Jurassic World 0!!

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby invented Jurassic Park.

OK, perhaps not literally. There is, after all, lots of prior literary precedent for "modern man encounters dinosaurs" stories before this tale.

But more than a year before Michael Crichton was born, Joe & Jack gave us a tale of a foolish capitalist bringing dinosaurs to the modern world, and surprise, surprise, they run amok.

We start with Barney Bailey's circus (get it? GET IT?!?):

So, how did this happen?

Well, its no more unlikely than extracting dinosaur DNA from the digestive tracts of amber-trapped mosquitoes.

But Bailey is not in this for the science:

This is the point where we need Jeff Goldblum to intone about chaos and life finding a way...

I don't know, I can imagine an awful lot of money, dude...

But of course, a thunderstorm rolls in, and those unbreakable cages turn out to not be all that unbreakable:

And so...

BEST. CIRCUS EVER.

Of course, this circus just happens to be in the heart of a major city, so...

Fortunately, extra-dimensional lawman The Vision is on the case!

HELL YES!!!!!

Of course, since this is a Jurassic Park story, our awful businessman must get his just desserts...

Or, rather, he becomes dessert for the dinosaur!!

Fortunately, Vision has more dynamite to aid the beast's digestion!

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!

Look, you can have your Stephen Spielberg-directed CGI fests, you can have Star Lord training raptors.

But me, I'm happy with Jack Kirby drawing aliens blowing the crap out of dinosaurs with dynamite.

From Marvel Mystery Comics #16 (1941)

The Best Reason To Join A Military Academy??

Don't tell anyone, but I think that publisher Novelty Press was pretty enthusiastic about publishing Dick Cole stories:

Dick Cole had debuted a couple of years earlier in Blue Bolt Comics, and apparently was quite a hit--so much so that editors were sure that he his type of adventures would replace super-heroes any day now:

And the relentless enthusiasm continues on the splash page:

So who is Dick Cole again?

Ahh, so the public is tired of "super-fantastic" characters, but they'll love an orphan given super strength by a scientific formula who kills dinosaurs and has a nemesis who invents a mind-control drug and...?

Most of Dick's adventures took place during his time at Farr Military Academy, with his best friend Simba, and---

Wait, did you say "kills dinosaurs?"

Yup. Dick Cole makes Turok look like Elmer Fudd!!

See, some (other) scientist has discovered and captured an unknown species of dinosaur in "darkest Africa," and of course brought it home to show off.

Had no one in this universe seen King Kong...?

Yup, that's a new species, all right!

So, yes, Dick is pretty famous:

This is a 30-page story, so another student, jealous of Dick's fame and prowess, invents a mind control drug, and uses it to make Dick steal some top-secret military papers. Dick is caught, convicted of treason, and sentenced to death! With Simba's help he escapes, is lost at sea, sneaks aboard a naval transport vessel on its way to Europe, but is captured. Ah, Golden Age--no decompression here!!

When the ship is attacked by a U-Boat, we get to see just how strong Dick Cole is:

Yup.

Meanwhile, the kid who framed Cole has his really really rich father buy the dinosaur as a school mascot:

When Dick returns, and clears his name, we're set up for the chase:

Wait--you killed the only living dinosaur?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, anyway, that was a typical day for Dick Cole.

Now, if anybody told me I'd have had a chance to fight dinosaurs, maybe I would have joined a military academy...

From 4Most #1 (1942)

THIS. IS. THE. REASON. YOU. READ. COMICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, the Boy King and his Nostradamus-created Giant have been thwarting the Nazis at every turn.

But Hitler has a plan...

Ho-ly CRAP!!!

Rex tears through Allied defenses!

Oh, yes, IT. IS. ON!!!

Yes, this was a continued story, quite the rarity in 1943!

I think I can safely say that this is the only blog that has presented a Nostradamus-created giant metal man fighting a Nazi giant mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex today.

You're welcome.

From Clue Comics #4-5 (1943)