Jump to content

Rima

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeRima (disambiguation).
Rima as first glimpsed by Abel (and comic book readers) in the 1951Classics Illustratedadaptation, published in 1952.

Rima,also known asRima the Jungle Girl,is the fictional heroine ofW. H. Hudson's1904 novelGreen Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest.In it, Rima, aprimitive girlof the shrinking rain forest of South America, meets Abel, a political fugitive. A film adaptation ofGreen Mansionswas made in 1959 starringAudrey Hepburn.[1]

In 1974, the character was adapted into thecomic bookRima the Jungle Girl,published byDC Comics.ThoughRima the Jungle Girlceased publication in 1975, the comic book version of Rima appeared in several episodes ofHanna-Barbera'spopularSaturday morning cartoonseries,The All-New Super Friends Hour,between 1977 and 1980.

Rima the Jungle Girl was played byAudrey Hepburnin the 1959 filmGreen Mansions.

Novel

[edit]

Like her literary cousinsTarzanandMowgli,Rima sprang from an Edwardian adventure novel; in her case,Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest,byW. H. Hudson,published in 1904. Hudson was an Argentine-British naturalist who wrote many classic books about the ecology of South America. Hudson based Rima on a South American legend about a lost tribe of white people who lived in the mountains.[2]The book has a religious tone and Rima's speech is poetic.[3]

It is a romantic adventure set in the South American jungle in which a political fugitive named Abel meets Rima, a girl living in the forest.[4]The girl speaks in a bird-like language.[5]Its theme is the loss of wilderness and the return-to-nature dream, and how unpleasant it would be for a savage to meet modern man (the reverse case is not considered).[6]

Movie

[edit]

Actor and directorMel FerreradaptedGreen Mansionsinto a 1959 film forMGM Studios,with Audrey Hepburn as Rima.[7]The adaptation deviated far from the novel.

Comic books

[edit]
Rima
Rima the Jungle Girl#6 (March 1975), art byNestor Redondo.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceHistorical:1904
Modern:1974
Created byW. H. Hudson

Rima starred in a seven-issuecomic bookseries,DC Comics'Rima the Jungle Girl(May 1974 – May 1975), adapted by DC writer-editorRobert Kanigherwith artwork bypenciler-inkerNestor Redondoand covers byJoe Kubert.A variation of the character debuted in a six-issue DC Comics limited seriesFirst Wave(May 2010-March 2011), written by Eisner Award–winning writer Brian Azzarello. Rima is here portrayed as a South American native with piercings and tattoos; she does not speak, but instead communicates in bird-like whistles.[8]Although the DC character is a fully grown and powerful woman withash-blondehair, the novel's Rima was 17, small (4′ 6″), demure, and dark-haired. Natives avoided her forest, calling her "the Daughter of the Didi" (an evil spirit). 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. Although in the original book Rima was burned alive by Indian savages, in the comics she escaped the fire to have further adventures.

Comic book titles

[edit]

Thesecomic booktitles feature the Rima character:

Classics Illustrated#90:Green Mansions

[edit]

Classics Illustratedpublished a short adaptation from the novel, with direct quotes. In this adaptation Rima is blond. It was published by Gilberton Company in December 1951, adapted by George Lipscomb, with cover and interior art byAlex Blum.

Rima the Jungle Girl

[edit]

From 1974-1975, Rima starred in a self-titled series which ran for seven issues.[9]This version of the character guest-starred in the DC Comics Saturday morning cartoonThe All-New Super Friends Hour.[10]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

[edit]

Rima is mentioned, but not seen, inAmerica's Best Comics'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemenvol. 2, #3 (2003), by writerAlan Mooreand artistsKevin O'Neilland Ben Dimagmaliw: "...it is near here that the world-famous 'bird girl' Riolama or Rima was discovered..."

Cartoons

[edit]

Rima the Jungle Girl appeared in three episodes ofHanna-Barbera'sThe All-New Super Friends Hourduring the 1977–78 season, alongside such mainstays asAquaman,Batman,andWonder Woman.She first appears in "Fire" (October 1, 1977).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. Her next appearance is in "River of Doom" (November 4, 1977):Wonder Womanand 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 superheroes find the would-be victims by using indigenous animals to scout them out at Rima's command. They later rescue the scientists. Rima's main contribution is summoningcrocodilesto attack their pursuers' canoes. Finally, she is featured in "Return of Atlantis", from October 25, 1980. Aquaman is captured by Queen Ocina when the lost city ofAtlantisrises from the sea. Ocina plans to conquer the world with her female warriors, but Wonder Woman and Rima gather the Amazons ofParadise Islandto stop her. Note: In breach of both DC Comics' and theSuper FriendsTV show's continuities, this "Atlantis" is not the kingdom over whichAquamanreigns.

Other appearances

[edit]
The Hudson Memorial Bird Sanctuary

Rima was mentioned inRay Bradbury's 1950 short story, "The Veldt".Rima was also mentioned in" Watcher in the Shadows "by Geoffrey Household (1960; reissued 2010) and also in" Vane Pursuit "by Charlotte MacLeod (1989).

Dornford Yatesmentioned her in Chapter I of his 1931 comic-detective novelAdele and Co.,in connection with the Hudson Memorial.

Statue

[edit]

The Hudson Memorial in London'sHyde Park,created in 1925, has abas-reliefof Rima the Bird Girl as part of The Hudson Memorial Bird Sanctuary, sculpted byJacob Epstein.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Wilson, Jason (2015).Living in the Sound of the Wind: A Personal Quest for W.H. Hudson, Naturalist and Writer from the River Plate.Little, Brown.ISBN9781472106346.Retrieved9 May2020.
  2. ^Schmidt, Rob (November 11, 2009)."Rima the" Native "white girl".Newspaper Rock.BlueCornComics.RetrievedMay 28,2014.
  3. ^Google Books About page for the 1989 edition.
  4. ^Google Books About Page of the 1943 edition.
  5. ^Kestner, Joseph A. (2013).Masculinities in British Adventure Fiction, 1880–1915.Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 119.ISBN9781409475729.Retrieved9 May2020.
  6. ^Internet Archive About page of 1916 edition.
  7. ^IMDB, Green Mansions (1959), Full Cast & Crew
  8. ^Segura, Alex (November 9, 2009)."How About Some More Rags Morales' Sketches From First Wave?".The Source.DC Comics.Archived fromthe originalon July 21, 2011.RetrievedNovember 10,2009.
  9. ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019).DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle.DK Publishing. p. 154.ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
  10. ^Booker, M. Keith (2014).Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas.Greenwood. p. 657.ISBN978-0313397509.Retrieved12 February2020.
  11. ^http://londonist /2013/09/the-day-peter-pan-was-tarred-and-feathered.phpImage of statue with history of praise and criticism
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rima&oldid=1208033684"