Welcome to Longbox Junk, where the comics are cheap and the reviews are FREE!
This day, we stand in the presence of Longbox Junk royalty!
Before us is a comic that (in MY humble opinion) may be the PERFECT representation of the very concept of "Longbox Junk", which are generally comics that are worth practically zero to those who are concerned with the "value" of comic books.
There is no FOMO for Longbox Junk. There are no Youtube videos of Longbox Junk. Longbox Junk isn't being graded. There aren't heated debates over Longbox Junk. Longbox Junk just sort of sits quietly in the bargain bin, waiting for the right person to find it.
The comic at hand has become a bit of a meme. A joke about comics that are "worth" nothing when it comes to collecting for money value. A punchline. Maybe THE most recognizable insider joke in comic collecting. EVERYBODY has seen this comic. I'll make a safe bet that YOU. . .yes, YOU. . .either have one of these comics in your collection right now, or have had one at some point.
I probably should have reviewed this comic long before now. Given the theme of this blog, I'm not really sure why I haven't yet. . .but that changes today!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present a review of possibly THE most ubiquitous example of Longbox Junk that can be found. It's. . .TUROK, DINOSAUR HUNTER!
*Insert Trumpet Fanfare Here*
TUROK, DINOSAUR HUNTER #1
Acclaim/Valiant (1993)
COVER: Bart Sears
THE COVER:
There it is, folks. . .the 90s.
The embossed, enhanced, shiny foil spectacle and wonder that was 90s comics. It's all right here in this one cover. This is one of the most recognizable covers in comic collecting, but setting the meme value aside, it's actually a pretty cool piece of comic art!
The art in the center chromium section (This is one of those sort of weird early chromium covers where the entire cover isn't chromium, but there's a cardstock chromium part glued onto the regular cover) is really well done!
The main character is there front and center, in your face, and highly-detailed. The logo is really cool. The yellow background sets off the red foil title very nicely, making it pop and catch the eye.
The surrounding border is colored a little strange. I'd prefer something a little more green and a little less pink for dinosaurs, but other than THAT, this cover is a winner!
Off topic a bit, but I'm pretty proud of myself that I'm FINALLY getting decent pictures of the shiny covers down quite a bit better these days. Took me long enough to figure it out. ANYWAY. . .
Let's get inside this thing.
THE STORY:
Cold Blood Blazing
SCRIPT: David Micheline
PENCILS: Bart Sears
INKS: Randy Elliot
The scene: The jungles of Columbia, South America. The year: 1987. We begin our tale with a Native American warrior engaging in a focusing ritual before battle. He sees visions of the past.
In other words. . .We're starting right off with a lengthy FLASHBACK EXPOSITION DUMP!
The warrior's name is Turok, and it's been a long strange journey to this time and place. Beginning in the 1800s, with Turok and his younger companion, Andor, on a hunting trip. They discover the entrance to a cavern and decide to explore. They get lost in the twisting tunnels, leading ever deeper into the Earth. . .losing all track of time and direction.
Eventually, they find themselves in a vast open area populated by fierce creatures from the past. A lost world where time has no meaning! DUN-DUN-DUNNNN!!
Unable to find their way back to their own home, Turok and Andor made a life among the people of the lost land. But their peace was shattered by invaders from yet another time and place!
The strange metallic beings plundered the lost land to build a mighty city. Turok rallied the people of the lost land against the ruthless invaders, but their weapons were no match and they were brutally defeated!
Turok and the people of the lost land were saved when a mighty champion called Magnus arrived and joined them against the invaders. . .who, along with Magnus were revealed to come from the far future, where they were mortal enemies.
But peace would not last for long. Soon after driving the invaders from the future out of the lost land, another visitor arrived. A woman who called herself "Mother-God", dwelling in a shining tower. She demonstrated vast powers and spoke of bringing peace and unity to all existence.
Andar and Turok swore allegiance to her, truly believing that she was a Goddess.
