“He’s a nice guy. He even provided a wonderful and in-depth interview for this site. He’s a talented writer, one of the more promising new talents to come out of Marvel along with Jason Aaron and Donny Cates. But alas, it’s true. Both Mr. Zub and the House of Ideas can kiss my grits, as Flo would say at the old diner. Now that I have your attention, let me explain.”

By WALLY MONK – PM Library Editor

OK, so hate – as in the headline – is a really powerful word. How about we use ‘strongly dislike’ instead?

One need not be a Harvard graduate to know that 2020 has been a roller coaster of a year and it’s not likely to end soon.

Divisive politics. COVID-19. Isolation. Lockdowns. Inexcusable police brutality. Riots. Occupied zones in American cities. Joe Biden (or Donald Trump, depending on your political leanings) running for President in a major election.

And now this. It may not be a life or death issue as some of the things I just mentioned, but it’s the horseradish icing on a year that’s been a big sewage-flavored birthday cake up until this point.

Yes, my friends and library cardholders, Jim Zub, a writer whom I both respected and admired, has seemingly KILLED OFF one of Marvel’s longest-running and notably vintage characters. “Ka-Zar” as a jungle lord has existed in the form of David Rand since the original Marvel Comics #1 (next to older versions of Human Torch and Namor). Kevin Plunder, the Ka-Zar we know today, still has a distinguished history, having been reinvented from the original in the pages of X-Men #10 back in the 1960s by the late legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

As of the end of Empyre: Avengers #2 (SPOILER ALERT), Ka-Zar the Savage has a massive weapon protruding from his chest, having been stabbed from behind by an alien Cotati warrior.

Knowing Marvel and their penchant for gimmicks, this is most likely a “fake death” since (SPOILER ALERT) I’ve been told She-Hulk and Black Panther bit the dust in the same story line. But Ka-Zar is not the money-maker that Black Panther and She-Hulk are, so I’m wondering if the death of this classic hero might be a (poorly executed) chance for the House of Ideas to tie up some loose ends.

Ka-Zar and his female jungle-dwelling counterpart, Shanna, had a child named Matthew in the course of many guest appearances, and the lady of the Savage Land’s pregnancy was announced in Ka-Zar the Savage #34.

No writer has known what to do with any of the characters – most notably Matthew – since this union of Savage and She-Devil occurred. To illustrate this point, two different Marvel apps give their child two different names – Adam Kyle Matthew in one instance, and Matthew Kyle Andrew in another. Mark Waid created a nanny character who took care of Matthew while Ka-Zzar and Shanna went off adventuring.

Talk about a continuity and narrative nightmare!

These days, Matthew Plunder is rocking out in the Savage Land, and most of his dialogue in recent comics- and this latest installment – reminds me of Pauly Shore or some random California surfer from the 1990s.

A very telling moment comes in this same issue, where The Black Knight mistakes Ka-Zar’s son for the Savage himself. Is this a set-up for Matthew to take on the mantle of his father?

Boy, would that be a cop out and a seriously awkward piece of bad writing. One of the sayings that gets beaten like a dead horse around the library is the concept of “playing with the toys in the sandbox without breaking them”, but it’s a legitimate critique of contemporary comic narratives.

I can only think of three major deaths in comic history that meant much to the readership without being cliche – and those three were the original Captain Marvel, Jean-Grey in Uncanny X-Men, and Superman. Ironically, of those three, only one “stayed” dead. The deaths of supporting characters Gwen Stacy in the pages of Spider-Man might make the list, and perhaps the death of Conan’s paramour Belit as well.

At this point, you’re probably wondering, why does this knucklehead care so much about a comic book character? Or, with everything going on, is he seriously this upset about a second-string character from an old ‘funny book’?

Yes. And no.

For those of us who have loved comics since childhood, the characters who shaped our youth become part of our of fond memories. To lose a character that you care about moves you in some way, even if it’s only in the imagination. To give Zub credit, he did accomplish one of every writer’s goals – the goal of stirring emotion among your readers.

But no, I will not be losing any real sleep over the loss of a comic book character. I won’t be leading the “hashtag Cancel Marvel or Jim Zub” campaign. This issue might me shake my fist angrily at Jim and the Marvel bullpen, but in the end, he’s a good writer, even if he did a really dumb, dumb thing in the killing of my favorite savage. Unlike the fans who demanded the infamous “Hail Hydra!” story line be stopped immediately, I’ll anxiously wait this one out to see what happens.

In the event that Kevin Plunder somehow survives, I might even assemble an equally lengthy “apology” column to both Jim Zub and Marvel.

Time will tell.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)