View source for Battle of the Jungle Boys

{{Newspaperbox 
|Title=Battle of the Jungle Boys
|image= [[Image:jungleboys.jpg|300 px]]
|Start= December 11th, 1994
|End= September 17th, 1995
|Strips= 41 pages
|Writer= [[Lee Falk]]
|Colorist= [[King Features Syndicate|KFS]] staff
|Artist=  [[George Olesen]], [[Erik Doescher|Eric Doescher]],<br>[[Fred Fredericks]]  
|Preceded="[[Phantom World]]"
|Followed="[[Queen Medusa]]"
|}}
'''"Battle of the Jungle Boys"''' is the 143rd [[Phantom]] [[Sunday stories|Sunday story]]. It was written by [[Lee Falk]] and drawn by [[George Olesen]], [[Erik Doescher|Eric Doescher]], and [[Fred Fredericks]]. It was the first Phantom story that Fredericks inked.

==Plot synopsis==
Once there were two jungle boys in [[Bangalla]]; [[Lamanda Luaga]] and [[General Bababu|Babo Bababu]]. Luaga studied and became a doctor, while Bababu joined the colonial army. An war of independence was fought and Luaga was among the freedom fighters. When it was clear that the independence fighters was going to win, Bababu, now a general, switched sides and joined them.  An election was held with two prominent candidates; dr Luaga and general Bababu.  Dr Luaga won but general Bababu did not accept the results and started a civil war, which was ended when [[the 21st Phantom|the Phantom]] kidnapped him and took him to [[the Skull Cave]], where Luaga defeated him in a duel for the presidency.

10 years later, Bababu escapes from prison and comes to [[Tarashima]].

Meanwhile, Lamanda Luaga "escapes" from his work through a secret tunnel and goes to [[the Tree House]] in disguise so that he could socialize with the Phantom and his family.  There, he meets [[Taru Tagama-Luaga|miss Taru Tagama]] and through the course of events, he comes to asks her out for a date.

Upon returning to the President Palace, his secret tunnel is discovered by one of his security guards, captain Landa.  He strictly forbids Landa to tell anyone about the tunnel, but Landa is a traitor that serves Tarashima.

Lamanda is kidnapped when he is to meet miss Tagama for the date.  While Luaga is mysteriously gone and everyone wonders where he could be, a bank robbery is commited and one of the robbers is clearly seen to be Luaga.

The Phantom refuses to believe the video as "Luaga" is unmasked, unlike the other robbers, and willingly looks into the camera.  The solution is provided immediately as the twins show him their new masks of Luaga's head.

The Phantom catches captain Landa red-handed when he is testing his Luaga mask.  Through some "persuation", the Phantom tracks down the men that are holding Luaga captured and take care of them.  Luaga is taken to the Tree House in order that he will be in a secure place.

Then, the Phantom "invades" Tarashima and brings the current dictator, [[general Bozzan]], together with general Bababu, to Bangalla, where they are convicted of their crimes and Luaga is cleared in a trial.
[[Image:Luagamarriage.jpg|thumb|Luaga and miss Tagama marries]]
Luaga and miss Taru Tagama can finally have their date, this time in the President Palace.  Luaga suddenly proposes to miss Tagama, who accepts with a kiss under the condition that she will continue to teach [[Kit]] and [[Heloise]].

Newspapers announce the happy news that the president is marrying a teacher, and the Phantom and his family are present at the wedding.

=== Appearances ===
<div style="float:left; width:50%;">
'''Recurring characters'''
*[[The 21st Phantom]]
*[[Lamanda Luaga|President Luaga]]
*[[Taru Tagama-Luaga|Miss Tagama]]
*[[General Bababu]]
*[[General Bozzan]]

'''One-time characters'''
*Captain Landa, security guard

'''Real-life characters'''

</div><div style="float:right; width:50%;">
'''Locations'''
*[[Bangalla|Bengali]]
**[[Mawitaan|Morristown]]
***[[Morristown Presidential Palace]]
*[[Tarashima]]

'''Tribes'''

'''Organizations'''

'''Vehicles'''

'''Items'''

'''Phantom lore'''

'''Deities and idols'''

'''[[Old Jungle Sayings]]'''

</div><br clear="all">
=== Behind the scenes===
*This story does not reference any of the stories featuring General Bababu that came after his first appearance in "[[The Mysterious Ambassador (daily story)|The Mysterious Ambassador]]", and only mentions that he was sentenced to jail after the civil war.
*It also does not reference previous meetings between [[Taru Tagama-Luaga|Miss Tagama]] and [[Lamanda Luaga|President Luaga]].
*The story takes place 10 years after the events in "The Mysterious Ambassador", and [[Kit]] and [[Heloise]] are said to be 8 years old.
*When [[Sy Barry]] retired from the Phantom newspaper strip, the artwork was taken over by Barry's former assistant [[George Olesen]] (pencils) and [[Erik Doescher|Eric Doescher]] (inks, sometimes assisted by [[Joe Orlando]]). None of Barry's replacements received official credit, until "[[Mandrake the Magician]]" artist [[Fred Fredericks]] was brought in as new inker during this story and both Olesen and Fredericks were given full credit.

== Related stories ==
=== Referenced in ===
*"[[The Kidnappers]]" by [[Lee Falk]], [[Elizabeth Falk]], [[George Olesen]], and [[Fred Fredericks]]

== Reprints ==
This story has been published in the following publications:

===[[Image:mini_australia.gif]] Australia===
*''[[The Canberra Times]]'' July 23, 1995 &ndash; ?, 1996
*"Battle of the Jungle Boys", [[The Phantom 1123 (Frew)|''The Phantom'' #1123]] (1995)

=== [[Image:mini_finland.gif|border]] Finland ===
*''[[Seura]]'' 37/1995 &ndash; 29/1996

=== [[Image:mini_india.gif]] India ===
*''[[Anandamela]]'' ? &ndash; July 2, 1997

=== [[Image:mini_italy.gif]] Italy ===
*"Il presidente rapinatore", [[Phantom 371 (Comic Art) New Comics Now|''Phantom'' #371]]

=== [[Image:mini_norway.gif]] Norway ===
*"Den forsvunne presidenten", [[Fantomet Spesial 6|''Fantomet Spesial'' #6]] (1999)

=== [[Image:mini_sweden.gif]] Sweden ===
*"Den försvunne presidenten", [[Fantomen Christmas Album 1996|''Fantomen Christmas Album'' 1996]]

=== [[Image:mini_turkey.gif]] Turkey ===
*"Orman Çocuklarının Savaşı", [[Kızılmaske 29 (Büyülü Çizgi Roman)|''Kızılmaske'' #29]] (2016)

=== [[Image:mini_usa.gif]] USA ===
*''[[Chippewa Herald]]'' December 10, 1994 &ndash; September 16, 1995
*''[[The Advocate-Messenger]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[The Tuscaloosa News]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; February 26, 1995 - ''the first twelve weeks only ''
*''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; March 5, 1995 - ''the first thirteen weeks only''
*''[[Daytona Beach News-Journal]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[The Ironton Tribune]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[The Leaf-Chronicle]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[Reading Eagle]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[Rome News-Tribune]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' December 11, 1994 &ndash; September 17, 1995
*''[[Republican Herald]]'' August 12, 1995 &ndash; September 16, 1995 - ''the last six weeks only''

[[Category:Sunday stories|Battle of the Jungle Boys]]
[[Category:1995 Stories|Battle of the Jungle Boys]]