Rima

For the Icelandic ríma poetry see rímur. For the extraterrestrial geological feature see rille.

Rima leaps into action in this panel from RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #6 by artist Nestor Redondo, published by DC Comics, 1975 Editor/Cover Art: Joe Kubert Assistant Editor: Alan Asherman

Rima, AKA Rima the Jungle Girl, is a fictional character, a heroine of Victorian literature who was adapted as a superhero in the short-lived comic book series Rima the Jungle Girl published by DC Comics in 1974-75.

File:Rima 1 cover.jpg

The cover of RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #1 by artist Joe Kubert, published by DC Comics, 1974

Though Rima herself is an all-but-forgotten superhero character, the 7-issue run of her monthly series is of historical significance, at least within the world of comics fandom, in part because it features truly exquisite (and rarely-glimpsed) interior artwork by the great Filipino illustrator Nestor Redondo and stunning covers by comics legend Joe Kubert. Rima the Jungle Girl is also noteworthy as one of DC's first major publishing efforts to feature a woman hero (other than Wonder Woman) as the titular star of her own book. The popular Ecology movement of the early 1970s also made her timely. Stories were written by Robert Kanigher, who used many themes common to his Wonder Woman run, in that Rima passively interfered with predatory hunters and natives rather than engaged in outright battles.

Like her cousins Tarzan and Mowgli, Rima sprang from a Victorian adventure novel. Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest was published in 1904. The Argentine-British writer W.H. Hudson was a naturalist who wrote many classic books about the ecology of South America. Hudson based Rima on a persistent South American legend about a lost tribe of white people who lived in the mountains. Although the DC character was a fully-grown and powerful woman, in the novel Rima the Bird Girl was 17, small (4' 6"), and dark-haired. Natives avoided her forest, calling her "the Daughter of the Didi" (an evil spirit), but Rima's only defense was a reputation for magic, earned through the display of strange talents such as talking to birds, befriending animals, and plucking poison darts from the air.

Rima the DC heroine also made several appearances on the popular Saturday morning cartoon The All-New Super Friends Hour in 1977-78.

Actor and director Mel Ferrer adapted Green Mansions into a 1959 film for MGM Studios starring Audrey Hepburn as Rima. The adaptation deviated far from the novel: Rima was a mysterious girl who lived on her parents' plantation!

London's Kensington Garden has a statue[1] of Rima the Bird Girl sculpted by Jacob Epstein.× Rima is also featured in the Veldt written by ray bradbury

Media

Literature:

Green Mansions (1904)

Rima originated in a novel by W.H. Hudson .

Movies:

Green Mansions (1959)

File:Hepburn as rima.jpg

Audrey Hepburn as Rima (along with Anthony Perkins) in a shot from MGM's film adaptation of Green Mansions, 1959

A version of this character appeared in the 1959 film version of the novel Green Mansions, where Rima is played by Audrey Hepburn.

Comic Books:

Classics Illustrated #90: GREEN MANSIONS

Rima as first glimpsed by Abel (and comic book readers) in the 1951 Classics Illustrated adaptation published in 1952

Short adaptation from the novel with direct quotes. Rima is blonde.

Rima The Jungle Girl (1974-1975)

• Issue
  1. (Apr-May 1974) Rima in "Spirit of the Woods", Nestor Redondo and Alex Nino art
  2. (May-Jun 1974) Rima in "Flight from Eden"
  3. (Aug-Sep 1974) Rima in "Riolama"
  4. (Oct-Nov 1974) Rima in "The Flaming Forest"
  5. (Dec 1974-Jan 1975) Rima in "Jungle Vengeance"
  6. (Feb-Mar 1975) Rima in "Safari of Death"
  7. (Apr-May 1975) Rima in "The Imp!"

TV:

Super Friends (1977-1980)

File:Rima superfriends 2.jpg

Rima the Jungle Girl in a shot from Hanna-Barbera's The All-New Superfriends Hour, 1977

Rima appeared in three episodes of Super Friends.

Fire

First aired: Saturday October 1, 1977; ABC (8 minutes) Batman, Robin, and Rima the Jungle Girl contend with a spreading forest fire, and have to search for a pair of escaped prisoners who have stolen a forestry truck filled with dynamite. Rima's main contribution is to call upon a nearby bear to push down some trees for an emergency bridge across a wide gap.

River Of Doom

First aired: Friday November 4, 1977; ABC (8 minutes) Wonder Woman and Rima the Jungle Girl search for archaeologists who have accidentally stumbled onto a burial ground of angry natives. The archaeologists are captured and sentenced to death on the River of Doom. The superheroines rescue the scientists while Rima summons alligators to attack their pursuers' canoes.

Return Of Atlantis

First aired: Saturday October 25, 1980; ABC (7 Minutes) Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Rima. Aquaman is captured by Ocina when the lost city of Atlantis rises from the sea. Ocina plans to conquer the world with her female warriors. Wonder Woman and Rima the Jungle Girl gather the Amazons of Paradise Island to stop her. Note: This "Atlantis" is not the one Aquaman is king of. And, Ocina seems to have been modeled after Queen Clea, a Golden Age super-villainous who first appeared in WONDER WOMAN # 8 (v. 1), Spring 1944.

External links

• 30th Century Comics article, by Ramon Schenk
• Comics.org - Details on the Comic Book Series
• Comics.org - Rima Cover Gallery
• Full Text of the Novel: Green Mansions
• IMDB - Film: Green Mansions