Thursday, May 28, 2009

The return of Turok, Son of Stone

A while back, I posted THIS about the classic Dell/Gold Key comic Turok Son of Stone.



Recently, Dark Horse comics has been putting out hardcover archives reprinting a lot of the classic Dell Comics. This past March, they got around to Turok.







It includes the first 6 issues. That means it covers the origin story I talked about in the original post, plus the tales that immediately followed. (Stories I've never had a chance to read before.)


It's all great stuff, if a little bit pricey. (I got it discounted from Amazon for around $32.00) But then, if you can't swing the price, ask your local library to get a copy.
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These are all strong, well-plotted fantasy tales with a strong lead character. To qoute William Stout from his introduction: "The stories were simple yet clever. They moved at a relaxed pace quite different from today's action-on-steroids extravaganzas. The stories often stopped as Turok and his companion Andar paused to watch a battle between prehistoric beasts... The Turok stories also provided throughful treatises on basic woodlore and human relationships. Despite the violence involved in killing a dinosaur, ultimately these were pretty gentle books."
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Last year, a direct-to-DVD animated Turok movie was a huge disappointment. Though done well for what it was, the producers made the bizarre decision of turning it into a blood-soaked, R-rated action film. What sense is there in making a Turok film that the original fans who grew up with the character can't share with their children?
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But now here are the original comics in all their original glory. This is Turok done right. This is something you can definitely share with your kids.

2 comments:

  1. Why indeed make adapt a character intended for children into an inappropriate adaptation? It's a great question, and I noticed that you wrote these words in 2009 - four years before The Lone Ranger monstrosity. I'd give a pass to The Dark Knight movies, because there are plenty of other Batman media for younger kids. But to resurrect Turok and the Lone Ranger for a new generation by placing them in gorefests is just wrong. Better to leave them dead and buried, in my view.

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    Replies
    1. I didn't bother with the Lone Ranger movie. I heard enough about it from people whose opinion I trusted to be sure I would also think of it as a monstrosity. Since I didn't see it, that opinion is hardly informed. But I'm personally certain enough to not give up 2+ hours of my life watching it.

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