Rima, the Jungle Girl #1
Published and © by DC, April-May 1974
Title: “Spirit of the Woods”
Synopsis: A revolutionary bitten by a snake in a Venezuelan jungle is saved by a woman who may not be human.
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Uncredited (probably Nestor Redondo)
Review: The story, based on the 1904 novel “Green Mansions,” is pretty typical jungle fare, all dangerous critters, primitive natives and such. But the art – uncredited here but widely attributed online to Filipino artist Nestor Redondo – is unbelievably lush. Think Bernie Wrightson meets Alex Niño. It’s really pretty.
•••
Title: “Four Tombs!”
Synopsis: The Space Voyagers land on what they think is an uninhabited planet and … well, you know how that goes.
Writer: Jack Oleck
Artist: Alex Niño
Review: This five-page story is slight but interesting enough to warrant more – especially given the lovely, stylized art by Alex Niño.
Grade (for the entire issue): B+
Second opinion: “Recommended reading.” – Steve Whitaker, FantaCo’s Chronicle’s Series Annual #1, 1983 …“… one of DC’s great, overlooked masterpieces … Recommended.” –The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003
Cool factor: The influx of Filipino artists in the early ’70s gave DC some unique and beautiful books.
Notable: Based on the 1904 novel “Green Mansions” by William Henry Hudson.
Character quotable: “I – I must get out … of this green hell! Or … I am a dead man!” – Abel, a white revolutionary in a Venezuelan jungle, thinking surprisingly wise thoughts
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Feb. 2, 2010.
