out Shanna is pregnant and they go back to their treehouse.

An epilogue has Ka-zar being teleported to a strange land. He is assaulted by familiar shadows but makes it to the mansion. There is a welcome party for Ka-zar. He is in the land of cancelled heroes. He gives a rousing speech and vows to be back.

So the final issue of this Ka-zar incarnation comes to an end. A strange story but a fun one. It does leave us with a happy family who are excepting a child. The epilogue was fun and a joy to try and identify all the cancelled characters. This was my favorite Ka-zar series. It was the one that Ka-zar matured into an adult. The stories were intelligent and exciting and this was my first introduction to the character. As Ka-zar stated at the end he would be back. And ten years later he would keep that promise.