But soon, Turok and Andor discovered that they had made the wrong choice. After listening to a pair of warriors called Archer and Armstrong that Mother-God had set Turok against, he realized that they were actually serving an evil being!
Turok and Andor joined with an alliance of powerful beings assembled from different times and places and fought against Mother-God (In Valiant's first line-wide crossover event, called "Unity"). After a brutal series of battles, victory was theirs, but at what cost?
Andor was lost, his fate unknown. And when Turok returned to the village of his adopted people, he discovered that Mother-God's technologically-enhanced dinosaur minions had destroyed it, slaughtering every man, woman, and child!
Turok learned the leader of the assassin dinosaur pack was called Mon-Ark, and he swore an oath of bloody vengeance! Tracking Mon-Ark and his pack relentlessly across the lost land, Turok found his revenge at hand, but as he struck, Turok found himself being torn from the lost land by unknown forces!
Finding himself in yet another strange land and unknown time, Turok accepted that Andor was lost to him forever and set out on the hunt once again. . .for he discovered traces of Mon-Ark nearby and knew that his greatest enemy had also come to the same time and place!
Flashback over! The story continues in the present. . .
Waking from his visions of the past, Turok senses danger! He has no need to hunt his enemy, Mon-Ark has come to him! The technologically-enhanced dinosaur attacks!
Desperately, Turok tries to fight his way out of the ambush while Mon-Ark taunts him, but the evil creature's mate joins the battle, leaving Turok outnumbered and in danger of losing his life!
Mon-Ark and his mate force Turok over the edge of a cliff, where the wounded warrior falls. . .seemingly to his death. Triumphant, Mon-Ark declares victory and begins making plans with his mate to bring death to any humans they find in "their" new land.
But Turok is not dead (There's still 46 more issues to go!) He washes up on the shore of the river below, miles away from the battle. Weakened and close to death, Turok is prepared to meet his fate, but instead, he is found by a native woman.
INTERLUDE!
In the mansion of Columbian drug lord Carlos Comacho, he receives news that one of his cocaine shipments has come under attack by an unknown enemy. Over the radio, he hears the desperate cries of his men, yelling about being attacked by some kind of monsters! DUN-DUN-DUNNNN!
INTERLUDE OVER. BACK TO TUROK!
The native woman who rescued Turok from the river is called Serita. She takes Turok to her peaceful farming village, where he recovers from his severe wounds as the days pass.
His time among the farmers passes quickly, and he grows closer to Serita. He knows that this time of peace won't last. Mon-Ark and his pack are still somewhere out there. Turok is determined to protect his newfound friends from the evil dinosaur.
At last, the day Turok fears has come! The bodies of two villagers are discovered ripped apart. Turok instantly knows that Mon-Ark is near. Vowing to protect the village and avenge their lost, Turok sets out once more upon the trail of the killer dinosaur.
But as he tracks Mon-Ark, Turok senses that perhaps the trail is a bit TOO easy to follow. He's being led into a trap! Mon-Ark attacks! As he desperately tries to fight his way out of the ambush, Turok realizes WHY Mon-Ark was leading him on. . .The Village!
Turok wounds Mon-Ark and rushes back to the village, only to find yet ANOTHER group of friends being slaughtered by Mon-Ark's pack, led by the evil dinosaur's mate!
Turok leaps into battle, desperate to save his new friends! After a brutal fight, he finally forces the dinosaur pack to retreat. The few remaining villagers come out of hiding.
Serita sadly tells Turok that these enemies are not their enemies, and knowing that they will return as long as Turok is among them, he must leave.
Turok knows Serita speaks the truth, and so he turns his back on the peaceful village he brought death to and heads back into the jungle. He knows he must continue to hunt Mon-Ark. . .alone.
The End. To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
There it is. Turok, Dinosaur Hunter #1. Let's break it on down!
As the first issue of a series, I ask of this comic the same two simple things I ask of EVERY first issue:
1. Does it introduce the characters and their setting in a new reader-friendly way?
2. Does it make me want to read more?
TWO things. That's all I ask. They may SEEM simple, but you'd be surprised how many times comic publishers fail at one or both of these things in a first issue. You'd THINK they would be the bare minimum effort to be made for new readers. But that's what you get for thinking, right?
