[The following is an excerpt of a feature I authored for MTV's Splash Page. Here is the full version of the feature. -RM]

With a new print series on the way from Devil’s Due Publishing and plans in the works to bring her back to movie screens, Golden Age heroine “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle,” has been pretty active lately thanks to “Die Hard” screenwriter Steven de Souza. In fact, the award-winning writer has made it his mission to bring the Will Eisner character back to the big screen like so many of her peers.

De Souza told MTV News that a movie based on the “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle” character is “absolutely our intention” now that he’s co-writing her adventures for Devil’s Due. Although he sees the “Sheena” comics he’s writing as a necessary foundation for the property (come back tomorrow for more on the print series and an exclusive preview of the upcoming “Sheena” miniseries), he didn’t hesitate to throw out a name when asked who he believes should don the ol’ leopard-skin bikini in a live-action “Sheena” feature film.

“In my mind, the character as reconceived is a multi-ethnic Latina,” said de Souza. “Somebody like Jessica Alba would be the perfect type.”

While the character’s return to the comics world has been warmly received thus far, de Souza admitted that bringing her back to the big screen could be a tougher sell, given the missteps of the past. When de Souza’s pal Paul Aratow first acquired the rights to Sheena around 25 years ago, he was a “young, naive man who was just interested in growing better arugula,” according to de Souza, “so the deals he made weren’t that great.”

“There was a Sheena movie made about 25 years ago that he set up, but he really cringed at the premiere,” continued de Souza. “Paul was able to get the rights back to Sheena a few years ago and we decided to make a fresh start — and this time, put her back in her home turf in comic books on her way to the motion picture screen again.” . . .