Rima the Jungle Girl #1 (April-May, 1974)
"Spirit of the Woods"
"Four Tombs"
Writers - Robert Kanigher (?) & Jack Oleck
Art - Nestor Redondo & Alex Nino
Letters - Esphidy Mahilum
Edits - Joe Kubert & Alan Asherman
Cover Price: $0.20
So... what's Rima the Jungle Girl? I'm not ashamed to say... I haven't the foggiest idea. I couldn't tell you if this was an old licensed character, or an actual citizen of the DC Universe. Well, I've done some (admittedly, shallow) research... and can happily report: yes... to both!
Rima would first appear in Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest (1904) by William Henry Hudson... which seems like a rather odd place to find an eventual comics property, dunnit? What's more, Green Mansions would eventually be adapted into a film (1959)... wherein, Audrey Hepburn would play Rima? Dang! Dude from Psycho plays the male lead... and, ho-lee smokes, does he ever not look like a complete creep?!
That's the smile of a man with a refrigerator full'a body parts. Anyhoo, with all that having been said... the story we're about to look at apparently takes place on Earth-1! What's more, Rima was even on the SuperFriends cartoon?! This probably isn't all that mind-blowing to many reading this, but SuperFriends is definitely one of my DC "blind spots". I never really watched it! I think it might've been just a hair before my time, and I never made it a priority to seek out.
There she is chatting up Batman in SuperFriends. Not to be confused nor conflated with Hanna Barbera's Jana of the Jungle...
So yeah... Rima, right? This Jungle Girl has herself a pretty crazy little backstory... let's take a look at her first (to my knowledge) four-color outing!
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We open on a man frantically wandering through a Venezuelan Jungle... poisoned from a snakebite. He thrashes about and calls for help from anyone that might hear him. Unfortunately, he's, ya know, way deep in the woods. Fortunately... that same blonde from the cover hangs out there. Next thing we know, our man wakes up... safe and sound... inside the hut of an old man named Nuflo. He wants to know what this strange white man is doing in this (literal) neck of the woods.
Our man figures, heck... the old man saved my life, the least I can do is tell him what brought me here... and so, we hop right into flashback land. This fella's name is Abel... and he was a rebel against Venezuela's military regime during the Venezuelan Revolution. He and his fellow rebels... well, didn't quite stack up to the military's firepower, and as such, went down like dominoes. Abel's friends were all put before a firing squad, with Abel only getting away by virtue of being severely wounded on the battle field. He'd flee into the jungles.
Abel would follow the shores of the Orinoco River, hoping to stumble across a mythical treasure which he felt might turn the tide in the revolution. The days passed on, and he'd finally find his way into a small village. Lucky for him, these were friendly folks. They'd even teach him some of their own ways. Their only warning to Abel was to stay out of Tabu... the Evil Place. Which is to say, the place is called "Tabu"... or, it's, ya know, "taboo" to go there? Whatever the case... Abel is told to stay out.
Naturally... he does not. That night, after the village has gone to bed, Abel sneaks over to the taboo Tabu... and is overcome by the sound of a bird's song. As he wanders deeper, he feels the presence of... someone... watching over him.
He heads back to the village, where the stink of the Evil Place is just allllll over him. Runi, the villager, and Abel's friend calls him a fool for letting his curiosity get the best of him... and warns of a "witch" who lives deep in them thar woods. One who can transform from human to beast, and back again. Those villagers who dared enter before... never returned!
The villagers decide to give Abel another chance... but, again... warn him that he's kinda playing with bad juju in Tabu. Naturally, Abel only stays put for another day. The following morning, he's back in the green... following the strange, exotic, bird song.
He finally finds himself stood before a snarled old tree... and can really feel the magic of the area. Then... Rima! Rima walks out toward him... and, well, doesn't say anything. She's almost playing "hard to get here". Every time Abel approaches, she playfully prances away. Our man takes this as a sign that she's "beckoning" him to follow... and so, he does.
They arrive at a thick brush, and Abel spies a poisonous snake coming dangerously close to Rima's bare leg. Our hero lunges in to push Rima away from the snake, which only causes the wriggler to latch onto his own leg! Ya see, the snake was protecting Rima... a fact that isn't lost on Abel.
This takes us back to the beginning... with poisoned Abel stumblin' all over the place. Back in the present, he thanks the old man for saving his life... only to be corrected. It wasn't Nuflo that drew the poison from Abel's wound... it was Nuflo's granddaughter: Rima!
Our back-up story features the creatively-named Space Voyagers! They are Armando, Bartt, Melong, and Nolan... and, well... as the name might imply, they're voyaging through space. They decide to stop on an uninhabited planet to see if they might procure some actual food (rather than their normal "food tablets"). Upon hitting the ground, they spy a set of footprints leading into a weird forest, and figure they might be worth a follow. Yeah, what's the worst that can happen?
