Sunday Of Stone - Turok Volume Nine!

Turok Son of Stone Volume Nine from Dark Horse reprinting those fascinating Gold Key comics from the 1960's is perhaps the strangest collection of Turok stories yet. The concept of two Amerindians lost in a vast Lost Valley filled with cavemen primitives and dinosaurs is one that has proven to have legs, but Paul S. Newman seems to be straining at this point, a little over a decade after the debut of the comic, to find fresh ways to present this fundamentally strong dilemma without simple repetition. The key is to make the threats to Turok and Andar increasingly offbeat and at times downright weird. The previous volume saw Monkey Men, Spider Men, and an especially enormous "Honker" lost in time. The weirdness only picks up from there and delivers what I think is the strangest Turok tale that Gold Key ever told. 

 

The fifty-first issue begins with "Captives of the Beaver Men" in which we see artist Rex Maxon step in to fill in for the regular art team of Giovanni Ticci and Alberto Giolitti. Turok and Andar try to cross a river only to be snatched by the Beaver Men who live in strange homes in the river. The two try many things to escape but are only able to do so when in the second part titled "The Red Scourge" Turok and Andar find a way to stem a deadly tide of ravenous fish. The text piece discusses "Stone-Age Music" and the "Young Earth" feature tells the tell of early flightless birds and how eventually they came to lift off into the sky. 

The regular team of Newman, Ticci, and Giolitti are back in the next issue which sees our two heroes trying a desperate gambit by climbing a sheer cliff to enter the nests of deadly flying honkers that shred the flesh from the bones of any creature they chance upon. They hope to find a cave through to the world they left behind so long ago. They are lucky to escape with their lives in a two-part tale titled "The Savage Shadow". The text item is about "The Mystery Men of Hudson Bay" a tribe of strange primitives. The "Young Earth" relates the discovery of the ancient ancestors on the island of Java and how those prehistoric folks might have lived. 

The search for water is paramount in the story "Drought". Turok and Andar cannot find water and fear the worst when suddenly they are waylaid by desperate primitives who think they can find water when no one else can. Even the Honkers are desperate for drink, making them even more deadly. Two one- page stories tell of "A Living Link" about the Coelocanth, and "Australopithecinae" about an early variation of man. The text tale is about "Prehistoric Ancestors" who turn out to be possible Japanese sailors who might've been the first to discover South America. The comic closes with "The Secret of the Black Water" in which Turok and Andar have to face a weird tribe who smear themselves with an odd oily water and live among pools of oil. They do not yet know its flammable nature. 

The fifty-fourth issue of Turok Son of Stone is a reprint of issue twenty-five from 1961. It features one of George Wilson's most dramatic cover scenes. You can find my review here. 

In issue fifty-five Turok and Andar confront many bizarre "Monsters of Legend". In the first part titled "Into the Cavern of Danger" they follow a possibly deranged caveman into a deep cave inhabited by many strange threats, but which might lead to a way out of Lost Valley. While they do find danger they also find the caveman has exaggerated the monsters. In the second half of th story titled "Journey Without End" they have to fight their way out of a the dangerous cavern which seems filled with different kinds of Honkers. There is a one-pager on the dinosaur the "Hesperonis" and a text piece titled "The Stone Age Museum" about a particularly rich discovery. The "Young Earth" piece is "The River Crossing" and shows how primitive man might have learned to ford great rivers to find good hunting. 

"The Monster Master" begins with Turok and Andar low on poison arrows when they encounter seemingly tame Honkers commanded by a caveman who uses a strangle flute to keep control. How he is able to do this is never explained but eventually the duo escape his clutches through trickery. "Prehistoric Apartment Dwellers" is a text item about a bizarre discovery of an area in which many ancient people lived together in relative harmony for many ages. "Young Earth" is about how early man learned to hunt the mighty Mammoth in "The Easy Prey". 

Issue fifty-seven is a reprint of issue seventeen from 1959 when the title was a Dell production. You can read my review of that issue here. 

The fifty-eighth issue of Turok Son of Stone might well be the most bizarre single yarn in the comic book's long history. Turok and Andar encounter aliens.  "Things from the Sky: Strange Visitors" finds Turok and Andar asleep when their camp is attacked by a deadly Honker, a Honker who quickly ends up as a pile of ash due to a strange beam from the sky. Later they encounter primitives who talk of sky people and then they see it, a flying saucer. It lands and they meet some incredibly friendly aliens who are returning to Earth after a long absence to check up on its progress. There are two one-pagers about the "Iquanadon" and the "Heidelberg Man", a text item about some bizarre balls found by archeologists titled "The Secret of the Spheres" and a "Young Earth" story about a small but highly successful dinosaur called Coeleopterous.  "Things from the Sky: The Incredible Sight" has the friendly aliens see their spaceship damaged but still workable enough to fly Andar out of Lost Valley where he sees his people. But they go back for Turok and things go very badly for our heroes and for the friendly aliens. 

