RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #7

“The Imp!”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Redondo

Rima and Abel are swimming in a lagoon when they hear the cries of help. They come on a bear attacking a young boy. Abel shoots it which upsets Rima. Rima knows the bear and it wouldn’t attack anything unless provoked. She doesn’t like this safari and leaves. The safari is for Ida Van Cleve and her son Cecil. Ida invites Abel to join them and he agrees. We find out after that Cecil killed the bear’s cub which is why it attacked. Anyway Ida flirts with Abel and Cecil feels ignored. So he finds some jaguar cubs and tosses them in the river. Naturally this upsets the mother but Rima arrives in time to save the brat. Cecil still in a mood then pours gas into a lake and sets it on fire. The fire spreads and forces the brat into the water where he is eaten by crocodiles. The mother seems mildly upset her son is dead and leaves for home. Rima and Abel get back together.

“Space Marshal”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Noly Zamora

Lic Wade is prospecting on an asteroid when someone comes up behind him. He thinks the intruder is there to steal his claim and shoots him. Only the guy was unarmed and lost. He just wanted some water. Linc calls the marshals and is put on trial for the murder. Because he admits his guilt he is sentenced to be a space marshal. He goes through the training and for his last test he is given a pistol. Then the guy who gives it to him starts to beat him up. Because he didn’t shoot the guy he passed the final test. He gets a deputy and they go off to preserve peace in the galaxy.

“Jungle White Men: Fact or Fiction?”

By Allan Asherman

Tells about an article sent in by a reader of a white tribe with blonde hair and blue eyes discovered in the Amazon.

The final Rima story gives us this downbeat story. This kid was definitely a grade-A brat. It was a good thing he got it because you just know he would grow into a grade A-Asshole. The mother was also incredibly unlikeable. She didn’t ever really seem to care if her bratty son bought the farm. Sadly this was a very believable story because their are people like this in the world. Also the main character didn’t do much in this issue just like the last one. Maybe that had something to do with it being cancelled.

The backup was also a strange story. So in the future you murder someone you get sentenced to be a marshal and enforce the law. Once again that is nut but this looked like it was being set up to be the new backup. The idea had some promise. Ends out with an interesting article on a white tribe in the Amazon.

So the series was an interesting attempt to introduce a female character. Rima proved to be more then just a female Tarzan. She had a mysterious background and a more spiritual bond with nature. The art of Redondo was beautiful and made her and the jungle a joy to look at. Rima did appear later of all places Saturday mornings. She was part of the affirmative action characters on the Superfriends. She made some guest appearances. They browned her up and made her talk like Charro.

There was also a movie in the fifties with Audrey Hepburn as Rima. Someday I will have to check that out.

RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #6

Safari of Death”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Redondo

Abel has hired out to a group as a guide. They see Rima with a rare white jaguar and want both of them. They figure Abel knows where they are and decide to stake him out as bait. Rima comes to free him and gets shot in the shoulder. Now both are prisoners and the evil guys of the safari threaten to burn down the jungle if Rima doesn’t lead them to the white jaguar. The white jaguar comes to their rescue and kills the evil men but not before getting shot itself. Rima takes Abel to the jaguar’s hiding place and shows him his young cub which is also a white jaguar.

“Jungle Justice Devil’s Doctor”

Writer: Bob Kanigher

Artist: Ric Estrada

Dr. Adolph Kessel is a Nazi doctor working in a concentration camp. Every day he chooses from the prisoners subjects for his experiments in Block 9. Nobody ever comes back from Block 9. The doctor is obsessed with shrinking people so they won’t have to eat so much food. Talk about a real nutjob. One day he is assigned to the African Front and his plane gets shot down. In the jungle he is found by a tribe of pygmies. He is overjoyed since they may hold the secret to shrinking people. Later a German search patrol comes to the village and finds Kessel shrunk and hanging from his pocket watch.

