Review - Jungle Book #5

The jungle is a wild place, rife with creatures both animal and human. The two species share something in common though: vengeance. In Jungle Book #5 from Zenescope Entertainment, Mowglii is the one seeking vengeance against Shere Khan.

The fifth and final issue is written by Mark Miller, with pencils by Carlos Granda, colors by Liezl Buenaventura and letters by Jim Campbell.

Mowglii is on a mission to end what she thinks is the feud between Shere Khan and his tigers and her wolf pack. Bomani is the best way to find the tigers, prompting Mowglii to follow him through the dense foliage until she comes face to face with her enemy.

A little Alkili is sprinkled in for appearances sake, alongside the other favorites such as Baloo. There's some more fighting when the two sides meet, followed by a brief peace. It's likely the peace won't be kept, considering the wildness of the jungle.

For a five-issue arc, Miller managed to infuse enough of the classic Jungle Book tale into the comic that it felt like it paid proper respects. The concept of working in the other children stranded in the jungle was nice, but unfortunately the short series length didn't really give them much time to develop.

Mowglii is the star of the series clearly, but would've been nice to see the others make more than just cameo appearances. Even Alkili's appearance in this issue seemed more of a make sure she's involved thing than anything else. The animals definitely ruled the series and they were characterized well.

The art team of Granda and Buenaventura did a great job with the panels, colors and page layouts. The animals were depicted with great ferocity, which is what one would expect from jungle wildlife. There were some close-ups that were a little hard to make out, but a second look made sure you could follow.

There was one curious panel layout choice. Essentially, what should have been a two-page spread was rotated and crammed on one page. As you're reading the comic, when you get to that page you have to rotate the comic as if you're looking at a centerfold. It's not clear whether that was intentional or not, but it's a minor thing regardless.

The arc crafted by Zenescope for Mowglii was interesting and would likely feature more unique stories. If the series was a little longer than five issues, they would've been able to show more of the humans interacting with one another. What's shown instead is how they interact with the new environment around them, which I suppose is the ultimate point of the story.

Jungle Book #5 is available in stores now.