Issue fifty-nine has Turok and Andar snagged by a particularly deadly predator which seems equal parts dinosaur and spider in "The Web of Danger". The text piece is "The Kanapol Hominid" about one of our early ancestors and the "Young Earth" story "The Loner" describes what life might have been like for a Neanderthal who breaks away from his tribe. "The Monster's Lair" sees Turok and Andar battling glowing water Honker when they try to find out why modern fish turn up in a stream. Sadly as we already know the trail is a frustrating one. As 1967 nears its end our two Indian heroes are still trapped in a world they never made. More next time when we take a gander at the tenth and final Dark Horse collection. 

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Sunday Of Stone - Turok Volume Six!

In this sixth volume of Turok Son of Stone from Dark Horse's Archive series we find a refinement of the characters and the world which was created a decade before. Turok is now clearly the parent in the relationship between himself and Andar with Andar increasingly behaving like a teenager, full of more energy than wisdom. Turok is the somber voice that promotes safety and caution which Andar wants to explore and seems intent on finding connections in the Lost Valley. All of the stories in the collection were written by Paul S. Newman and the artwork for all but one issue was created by Giovanni Ticci and Alberto  Giolitti. George Wilson paints all the covers. The "Young Earth" series continues but after a few small tales the text pieces switch to a more purely informational format as do the one-page items which seem more generic to serve all of Gold Key's comic line. 

"Valley of Dreams" in Turok Son of Stone issue thirty-one is one of the more famous or perhaps infamous stories in the series. Andar and Turok find an unknown kind of fruit which is enjoyed by a primitive tribe who tell tales of multi-headed "Honkers". When Turok and Andar innocently eat the fruit they too begin to have hallucinations. The recover and move on but the tribe seems addicted to their delusions. "Young Earth" brings us "Creatures of the Grasslands" and describes the interactions of mammals of the Miocene Era. "Prey of the Cave Monster" has unlucky Andar knocked out on a raft and drifting into a vast cave in which Cavemen say a monster lurks. Turok must go into the cave to save his young friend, despite the threats of the Cavemen. The inside covers of the comic have two installments of "Wild Animals of Africa" -- one focusing on Baboons and the other on Elephants. 

The next issue begins with "The Fire-Stealers" and shows that the primitive tribes are quite aware of the powers of Turok and Andar with their skills to create fire. They want to steal this secret and kidnap Turok but when Andar is about to share the secret to save his friend a lightning bolt strikes giving the Cavemen the gift of fire they seek. They use this new power to attempt to drive another tribe out of a nice comfy cave. Turok and Andar are barely able to survive when the stupid Cavemen nearly burn down the jungle. "The Captive" tells how a wise chief adopts the child of enemies pointing the way to a more peaceful future. "Young Earth" is "The Terror of Temperature" and details how both hot and cold climates have impacted life on Earth over time. "Guardian of the Cave" has both Turok and Andar eager to find a way out of Lost Valley when Andar has a dream which might show the way. They do find a cave which seems to lead to another land but unfortunately a deadly Honker causes a cave in which blocks the possible exit. The inside front cover had a one-page piece about "Seagoing Vessels". 

"Terror of the Bog" has Turok and Andar in a deadly marsh which is inhabited by strange green primitives who are after our heroes. "Creatures of the Cave" is the "Young Earth" piece and shows how different creatures battle for control of comfy cave with bears winning out until man arrives. "Man's Earliest Weapon" talks about how early man used different kinds of stones to protect themselves and to hunt. "Dangerous Friends" showcases yet again young Andar's desire for companionship of someone his own age. He seeks friends in a primitive tribe, and they are good friends but their parents want to take from Andar the secrets he and Turok possess. Andar learns a tough lesson about survival. 

"The Ghostly Terror" have the boys accosted in the night by freakish pale people. They follow them down into the underground lair where they find many pale Honkers who have never seen the light. The tribe brought themselves down for safety and only venture out at night. Turok and Andar must use the bright light of fire to save themselves. "The Dinosaur's Day" is the "Young Earth" feature and shows one dangerous day in the life of a lowly Protoceratops. "Early Weapons: The Stick" talks about the early development of spears and throwing sticks such as boomerangs. "Andar's Perilous Pet" has our young hero want to adopt a turtle as a pet but finds that very dangerous. The turtle has a whole other agenda unknown to the young Native American. The main Turok story artwork in this issue was supplied by Rex Maxon who has also been doing all the artwork on the "Young Earth" features. 