What they find is... the owner of those prints, an old man... who is just about to be gobbled up by a giant green insect! The Space Voyagers attempt to blast at the thing, only to find that their weapons are powerless against it.
They decide to outsmart the thing, by making it give chase. When this happens, the poor bug winds up impaling itself on some of the spikier parts of the forest.
The old man pulls himself back up to his feet, and beckons the gang to follow him. Wow, two "beckonings" in one issue! You sure got your two-dimes worth back in '74! Anyhoo... he leads them into a weird Mausoleum... and inside, are our titular "Four Tombs"... which look to contain... them!
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Lemme tell ya... if not for this site, this is definitely not the sort of book I'd ever subject myself too... which, is another reason to be happy to have the site. I really, really enjoyed this!
I'm not going to pretend to be some sort of Rima expert or anything, or suggest that I've read more than like a paragraph and a half of the Wikipedia synopsis of Green Mansions... so, we're just going to look at this as a comic book. As a comic book, I found that this story had a wonderful "flow" to it. It really felt as though I was being kinda "swept" into it. So often, it feels like our creative teams attempt to show and tell... which makes the read feel a little bit overbearing at times. This, was relatively light, and almost played out like a movie. For all I know this was a direct retelling of the first bits of the 1959 film... but, for whatever it's worth, I really enjoyed the way this played out.
There were no credits in this issue... though, many of my research haunts attribute it to Robert Kanigher. Couldn't find any concrete confirmation, but the speculation appears to be in agreement... though, Nestor Redondo is given credit in "expanding" Rima's role. Considering this version of the Jungle Girl is only around for this seven-issue series, I'm not sure how much actual "credit" is involved.
Worth noting, that Rima was nyoinked outta the mothballs for the 2010 DC FirstWave stuff, which featured pulpy characters like Doc Savage and the like.
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| Art by Rags Morales |
This issue also came with a back-up feature I suppose we could spend a few lines talking about. It... was fine. Definitely my kind of back-up, in that it didn't attempt to overwhelm the lead story... and was rather breezy to get through. I didn't feel overwhelmed by a load of characters (I'll probably never see or think about again) dropped in my lap, and having to keep straight. This was a pretty boilerplate space adventure, with some action, and a pretty cool twist of a cliffhanger. Good stuff.
Overall, definitely enjoyed this more than I thought I would... and I'm really glad I finally got around to reading it.
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Action-Plus: Great Frog (June, 1974)
"Young Man With a Drum!"
Writer - Elliot S! Maggin
Pencils - Dick Dillin
Inks - Tex Blaisdell
Edits - Julius Schwartz
From: Action Comics #436
It's time for some Action-Plus starring Green Arrow Great Frog! Yeah, Ollie gets enough shine in the world of comics analysis, and so we're going to give this one to the hottest rock group of the Bronze Age... we got Roy Harper on drums... and a couple otha' guys doing other musical things... it's Great Friggin' Frog!
Great Frog is one of those weird Bronze Age deals that I have a very strange fascination with... can't explain what I dig so much about Roy Harper in a band... but I do!
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We open with Dinah giving Ollie a clue she found regarding a fencing ring. It's a "professional quality" guitar string, which was found in an expensive camera which was stolen from Milwaukee... but fenced in Star City. Ollie decides to look into some local rock bands...
... including, Great Frog! It looks like they're performing in front of a packed house... of gravel. We'll just assume those are heads and not rocks, right? Anyhoo, Ollie is surprised to see his old ward Speedy beatin' the tom tom on stage... which sounds much more disturbing than it actually is.
Ollie heads backstage to take a look at Great Frog's equipment... he finds a snare drum with a false bottom... which conceals, you guessed it... expensive cameras! Seems whoever's behind this ring, is using unwitting rock bands to transport stolen goods. It's actually not the worst idea... though, it is a pretty big conclusion to jump to, ain't it? I mean, it wasn't all that long ago that we learned Speedy was a junkie, right? Might stand to reason that he's a willing accomplice, right? Nahhh... Ollie's certain that Roy is well aware of the situation, and is conducting his own investigation at the same time.
After the show, Ollie goes to confront Roy about the shady dealings... almost giving him a pat on the back for his "undercover" work. Just then, Roy's "agent" Archie enters the backstage area and demands to know what a "costumed clown" is doing there. Roy responds by... socking Green Arrow in the face!
On the way out of the dressing room, Roy (very obviously) tosses some sort of device at the "kayoed" Green Arrow. When the rest of Archie's goons go to "dispose" of Ollie, they get their butts kicked.
