Yet ANOTHER Tragic Turok Story

cover art by George Wilson

Last time we looked at a Turok story, we witnessed some poor guy who befriended and helped Turok and Andar get tragically killed. I didn't plan it this way, but we are going to be visiting Lost Valley again and watch yet another one-shot character suffer a violent and tragic death. Lost Valley could be a depressing place.


Turok, Son of Stone #71 (October 1970) begins with Turok and Andar finding moccasin prints. As far as they know, they are the only two people in Lost Valley who use that particular footware (or any footware at all, for that matter). So perhaps there's another visiter from the outside world nearby?

This story, by the way, was written by the ubiquitous Paul Newman and drawn by the great Alberto Giolitti. Those two might have been the best combination in comic book history: Newman's expert story construction was always brought to life by Giolitti's wonderful visuals.

The two friends track the moccosin tracks. This involves an encounter with a stampeding herd of triceratops, but they persist and that night, contact the visitor via fire signals.

Andar, eager to find the mystery guy, runs towards the other fire in the dark and nearly gets chomped by a T-Rex. After that, he agrees with Turok to wait until morning, when it's relatively safe to travel. Andar usually acquits himself well, but there are times that he comes close to justifying the perception that he is a millstone around Turok's neck. This is one of those. When your older, smarter friend tells you that you'll get eaten if you run off into the darkness, Andar, just take his word for it!

Over the course of the next few pages, Turok and Andar find out what's going on. Another member of their tribe--named Crow Plume--had been dragged by a river current into the valley. By the time morning arrives, he's been captured by a cave tribe, who are intrigued by the idea of a land with easy-to-kill prey and no dinosaurs. But they've beaten poor Crow Plume so badly he's having trouble remembering where he washed up after being brought to the valley.

Turok and Andar capture a tribeman with plans to engineer a hostage exchange. In the end, the three Indians and the tribesmen all set out together to find the way out of the valley.

But poor Crow Plume is still a bit dazed and confused. He's having trouble finding the right spot and in fact...

...inadvertently leads everyone to a pterodactyl nest. The annoyed monsters quickly attack. In the meelee, Crow Plume is killed.

The tribesmen, though, don't want to give up their dream of a dinosaur-free lifestyle. They force Turok and Andar to search a nearby river for the exit. This leads to an encounter with a hungry plesiosaur and, soon after that, an attempt by the tribe to simply drown the two Indians. The right panel below is one of the creepiest images that family-friendly Gold Key ever gave us.

Turok generally thinks his way out of dangerous situations, but this time he and Andar are saved through simple dumb luck. Turok had killed the plesiosaur by stabbing it with a poison arrow. When the corpse of the monster comes to the surface, the tribesmen think they are about to be attacked and run off. Turok and Andar live to continue their search for a way home.

Gee whiz, there are some brutal moments in this one. I don't mean that as a criticism--everything that happens carries the story along in a logical manner. But it is indeed brutal. Crow Plume is a walking tragedy (lost in a monster-strewn valley, beaten into a daze, threatened with death and then pecked to death by pterodactyls) while the image of Turok being forced under the water by a caveman is pure Nightmare Fuel.

But, once again, all this fits this extremely well-told and visually beautiful story. The tale is exciting and dramatically satisfying, as well as teaching us an important lesson that is also emphasized in the last Turok story we reviewed: DON'T EVERY MAKE FRIENDS WITH TUROK AND ANDAR!

Next week, we'll visit with DC's Western hero Jonah Hex as he... pushes a wheelchair-bound old lady off a cliff?