"Dream of Escape" has Turok find Andar unconscious after drinking some dodgy water. While he sits with his young friend, he reflects on how he and Andar came to be in Lost Valley. When Andar wakes he claims to have had a dream which showed him the way out of Lost Valley but when they seek the spot the two are disappointed that it all seemed to be merely a dream. "Man's Early Weapons: The Rope and The Thong" tell how early man used these things to his advantage. "Pursuit" has our duo chasing a Caveman who steals Andars bow and quiver of arrows. Not only do they want the weapons back they don't want the cavemen developing this technology. The chase is hard and dangerous one but finally they succeed and escape when the cavemen cannot walk on the hot sands during the day. A one-page feature on "Fish" closes out the issue. 

The thirty-sixth issue of Turok Son of Stone is a reprint of issue fourteen from the olden Dell days. It is not of course included in this collection a second time. 

Turok Son of Stone thirty-seven is dated January 1964 marking a full decade since the debut of the feature in Four Color. "Prey of the Flying Monsters" has an over-eager Andar want to penetrate a mist to sail a river and climb a cliff in the vague hope that they find a way out. They find instead the nesting ground for deadly flying Honkers. "The Young Earth" feature is "The Hunter" and describes how mankind came to dominate the world with his hunting skills. Man's Early Weapons: The Bow and Arrow" gives details about the development of this most deadly weapon. "Scavenger of the Storm" is a different kind of story with Turok remembering how he'd been forced to tie an unconscious Andar to a stout tree when some cavemen force the duo to endure deadly cave winds. While Turok fights deadly Cavemen to get back to his friend Andar wakes up to find a Honker very close by. 

These issues read a bit more maturely than previous issues by and large. The duo are often focused on getting out of  Lost Valley with Andar obsessed with it. It creates more of tension between the two than we'd seen in earlier issues. Also Turok's distrust of the primitive tribes is heightened. He'd been helpful to the tribes when the two first entered Lost Valley but increasingly he's become fearful of who the primitives would exploit the powers that only he and Andar possess. It's a bit edgier than early issues and adds some realistic luster to the series. 

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Sunday Of Stone - Turok Volume Five!

Turok Son of Stone Volume Five from the Dark Horse Archives collections is a significant tome for a few reasons. First this volume is the first to feature the art of Giovanni Ticci and Alberto Giolitti in most of the stories. For another the comic makes its transition from Dell to the freshly minted Gold Key brands with the final issue of this book. As usual Paul S. Newman is the artist of record for all the stories contained in this collection. 

Issue twenty-five features one of the finest Turok covers as 1961 fades into the mist. The comic begins with a one-pager called "Dinosaurs of the Sea" drawn by Ray Bailey most likely. The first Turok story is titled "The Hidden Monster" and has Turok and Andar spelunking into a cave to confront a dinosaur that strikes from behind a rushing waterfall. This story like the other Turok tale is by Ticci and Giolitti and a wonderful moody tale they craft. "First Hunt" is about a young caveman named Tikun who must prove himself when he tricks some buffalo into stampeding over a cliff giving the tribe a bounty of fresh meat. "Young Earth" features "Plants that Lead the Way" and talks about how plants preceded animals in the march from the sea to dry land. "The Winged Men" by Newman, Ticci and Giolitti has Turok and Andar investigate a tribe who mimic Pteranodons and leap from trees with makeshift wings to startle their potential slaves. Turok is able to free these unfortunates. "The Flying Reptiles" is an appropriate one-pager to close out the issue. 

1962 kicks off with Turok and Andar entering "The Deadly Jungle". Newman, Ticci, and Giolitti are wonderful again as the pair of heroes find plants that will trap you if you're not careful. Once again Turok is forced to do the bidding of a primitive tribe to gain Andar's freedom when he foolishly falls into their trap. One thing about the art is that a lot of arrows are used to direct the reading. I've of course seen those used in the past but they seem mandatory almost in these pages. "The Weapon" is a text piece which dramatizes how primitive weapons gained a copper edge. "The Ice Age" is the "Young Earth" feature this time and again Bailey is the artist. We follow many mammals as they strive to survive the shifting ice of ages gone by. "Scourge of the Swamps" is the second Turok story by the new regular team as Turok and Andar enter a sank watery swamp and have to survive both Honkers and men to reach the other side. "The Unusual Dinosaurs" closes out the issue and focuses on a few of the odder creatures of the era. 