So. . .FIRST QUESTION
Does this first issue introduce Turok and what's going on in a new reader-friendly way? Well. . .not really. Most of the first half of the comic is spent on trying to condense a sprawling Valiant line-wide event into a few pages of introduction.
There's only really one page of Turok's ACTUAL origin. . .1800's Native American getting lost and finding the entrance to a hidden lost world. I mean, it's there, but it's glossed over in favor of the Valiant crossover stuff, which really doesn't make much sense in such condensed form unless you're already familiar with Valiant characters like Archer & Armstrong, Magnus, X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, etc. . .
So I'm going to say no. This isn't a great introduction for Turok to a new reader. To be fair, once the six full pages of rushed exposition are done with, Turok and his situation as concerns THIS story are pretty straightforward. It's just that heavy dose of convoluted continuity at the start that isn't new reader-friendly.
SECOND QUESTION!
Does it make me want to read more? I'll give this one a yes. Once the exposition is done with and we're into the actual story, it's a tight revenge tale, with Turok tragically falling for a trap resulting in giving him even MORE reason to go on the hunt for Mon-Ark.
It's a well-worn story path to be sure. Violent hero finds friendship and peace, then ends up dragging his baggage into the middle of it, forcing him to become a loner once again. But there's a reason stories like this endure the test of time. . .they work. It's a simple hook, and I've seen it MANY times before, but it still makes me want to see what happens next. I like a good "Forced on a dark path of violent revenge" tale. I think a lot of people do.
So the story is well-worn, but still pretty solid. Let's talk about the art.
It's a little hit and miss, but leans a bit more toward the "hit" side of things. This comic is a fine time capsule of everything good AND bad about 90s comic art.
On the one hand, it's dynamic, with a great sense of detail and motion. Very cinematic in places, especially during fight scenes. There's plenty of really cool moments and panels to be found through the issue. This is what good 90s art was all about!
On the OTHER hand, when things slow down, the art style doesn't quite cut it. Sears is obviously an artist better at illustrating action scenes. Panels where characters are just talking look strange.
The "Interlude" page I scanned above is a good example. The page I scanned directly below it, with an improbably giant Turok with muscles on top of muscles talking to his weirdly-faced new friend is another good example. Failing to nail non-action sequences is what bad 90s art was all about.
Fortunately, Sears leans into his strengths for the most part and the majority of the art here is more good than bad.
CONCLUSION
Clunky exposition starting things off doesn't distract too much from a tight (but well-worn) "Forced on a dark path of revenge" story, backed up by some solid 90s art that stumbles a little bit here and there when things slow down a bit. It's not the best introduction for new readers, but in the end, I do want to find out what happens next.
This comic sold over a million copies. It was one of the best selling comics on the market when it was released. The ONLY comics that outsold it were the first five issues of DC's "Reign of the Supermen", introducing the five "replacements" for Superman following his "death". This explains WHY there are so many issues of Turok #1 floating around out there. At the time, this comic was HUGE.
In other words. . .This isn't a hard comic to find. Like I said in the introduction, most collectors probably already have one of these, or have had one in the past. If you don't have one and haven't read this, then I'll give it a Longbox Junk thumbs-up. Go ahead and spend a buck or two and find out what the 90s were all about!
Oddly enough, it seems that this volume of Turok (Arguably the best-known comic version) hasn't been collected. There are collections of the original Golden/Silver Age "Turok: Son of Stone" Gold Key comics from Dark Horse, and the Dynamite Comics version of the character has trades for the whole series, but if you want to read more Valiant Turok (A respectable 47 issues total in this run), you'll have to buy the individual issues.
Memes and jokes aside, this is overall a pretty good comic book. Go check it out!
And that's it for this bit of Longbox Junk. Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoyed yourself. Until next time, always remember that comics are worth more than money!
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