This was a fairly typical story that you would expect in a jungle tale. Evil safari comes to kill rare exotic animals and end up getting killed by the exotic animal. Abel sure doesn’t have much sense to hire out to this disreputable group. Still a fun story with some beautiful artwork. You just can’t help falling in love with Rima.

We also get a new backup story for a change. This one an old Weird War story. I love Weird War and this was the golden age for those stories by Kanigher. A loathsome Nazi doctor gets his just deserts. What is not to love about that.

RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #5

“Jungle Vengeance”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Redondo

Rima is enjoying a swim in the river when she discovers a man frozen in a block of ice. She gets her crocodile friends to push it to shore. There Rima and Abel manage to chip the guy out. He is dead and so they bury him. Yet what could have caused some native getting frozen in a block of ice in the jungle. So they decide to seek out the source. They come on another native who is hanging dead. This one was steamed alive. After Abel buries him he discovers Rima has taken off by herself. So he continues on and steps into a noose.

Rima decided to go on alone because she didn’t want to put Abel in danger. She comes on a village with some nut and his rebel army. The guy is a scientist who is conducting experiments on the locals to augment his soldiers. They bring in Abel and Rima is forces to give herself up to prevent his execution. Only the kook scientist has both of them dig their graves. Rima calls her jungle friends and jaguars, boas and bears come to the rescue. They kill the mad scientist and his men surrender.

“Peter Puptent Explorer”

Writer & Artist: Unknown

Peter Puptent is regretting bringing his wife along on his exploration. They run out of food and decide to eat the nuts and berries. The wife loves it since they don’t have to do dishes. Another one page filler because they couldn’t sell more ad space or give us another quality page of Rima.

“The Queen Ant!”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Alex Nino

The Space Explorers are exploring another planet. They are attacked by giant ants and fall into a trap. The queen plans to feed them to her hatching brood. Luckily the explorers have freeze rays to kill the brood. This enrages the queen and she with her soldier ants pursue the explorers. The explorers manage to set off the oil in the ant hill and hold the ants off long enough to get back to their orbiting ship.

This is the first issue going forward from the book that was adapted. It was a strange but fun story. A nutjob of a scientist conducting experiments of questionable value. Rima shows that she has control of all the animals which helps in defeating kooky mad scientists and their minions. Some real beautiful artwork.

The backup Space Explorers continues to go to some psychedelic seventies weird places. Now they fight off a giant ant queen and her ants. Thankfully they are well armed and have this pithy observation that next time when you crush an ant, it could be you at the other end. I do love this series though. Nino gives it such a surreal feel and it is interesting. A very seventies sci-fi take.

RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #4

“Part 4: Conclusion The Flaming Forest”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Redondo

Abel is wandering around the jungle after Rima left him for Rio Lama. He stumbles on the Malagar a hostile headhunter tribe. They take him prisoner and tie him up to a cross. The next day they take him to see if his story of Rima being gone are true. Along the way they are attacked by crocodiles and Abel uses the distraction to escape. He goes back to Nuflo’s hut and finds him and his dogs dead. The giant tree that Rima loved is burned. Abel has a vision that the Malagar caught Rima and chased her to the tree then set it on fire which burns her alive. Abel goes nuts and gets his friendly tribe to go with him to destroy the Malagar. After a battle the Malagar are wiped out but Abel is too depressed over the loss of Rima. After burying Nuflo he finds Rima. She survived the fire and together to two enter the jungle.

“Shorty”

Writer & Artist: Unknown

A one page comic of two explorers. The short one tries to reassure the tall explorer that he knows the native. The natives do recognize the short one for they attack.

“The Four Faces of Death!”

Writer: Bob Kanigher

Artist: Alex Nino

The Space Explorers land on a planet and find four statues in their likeness. They are attacked by people that look just like them. Unable to fire on their own likenesses the explorers are soon caught in a steel net. Their captors explain that centuries ago the explorers visited them and were honored with the giant statues. Only a sneak attack on their planet by nuclear weapons from outer space destroyed their planet. The explorers were safe underground and promised to find a safe planet to transport them to.