We move ahead to the offices of the Mammoth Booking Agency where Roy is invited to join up full time in their operation... which includes both stolen goods... and drugs! Also counterfeiting, but I don't think Speedy was ever addicted to that. No sooner do the Mammoth folks spill the beans, than Green Arrow bursts through a window. Ohhh, so that's what the device was.
Ollie and Roy proceed to beat up the Mammoth guys... while Roy monologues about how they've been taking advantage of kids. Ollie's all "yeah, I figured that out four pages ago". Finally, the boss man agrees to talk.
After the Mammoth's are hauled off to jail, Ollie pulls Roy aside and lectures him on the dangers of being too headstrong. He tells Roy that if he ever feels like he's in over his head, to let him know. Yeah Ollie, just like when he was strung out, right? You were real helpful then. Roy calls him on his BS, and walks away.
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This back-up... you know, when covering an entire issue, I usually just "tolerate" the backups... however, with this one... the greatness of Great Frog notwithstanding, we actually get some followup on the "temperature" of the Roy/Ollie relationship. This feels like vital and necessary reading if you were a fan of those characters. Roy and Ollie's relationship has been shaky for a little while at this point... and it's neat to see them sorta-kinda confront that.
I did find it interesting that cynical old Ollie's initial assumption is that Roy must be conducting an investigation... rather than being a party to the crime-ring. I mean, he'd been burned by Speedy before... so, it wouldn't be outta the realm of possibility that he'd relapsed. I like that Ollie didn't even consider it. These days, it feels like Roy is pretty much defined by his heroin addiction... seems like everybody second-guesses his motivations, assuming he's doing whatever it is he's doing just to score his next "fix". It was refreshing to see that wasn't the case here.
I dig that Roy kinda tells Ollie off at the end. It makes complete sense. The guy who's offering him help, is the same guy that booted him from his house while he was addicted to drugs! Kinda speakin' outta both sides of yer mouth there, Ollie.
The art here was pretty great. Dick Dillin isn't one of those artists I can immediately identify from his work... but, any time I see it, I love it! There's a fella we lost way too soon.
Overall... a fun backup (a fun issue overall, actually), that might just be worth the hunt... don't let it break your bank though... unless you're a Great Frog completionist (and if you're not, you should be!). I suppose if you wanna be a trade-waiter, there's bound to be a Great Frog Omnibus in the works... right? Right?!
Black Magic #6 (October-November, 1974)
"The Thirteenth Floor!"
"Satan's Sister!"
"The Girl Who Walked on Water!"
"I Wouldn't Let Him Die"
Writer - Joe Simon
Pencils - John Prentice, Bill Draut, & Jack Kirby
Editors - Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
Cover Price: $0.20
Well, we're just about a week away from Halloween... so, we might as well have at least one installment of #boohauntedblog!
Let's kick it Bronze-Age and get down with some'a that Black Magic.
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Our first tale opens with man named Clement Dorn... and he's not in great place. He is contemplating suicide... even considering throwing himself out a window right then and there... unfortunately, or fortunately rather, there are too many people around, and he'd rather "go out" without a bunch of gawking witnesses. I dunno, I figure there'll be plenty of gawking when he goes splat, no? Anyways, he decides to hop into the elevator and go up a few floors for his jump. He winds up... on the Thirteenth Floor!
The thirteenth floor is darkened... and looks kind of like a bank line-up, folks are standing single-file before a desk. At the desk, a pair of nebbish fellows are "checking in" the patrons... of whatever this line might lead to. Turns out, it's not entirely unlike an airport... folks in line are waiting for their flight. Turns out... our friend Dorn ain't on anybody's manifest.
Then after the sound of a plane landing, a pilot all clad in golden gear emerges. He's informed by the desk that not all of his passengers have checked in yet... and also, they've actually got one extra (Dorn, of course).
Then... another pilot, this one dressed in all black with a red cape, enters the scene. He's told that his passenger has arrived... and Dorn fears that it might be him. It's not.
Realizing the destinations of the "flights" offered on the thirteenth floor, Dorn starts to panic... he asks if he can leave, and they're all "Yeah, of course..." after all, he's not on the manifest. On his way out, he overhears that the passenger they're waiting for is a woman. Next thing we know, Dorn is waking up in the elevator.
With a new lease on life, our man heads outside the building... and witnesses a woman being hit by a car... right on schedule for her "flight".
Our next story opens with a woman named Lisa. She is attempting to visit with her abusive twin sister, Peg. After being told by some dude that "she ain't here" she runs into a fella by the name of Mark Kenyon. He becomes rather enchanted by her, and takes her to a gross little diner to get to know her better.
