Turtles and Triceratops

 

cover art by George Wilson

Turok, Son of Stone #74 (July 1971) is yet another winner brought to us by the nigh-unbeatable team of writer Paul S. Newman and artist Alberto Giolitti, combining fast-paced, thematically balanced storytelling with wonderful art.

This one starts off with a bang--or rather the thud of a rock against a head. Turok and Andar are spotted by a lake tribe that rides big turtles. The tribesman immediately sling stones at the two Indians, knocking both of them out.

The tribe's medicine man, Laf, declares the two captives have to be sacrificed, so they are tied atop turtles. The turtles are escorted to the Island of Doom, which is surrounded by steep cliffs. The turtles are released,  who then drag Turok and Andar through an underwater tunnel to the interior of the island.

That interior consist of winding, confusing paths wrapped around a mountain. The two heroes meet Kag, the former medicine man who was displaced by Laf's "stronger magic." Turok immediately comes up with a plan for getting Kag back on top--using flint provided by Turok to "magically" make sparks. But that leaves the problem of getting off the island.

This problem is exasperated by the presence of an ill-tempered Triceratops. The three men dodge the dinosaur at first, before Turok and Andor take the dangerous option of killing it without the aid of poison arrows.

After this task is completed, they begin to search for a way back down the mountain, taking many wrong turns before finally reaching the water. Kag tames a turtle and the three make their way back out through the tunnel.

They re-join the tribe, where Kag shows his spark-making trick. When a carnivorous dinosaur attacks, Turok and Andar (who have recovered their bows and arrows) take it out, but then hide the arrows to Kag's "magic" gets the credit for killing it. Kag, now firmly back on top of the heap, then allows Turok and Andor to go free.

The thematic linchpin of the story is persistance. Turok and Andor had to be persistant in their pin prick attacks on the triceratops to kill it, then had to be persistant in finding a way off down the mountain despite taking a number of false trails. The usual strength of Turok having to use his brains instead of just his arrows is also at the forefront. All told, this is a great Turok tale, well-told and well-illustrated.

Next week, we'll return to see how Green Lantern is doing.