Black Fury (character)
Black Fury is the name of several fictional comic book characters.
Black Fury #1
The first Black Fury appeared in Super-Magic Comics #1 (May, 1941), published by Street & Smith Publications. There were no writing or artists credited. Black Fury was the secret identity of Rex King, a costumed adventurer who could glide through the air, using the wing-like underarm flaps of his costume. He defended the jungles of Africa with the help of his pet black panther, Kato.
Black Fury #2 (Miss Fury)
The second Black Fury debuted on April 6, 1941 as a Sunday comic strip distributed by the Bell Syndicate, and created by artist Tarpe Mills. Originally called the Black Fury, she eventually became known as Miss Fury; her alter ego was wealthy socialite Marla Drake. Miss Fury wore a skintight catsuit when fighting crime, and had no superpowers. The Miss Fury strip ran until 1952. Marvel Comics (then known as Timely Comics) reprinted her Sunday strips in comic book form from 1942 to 1946. In 1979 Archival Press reissued her early adventures in graphic novel format, with new covers by Mills.
Black Fury #3
The third Black Fury premiered in Fox Feature Syndicate's Fantastic Comics #17 (April 1941). This version was created by artists Dennis Menville and Mark Howell. Black Fury was the alter ego of John Perry, gossip columnist for the Daily Clarion. Perry used his newspaper connections to uncover information on crime and corruption, which he would then fight in his costumed form. He had no superpowers, and was assisted by Chuck Marley, the son of a slain policeman. The Fox Black Fury character appeared in eight issues of Fantastic Comics.
Black Fury #4
The fourth Black Fury was created by Matt Baker, and debuted in Fox Feature Syndicate's Zoot #9 (Oct. 1947). This was a female criminal who used trained black panthers to battle the jungle goddess Rulah. She appeared in a story entitled "Fangs of Black Fury".
Black Fury #5
The fifth Black Fury debuted in Charlton Comics' Black Fury #1 (May 1955). This character was a horse that roamed the West righting wrongs, bearing some resemblance to the 1955-1960 NBC Saturday-morning TV series Fury (for which Dell Publishing released a tie-in comic-book series). The Charlton comic featured artwork by Dick Giordano and Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio and lasted 58 issues.
Other appearances
Both Fox's original Black Fury and Tarpe Mills' Miss Fury were revived in Malibu Comics' Protectors #10-11 in 1993, in a two-part story ("Sound and Fury" & "The Rages of Sin") written by R.A. Jones with artwork by Thomas Derenick and Bobby Rae. This revival marked the appearance of a sixth Black Fury character, named Stephanie. Stephanie later changed her name to Ms. Fury.