He learns that Peg, her twin, is a "bad girl"... always getting into trouble... like, serious trouble. Anyhoo, this chance encounter blossoms into a serious relationship, and three months later, Mark pops the question. She, unfortunately, cannot say yes... she's still dealing with her twin-sister-flavored trauma.
Mark decides it's time for him to become a bit more proactive... and maybe try and track down Peggy himself. He visits some of the seedier areas of town... and while everyone he speaks to knows of Peg, none of them know where she is. He does finally happen across her though... and wouldn'tcha know it, she's the spitting image of Lisa. Starting to see where this is headed?
Mark tries to reason with her... telling her that she's sick, and needs help. Which... I mean, that's probably the worst thing he could've said. She refuses to come with him... and later on, Lisa tells Mark to just leave things alone. Curious...
He doesn't, though! Mark visits Peggy yet again... and almost winds up getting shanked!
Mark returns to Lisa's apartment... but, she's not home. Her landlord approaches to see if she can help him... and here's where the other shoe drops... as far as the landlady knows, Lisa doesn't have a twin sister! Mark heads inside and, when he finally puts two and two together... someone enters behind him!!!
Our final story (not counting the text piece) opens with a couple of businessy fellas watching a young girl walking on water! Apparently, she can walk up walls too!
We jump back to earlier that day where the nerdier businessman, Ernie is trying to convince his partner Walt that he'd seen young Anna Marie Kunowski performing the amazing feat. He takes Walt to Anna's house where she demonstrates her ability to walk up walls. Seems weird to have a pair of middle-aged dudes visit a 14 year old girl... but, whattaya gonna do?
Next, she demonstrates her ability to walk on water. Walt and Ernie posit that it's a simple case of mind over matter for the girl. She's so out to lunch that she doesn't realize that gravity is a thing... and as such, isn't governed by its laws... or something.
The next day, our heroes are already putting the wheels in motion to exploit this girl and her amazing "powers". They've already arranged with a lawyer for contracts to be written up... they're going to take this show on the road!
After work, they pop in for another visit with Anna Marie. Her mother answers and tells the awful men to stay away. Bout time, right? Anna bursts in the room and proceeds to share her tale of woe. Ya see, she walked down a wall in front of a kid named Tommy Nagle. Young Tommy thought it was a heckuva gag, and so... he opened a third story window, and attempted to walk down the wall himself. This didn't end well.
Our heroes still manage to convince Anna Marie to perform her feat for "the press". They want her to show the world that, get this, gravity... is strictly for squares! Ay yai yai. Later on we rejoin our trio at the lake... and "the press" shows up. "The Press" is... just one dude with a pencil.
Anna Marie takes her first step onto the lake... and plummets underwater! Ya see, after seeing what happened to Tommy, she has a fear of falling... game over, man. Ernie and Walt are outta luck... unless they find another kid so out to lunch that they don't know they can't fly.
We wrap up with a text-piece... but, nobody reads those anyway. It's right here if ya want it!
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The thing about these old horror titles... I enjoy 'em, but I can't really point to "why". They're not exceptionally good (or bad)... they usually end in the most anticlimactic ways... and it's really hard (at least for me) to get truly engaged when they only get six-pages to tell the stories.
Not to say I'd want to see any of these tales bloated out to "novel-sized epics" or anything... I just have difficulty really forming any attachment to characters and concepts with so few pages.
Like I said with yesterday's Hex #1 review... these stories all feel like episodes of Twilight Zone... unexceptional, at points completely predictable... but with the ability to stick with ya.
I think the "meatiest" story we get here is probably the Lisa/Peggy twin deal. I mean, it was predictable from the word "go", but I had a pretty good time with it. Sometimes knowing exactly how a story is going to turn out is a turn off... other times, you just enjoy the ride.
The "cover story" about the Thirteenth Floor... another predictable one, to be sure. The symbolism was so blatant, I'm not even sure we could even call it that. Enjoyable enough... and, I'll admit, the twist ending kinda surprised me. Wasn't expecting to see that poor woman getting hit by the car!
The "water walking" story was more of a comedy than anything. Outside of that one Tommy kid falling down, the stakes were incredibly low. Just a couple of shysters trying to exploit a girl so out to lunch that she doesn't realize she can't walk on walls and the like. It was silly... and ended the best way possible. Ernie and Walt, dejected and back to their mundane jobs... however, now with a taste of "hope"... they're not going to give up on finding another dopey kid whose "abilities" they can take advantage of.
Overall, you get a pretty good package here. Three short subjects that don't overstay their welcome. If you don't have any hangups about "getting comfortable" with short stories (like I do), I bet you'll dig this lots. Naturally, this issue isn't available digitally. If only Batman were in it! If you're gonna dig for the single issue, it shouldn't break the bank!
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