Cody,
Here's a (edited) summary of the comic for you:
"Bowhunting with FRED BEAR in Africa"
This 8-page- glue-bound giveaway comic was published to promote products manufactured by the Bear Archery Company. Apparently, these were distributed free of charge through various sports equipment and hobby retailers. Although the comic bears no date, its interiors are drawn in an institutional art-style that looks typical for the mid-1950s.
This comic’s interior story opens in the Mozambique, a Portuguese colony in East Africa, which has become the most popular big game area in the so-called “Dark Continent”. Fred Bear arrives in Beira, where he’s met by his Portuguese white hunter. They head for their hunting camp in the country’s interior, where Fred is invited to attend a native dance ritual.
FRED BEAR (narrating):
They made me a member of the CHOPI tribe. WHY NOT? After all, CHOPI means ARCHER!
The following day, Fred is elated to learn that the natives have sighted elephants – “the greatest prize in Africa!” Before they begin their hunt, one of the local natives conducts a ritual with the hunting party’s weapons, asking the spirits of his ancestors to guide them successfully. Later, Fred and company encounter a stampeding herd of Cape buffalo -- one of the most dangerous animals on the planet – crashing through the brush. Twelve miles an three and one-half hours later, Fred’s hunting party finally catches up with the elephants, who are gathered in a herd of over two hundred pachyderms! After the elephants spot them, Fred and his party circle back through the forest, finally selecting a “big tusker”. Taking aim, Fred expertly sends an arrow flying straight into the bull elephant’s heart. Far from civilization and running out of water, Fred Bear decides against trying to follow the elephant’s blood trail, instead staying overnight in a native village. The next morning, after their two bicycle-riding natives have scoured the game trails, Fred and his hunting party are taken to find the corpse of his prey.
PORTUGUESE GUIDE:
The natives will come from all the villages! They are hungry for meat! The men will cut the meat, and the women will carry it of in their baskets!
Then, the elephant’s head is loaded into Fred Bear’s hunting car.
FRED BEAR (narrating):
It was a thrilling experience…and I proved a BEAR BOW and BEAR RAZORHEADS were a match for the biggest of the world’s big game! And remember – you don’t have to go to Africa to bow hunt. There are plenty of hunting thrills for BOW HUNTERS right in this great COUNTRY of OURS. This year, why don’t YOU get a BEAR BOW – and head for the woods! GOOD HUNTING!
Also included in this issue of BOWHUNTING WITH FRED BEAR IN AFRICA are the features:
* “Fred Bear’s Tips On Bowhunting”
* “Be A Two Season Hunter!”, a back-cover feature that urges hunters to use both a gun and a bow and arrow.
>>--Ron--<>