So after all these centuries the survivors adapted the explorer’s likeness to never forget them. Seeing that they mean to kill them the explorers use their guns to shoot out of the net. Only they also hit the aliens and they turn to skeletons. Seems the radiation made them living skeletons and they shaped their likeness in the explorer’s images. The explorers leave and speculate that some alternate versions of themselves visited the planet.

The conclusion of the origin. Unfortunately this story didn’t really give any answers about Rima’s origin. In fact the main character was hardly in this story. It was the story of Abel and his battle with a local headhunter tribe. A bit disappointing to not get any further answers about Rima and her mother. Still this was a fun and interesting story. Some beautiful artwork and Abel and Rima reunite with the promise of further adventures.

There was a corny one page throwaway filler then the continuation of the Space Explorers. This series just gets weirder and weirder. A planet filled with skeletons that were destroyed in a nuclear war and blame the explorers. Only they must have been some alternate versions that we learn at the end. OK that explains everything. Strange but I have to say it was interesting.

RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #3

“Part 3 Riolama”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Rodondo

Rima has decided to visit the home of her late mother. So she sets out with Nuflo and Abel following along. Nuflo tells the story of how he came to be Rima’s grandfather. Seventeen years ago he was a revolutionary. The rebels had degenerated to looting and pillaging the local villages. One day in the Riolama mountains they came on a beautiful woman. The others chased after her with Nuflo staying in the cave. He later went out and found his compatriots all dead. He also found the woman with her foot caught between some rocks. He rescued her and cared for her. Later she gave birth to a daughter. When the daughter was four her mother passed away. Nuflo took young Rima and eventually found a place in the jungle to settle down. Rima showed an ability to communicate with the animals as her mother did. She also scarred away the natives by being able to pluck their poisoned darts from the air and throw them back. They make it to the Riolama mountains and Rima tells them to stay for she must go to her mother’s village alone.

“The Hot Spot”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Alex Nino

On an asteroid some young explorers are taken before the elders for trespassing where their spaceship is located. We find out that the community are refugees from a polluted Earth. When they find out the young are not happy on the asteroid but want to explore they allow this. For each generation has to choose it’s own path. So the Space Explorers get a distress call from a planet. Some green cloud is causing a rise in temperature on the planet’s polar cap and they destroy it. The Arctusians are grateful but the space explorers must leave quickly as the Arctusians cold temperature is deadly to humans.

This issue we get some more reveal of Rima’s origin. How Nuflo found her mother who also happened to have these strange powers over animals. Like the other issues this story answers some questions but raises others. We are promised to meet Rima’s people so this should give us more answers to the mystery of Rima and her powers.

The backup is also an origin of the Space Explorers. We find out they are descended from Earth humans. A very seventies theme of Earth being destroyed by pollution. An uplifting story of them saving some aliens from being destroyed by a green cap. A good backup for this issue.

RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #2

“Part 2 Flight from Eden”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Redondo

Abel has sufficiently recovered from the snakebite and heads out into the jungle to find Rima. He is confronted by a jaguar but Rima comes along. She can communicate with the jaguar. Abel finds out the story of Rima. That her grandfather Nuflo brought her to the jungle as a little girl after her mother died. She was able to make friends with all the animals and birds and insects. In fact her garment is made of spiderwebs. She takes Abel back and later he sees Nuflo with his two dogs go out into the jungle. He follows and finds him eating some animal he just hunted. Nuflo tells him that Rima does not allow eating meat and he has to sneak off to hunt. Abel joins him and they return to his hut to find Rima. She knows he ate meat and goes away angry.

