Writer: J. Sylvère (pseudonym of René Thévenin) (?-1967)
Artist: Pellos (pseudonym of Rene Pellarin) (1900-1998)
 
Durga Rani, queen of the jungle, is the lost daughter of a secret race of mystic with superhuman powers, led by the Master.  Her companions include Hanuman the ape and Hogh the elephant.  Her adversaries include the evil queen Balkis and a renegade "sister", Nour-Djahan, queen of Asoka.
 

The Stories

 
1-2. La Reine des Jungles (2 vols.) [The Queen Of The Jungle] 
3. L'Appel du Maître [The Call Of The Master] 

 

 

Publishing History

 
Durga Rani was originally serialized in the girls’ comic magazine "Fillette" in 1946.  Three graphic novels were later published by Societe Parisienne d’Edition in 1948 and 1949.  These three volumes were reprinted in a two-volume set by SERG in 1976, and again by Les Amis de Pellos [The Friends of Pellos]  in 1992-94. 
 

 The Authors
René Thévenin (?-1967), who also wrote Futuropolis for Pellos under the pseudonym of "Martial Cendres",  was a renowned science fiction author who began his writing career penning such pulpish yarns as La Cité des Tortures [The City Of Tortures] (1906), about an underground city where the Chinese secretly prepare to take over the world; Le Collier de l’Idole de Fer [The Necklace Of The Iron Idol] (1912), about an idol of living metal created by Lost Incas, Le Maître des Vampires [The Master Of Vampires] (1923), Sous les Griffes du Monstre [Under The Claws Of The Monster] (1926) and La Forêt Sanglante [The Bloody Forest] (1927).  In the 1930s, however, Thévenin's production became more ambitious in concepts and more literary in its execution.  His classics novels include Les Chasseurs d'Hommes [The Manhunters] (1930) told the story of two superpowered mutants who hunt men to feed on their lifeforce.  Thévenin is also credited by scholars with Sur l'Autre Face du Monde [On The Other Side Of The World] (1935), a novel written under the pseudonynm of “André Valérie”, that anticipates Arthur C. Clarke’s classic Against the Fall of Night. 
 
After a prolific career as a sport cartoonist in the 1930s, Pellos (the pseudonym of Rene Pellarin) (1900-1998) began drawing children's comics.  In 1937-38, with René Thévenin, he co-created Futuropolis in "Junior," one of the milestones of French science fiction comics.  He remained extremely prolific, during and after World War II, taking over Les Pieds Nickelés in 1948 (see Bibi Fricotin).  His other genre series include Atomas (1948), Electropolis and a remarkable adaptation of J. H. Rosny Aîné's prehistoric novel, La Guerre du Feu [Quest for Fire] (1951).