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Why a B’wana Beast Blog?

Welcome to B’WANA BEAST’S BLOG! You may be asking yourself, “A blog about B’wana Beast? Seriously?” Well, I say YES! I’m a huge fan of the character and think he’s deserving of the attention.

GOODBYE FIRESTORM; HELLO B’WANA BEAST!

B'wana BeastFor the past two years, this site has been dedicated to Firestorm the Nuclear Man.  While I enjoyed writing about Firestorm, I felt it was time to move on to something new. When I started this site in January 2009, Firestorm had been reduced to a minor character.  His monthly series had been canceled for a third time, and he was a junior member of the Justice League of America.  It was easy to keep up with his appearances and I could spend lots of time focused on his history.  I liked that formula.  Nowadays Firestorm is practically mainstream, appearing in DC’s number one selling comic Brightest Day.  With rumors abound of a new Firestorm ongoing series, I felt it was time to move on before it became too difficult to keep up.

B’wana Beast has always been my favorite character and after searching around the web I haven’t been able to find an active blog dedicated to the character.  I decided it was time to bid Firestorm a fond farewell and follow my heart.  Thus was born B’WANA BEAST’S BLOG!

B'wana Beast

B’WANA BEAST’S APPEARANCES

While B’wana Beast has been around for over 40 years, he only appeared in a handful of titles.  He first appeared in Showcase #66 (January 1967), and was created by Bob Haney and Mike Sekowsky.  Below is B’wana Beast’s comic book chronology:

  • Showcase #66 & #67  (Jan/Feb-Mar/Apr 1967)
  • Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3  (May 1985)
  • Crisis on Infinite Earths #5  (Aug 1985) & #12 (Mar 1986)
  • DC Challenge #2 & #3  (Dec 1985-Jan 1986)
  • History of the DC Universe #2  (1986)
  • Swamp Thing Annual #3  (1987)
  • Animal Man #1-4  (Sept-Dec 1988)
  • Animal Man #13  (July 1989)
  • Animal Man #47-#50  (May-Aug 1992)
  • Justice League of America: The Nail #2 & #3  (Sept-Oct 1998)
  • DC Holiday Special ’09  (Feb 2010)

That’s it!  With so few appearances, we’ll be able to really sink our teeth into the character and explore his depths. From time to time we’ll also feature some related characters, such as: Freedom Beast, Djuba, Congo Bill, and Animal Man.

B’WANA BEAST’S HISTORY

In case you are unfamiliar with B’wana Beast, here is a little info on our favorite Jungle Master.  B’wana Beast’s given name was Mike Maxwell.  Maxwell possessed a helmet and elixir which conferred on him his powers. The elixir granted him super-strength and super-speed likened to the strongest and swiftest of Africa’s wildlife.  As well as granting him telepathic mastery over all wildlife, the helmet enabled him to combine beasts of two different species into one large mutated creature, which exhibited the greatest strengths of both.  These transformations were of a limited duration, and the two beasts were then separated again, unharmed.

With the help of his gorilla companion, Djuba, in a secret hideout at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, ranger Mike Maxwell drank the aforementioned elixir and donned the helmet to become B’wana Beast. Maxwell used his powers for the good of all Africa, and became the Dark Continent’s super trouble-shooter.

In Animal Man #13 (July 1989), Maxwell decided to retire and performed a ceremony to find a successor. He passed the helmet and elixir on to a South African activist named Dominic Mndawe, who assumed the name Freedom Beast.   Mike Maxwell returned in Animal Man #47 (May 1992), corrupted and possessed by the destructive force called the Antagon and transformed into the evil Shining Man. In the ensuing battle, Maxwell was killed.

Even though B’wana Beast died in the comics nearly 20 years ago, he’s recently received a new lease on life thanks to cartoons!  B’wana Beast appeared in both Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series.  Thanks to those appearances, his likeness has appeared on action figures, temporary tattoos, and more!

CONCLUSION

Going forward this site will be THE source for DC Comics’ Jungle Master – B’wana Beast! You’ll find anything and everything B’wana Beast-related here. Things such as merchandise, comics, toys, apparel, cartoons, news, creator interviews, and commentary about the character will be covered.  While I’ll always enjoy Firestorm, I’m really excited about this new direction for the blog!  To help with the new launch, I’ve got several posts today.  Enjoy!

FRIENDS OF B’WANA BEAST’S BLOG

Also, don’t forget to check out these other great superhero-specific blogs:

Support B’wana Beast! Do Justice to the Jungle Master!

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20 Comments

  1. rob! says:

    Well played, sir, well played.

  2. Frank says:

    B’wana know what love is! I want you to show me! B’wana feel what love is! Maxwell can show me!

  3. Chocotaco says:

    This is amazing! I, like you, have been feeling that Firestorm is getting too mainstream. B’wana Beast 4 evah!

    Bite the Beast!

  4. Ace says:

    I feel that this is really a step in the right direction for you guys. B’wana Beast will keep me coming back, day in, day out.

  5. Jason says:

    Loved the Firestorm site and checked it everyday. It’s very sad as Firestorm now needs all the push he can possibly get if he gets his own series and make it last for a good solid run. Thanks for all your work and support of Firestorm. Absolutely no interest in Bwana so I won’t be frequenting this site anymore but I wish you luck.

    Thank you!

  6. Ace says:

    Jason, you just need to give B’wana Beast a chance. Don’t go away. Join the B’wana Boosters, and be a B’wana Bestie!

  7. Shag says:

    Thanks for all the great comments and support today.

    Based upon the recommendation of a friend, I’m definitely adding another apostrophe to this blog name. First chance I get to update the site, it’ll officially be: B’WANA BEAST’S B’LOG!

    Love the extra apostrophe! Thanks, Ravenface!

    Shag

  8. Enrique says:

    Interesting change in the blog. Also, how I can access the old post about the firestorm?

  9. outburst says:

    Ok, time to come clean- I’m sad to think this might be true.

  10. William says:

    Dang it… I thought this was an April’s Fool’s joke… Unfortunately I won’t be coming back either.

  11. William says:

    Well, maybe if it’s about Animal Man…but c’mon B’wana beast…this has to be a joke…
    PLEASE LET THIS BE A JOKE!

  12. Eyz says:

    Awesome idea!
    Best Aprils fool ever! In fact, so much that I’ll actually be sad tomorrow when it will be over :(
    Amazing work, providing so much funny posts!

  13. Shag says:

    Okay, time to come clean. As many of you surmised, the B’wana Beast posts and blog design for today are part of an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke. On Monday the site will revert to FIRESTORM FAN! I hope my little joke didn’t cause you an inconvenience.

    Also, check out the other blogs I linked to above. They also switched directions for April 1! Fun stuff!

    Thanks again for commenting and thanks for reading the site!

    The Irredeemable Shag
    http://firestormfan.com

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  15. Boosterrific says:

    What? This was only a joke? I B’wanna more Beast!

  16. William says:

    YESSSS…Thank you!

  17. Spinks says:

    Oh, thank goddness Shag. I couldn’t sleep at night. You got me good. (don’t do it again).

    Spinks

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  19. Martin Stein RIP says:

    I never knew B’wana Beast lacked nipples.

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