So Abel returns to the Indian village and they welcome him with a feast. He tells of his adventures but they still think Rima is an evil witch. So later at night he has to go back to find Rima. He does find her and she also missed him and they kiss. They both go back to Nuflo’s hut and have some yummy grass soup. Rima has decided she wants to see the outside world.

“Li’l Brontosaurus”

Writer & Artist: Unknown

A little brontosaurus sees his reflection in the river and goes to a little mammoth with a story of seeing a horrible monster. The mammoth goes and sees his reflection and runs away in terror.

“The Delta Brain”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Alex Nino

The tombs that the Space Voyagers have found are an illusion by the Delta Brain. This giant brain in a glass container needs humans to service it’s machines. Long ago it controlled humans on it’s planet but a plague wiped them out. When the voyagers arrive it telegrafts the brains of them onto it’s machines. Only the rebellious spirit of humans makes the machines revolt and everything is destroyed. The Space Voyagers continue on their exploration of the galaxy.

“The Riddle of the Didi”

Writer: Allen Asherman

An article on the Daughter of the Didi which was a story of a white woman who inhabited a region of Guyana on the Venezuela border. A failed revolutionary named Abel was the first outsider to venture into this region. He tells of a woman that controlled the animals. Basically what this comic is based on.

Well there is a lot to unpack with this issue. First is we get an origin for Rima. A very vague one where she just seems to bond with all the animals as a girl. She is a militant vegetarian and poor Abel and her grandfather get ignored for eating meat. Yet she of course falls in love with the first man who ever visited her. Ends with her wanting to see the place where her mother came from. So the next issue should be interesting to see how Rima reacts to the outside world.

We get a short hokey little one page story from the fifties. Plus an article on what sounds like a real life Rima existing and where the story idea came from.

Finally is another Space Voyagers installment. So basically the planet they landed on with the tombs with their images was an illusion. Generated by a huge brain that wanted to enslave the crew so they could service it’s machines. Naturally introducing human rebellious spirit to the machines causes them to all go kablooie and free the human crew. OK some of this stuff is a bit hokey for a modern audience but I found it enjoyable.

RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL #1

“Part 1 Spirit of the Woods”

Writer: Robert Kanigher

Artist: Nestor Rodondo

A man is wandering through the Venezuelan jungle after being bitten by a bushmaster. He collapses and finds himself in the hut of an old man. The snakebite victim tells his story. He is Abel and was part of a failed revolution against the military regime. After the defeat and his friends were executed, Abel made his way into the Amazon. He heard of tribes that had gold which he could use to help the revolution. Instead he is taken in by a peaceful tribe. While staying with them he is drawn to a forbidden part of the jungle. There he meets a beautiful blonde woman. He sees a bushmaster snake at her feet and tries to push her out of the way. Only the snake was guarding her and bites the man for attacking the girl. At the end Abel finds out that it wasn’t the old man who saved him but his granddaughter Rima.

“Four Tombs!”

Writer: Jack Oleck

Artist: Alex Nino

The Space Voyagers an explorer vessel with four crew come on a new planet. They go down to explore and find footprints leading into the jungle. Following they come on an old man being attacked by a giant insect. Their laser guns have no effect on the insect so they lure it into some sharp giant thorns. This impales it and they save the old man. The old man leads them to a mausoleum with four tombs. On each of the tombs is an image of each of the crew.

This jungle girl series came out back in the early seventies with beautiful Joe Kubert covers. It was based on a book written back in 1904 called Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest by W.H. Hudson. It actually predates Tarzan by a few years. I believe that the first four issues adapt the book. Interesting that the writer and artist are uncredited but my research shows Kanigher and Redondo are responsible. Why they weren’t credited is a mystery. Anyway another cool sexy jungle chick adventure and I love sexy jungle chicks. So far this series has plenty of potential.

The backup was a sci fi called the Space Voyagers. Like most of the backups of this time it was a completely different genre from the main series title. This was also a fun and enjoyable series that ends with an intriguing mystery for the reader.