The twenty-seventh issue of the comic debuted a new feature when the two lead stories about Turok were highlighted on the inside front cover. "Dangerous Waters" is the first of these stories and is by Newman, Ticci and  Giolliti. Turok and Andar must cross a deadly river to climb a high escarpment to find a Caveman named Degg who they hope will lead to a way out of Lost Valley. The text story is "Time of Hunger" and shows how two tribes combine their knowledge to survive in hard times. "The Horned Dinosaurs" is a one pager about what you'd guess it was about. "The Ages of Life" is drawn by Ray Bailey and follows life from its most primitive in the primordial sea to the advent of mankind itself. "The Flesh Eaters" has Turok and Andar trying to destroy the eggs of a particularly large and dangerous dinosaur species which threatens to overwhelm the valley.  The comic closes with two one-pagers -- "The Giant Dinosaurs" and "Dinosaur Diets". The art on all three one-pagers is by Bailey I think. 

The next issue really changes up things when journeyman artist Jack Sparling steps in to do the two Turok features. "The Secret Cavern" is the first and it finds Turok taken captive and drugged to become a slave to some vile Primitives. In a nice change of pace, it's up to Andar to save the day. "The Armored Dinosaurs' Defense" is the "Young Earth story and it focuses on how armor appear and developed over a long period of time to make some dinosaurs nearly invincible. It's drawn by Bailey. "Plateau of Death" is the second Turok feature and has Turok and Andar trying to help an old man named Beld find meaning in life and return to his tribe who have kicked him out. Beld wants to die but Turok is adamant that he stay alive and find purpose. "The Weapon" is the text story and shows how weapons can be things we never think if only we'd use our wits as does a caveman in this story to capture buffalo for his tribe. 

Rex Maxon steps in to illustrate issue twenty-nine, the final Dell issue of Turok Son of Stone. "Terror in the Trees" is the first Turok tale and has our two heroes trying to find a way across a river to a wooded territory the locals claim is very dangerous, especially from the trees. Turok and Andar ignore their advice and find trouble dropping down on them sooner than they expect. The text piece is titled "The Law" and shows how things change when a leader demonstrates compassion for his people and not just seeing folks for what they can contribute immediately to the tribe. "Coming of the Flesh Eaters" is the "Young Earth" story and describes the evolution of the meat-eating dinosaurs from small ones to the enormous T-Rex. This story seems to be by Bailey. "The Pit Trap" shows some cavemen being both clever and cruel when they dig a pit and capture a deadly dinosaur to put in it. They want to be entertained as prisoners fight for their lives. Turok and Andar do indeed end up in the pit. The comic closes with the one-page story of "The Ostrich Dinosaurs". 

The team of Paul S. Newman, Giovanni Ticci and Albeto Giolitti are back together in the thirtieth issue, the first Turok Son of Stone to carry the handsome Gold Key badge in the corner. Dell and Western Publishing had parted ways as 1962 comes to close and the Gold Key brand was developed to continue publication of the properties that Western had maintained. Dell for its measure would hang on for several more years but they were much weaker than Gold Key. All the art in this issue is by the  Ticci-Giolitti team save for the "Young Earth" feature which is drawn by Ray Bailey. "Early Birds" focuses on both early flying and flightless birds which had since gone extinct. "Chance to Escape" has Turok and Andar take a deadly gamble and climb a deadly cliff inhabited by Pteranodons in order to maybe find a way out. They are motivated by what they think is a modern crow feather. "The Fish-Dinosaur's Day" showcases how one such creature is both predator and prey as the day rolls along under the sea. "The Robe" is a text story which a boy named Turr must track down a deadly tiger which has stolen the tribe's sacred Buffalo skin. "Prey of the Flesh Eaters" has Turok and Andar trapped by a volcano, and it shows them saving others who prove treacherous to our heroes. The cover is by George Wilson is arguably my favorite Turok cover. I can find no attribution for the other covers though I suspect Wilson is responsible for most if not all of them.

The book looked much different in this first Gold Key book. The captions abandon the classic bubble look and adopt a more square-like configuration. And the valley that Turok and Andar navigate is much more a jungle in the hands of Ticci and Giolitti. The Lost Valley has been plains, forest, and desert even but with the coming of his new team there is a more atmospheric and even claustrophobic feel to the comic. There is more drama. More Turok Son of Stone next week. 

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The Sunday Funnies - Tarzan Of The Apes 1929!

It was 1929 and Tarzan of the Apes had become a significant feature in the popular culture of the time. Edgar Rice Burroughs had released fourteen novels featuring the character and around ten silent movies had been made starring the character. But since adventure comic strips were not so much a thing in 1929 Tarzan had yet to make a mark in the newspapers around the country. That is until ERB and some enterprising chaps decided to make it so and in doing that brought aboard a very talented advertising illustrator named Hal Foster. 

Several years ago IDW Publishing puit out the first year and more of the Tazarn of the Apes dailies as part of their The Library of American Comics Essential series. The tome gives the reader a nice historical essay for context by Henry G. Franke III and follows it up with the first four continuities of the strip. The four novels adapted for the comic strip were the first four written and published by ERB. The novels have been stripped down to around 15,000 words or about a tenth of their original lengths and the strip is arranged in a format of text and picture familiar to fans of the classic Big Little Books. 

A fellow named Joseph H. Neebe was the driving force behind the comic strips and arranged with ERB for the rights. It took a while for the format to be arrived at and for artists to be arranged. And still more time was required to sell the strip to the newspapers which had not had any experience with an adventure strip of this kind. Comic strips were mostly gags and light-hearted and the saga of Tarzan was hardly that. Neebe hired a writer named Ralph W. Palmer and a respected but unknown advertising artist named Hal R. Foster for the artwork. By do that Neebe transformed the comic strip as we understand it and laid the groundwork for much of what we think of as comic books themselves. 

The comic strip was eventually sold novel by novel with newspapers having the option to stop at the end of any yarn. Tarzan of the Apes debuted in America on January 7, 1929 but had already appeared in the British magazine Tit-Bits several months earlier making it the first adventure comic strip. Foster handled the art chores magnificently on the first sequence which adapted Tarzan of the Apes. But Foster then left for more lucrative work. Rex Maxon was tapped to take over and he began his long association with the Tarzan character despite complaints from ERB himself. Maxon's style is less ornate than Foster's but has just as much energy if not more. Maxon (with some anonymous help) went on to illustrated the next three Tarzan novels -- The Return of Tarzan, The Beasts of Tarzan, and The Son of Tarzan. The Foster adaptation of the first novel has been reprinted a few times but first as The Illustrated Tarzan Book No.1 seen at the top. 

The first two novels by ERB are among his finest work. They form one long story that establishes the character of Tarzan as we understand him and in this stripped-down illustrated format function quite well. Nicholas Rokoff is one of my absolute favorite fictional villains and he gets some good attention  in these wild yarns.  The Beasts of Tarzan and The Son of Tarzan are less effective narratives suffering from wacky plotting which in the case of the former undermines its climax, and in the former doesn't give the reader enough Tarzan, though Korak is a decent substitute. I hadn't read these last few novels in many years and it was nifty to get to revisit them in this fresh way. 

This tome is highly recommended and sets up the Hal Foster Sunday pages quite well. Those we will begin with next week. 

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Foster Child Of The Jungle!

Recently pre-ordered this gem of a little Tarzan book. These Library of American Comics Essentials volumes are dandy if a might unwieldy. I've never popped for any, but all have been handsome. This time I'm making an exception because of the exceptional nature of the material.

This is the very first Tarzan comic strip by Hal Foster, which adapts the first novel. It was done as a try-out of sorts to see if there was any marketability for the character in the format. It's been proven I'd suggest that there was. To see this work online go here.

This volume has all of Foster's original sixty strips adapting the debut novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He then handed off the strip to Rex Maxon who is represented with several more storylines. These are the dailies, not the Sundays which Foster later turned his attention to and which are currently being reprinted by Dark Horse in gargantuan volumes.

These Brobdinagian tomes are a bit hard to handle. I just got in the second one a few weeks ago and I am eager to explore Foster's key work here.

There is one more volume to go to collect up fully these strips by Foster which are a singular point from which most comic book art extends even unto this day.

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Turok, Son Of Gold!

It was in this 1973 Golden Comics Digest where I got to enjoy the earliest adventures of Turok and Andar for the first time. This beautiful little comic gathered together several of the stories from the debut Four Color issues along with an Indian Chief story. The stories were by Gaylord Dubois as usual and the artwork was by Rex Maxon and others, all under this dynamic and dramatic Mo Gollub cover painting.

Here's that cover art as it appeared originally on the ninth issue of Turok, Son of Stone. That particular issue of Golden Comics Digest went a long way to making me a confirmed and lasting Turok fan.

On another note, it's a shame that Dark Horse has apparently ceased their reprinting of the Turok stories. I treasure and value what they did get into print, but I wish they'd continue the series as there are some incredibly fine stories yet to represent.

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