When Comics were Great!

Man, they don't make 'em like this anymore. Back in the day when there were all kinds of comic books for all kinds of kids. Back in the day when people were still readers. Alas!

My copy of TUROK #8. I simply could not believe this cover when I was a kid. All I could do was stare at it. Looking at that cover stalled me from reading the book for quite a while.

My copy of TUROK #9.

I see this cover reproduced quite often. After this one, the style of art on the cover changed a bit. They were still painting, but they obviously switched to a different artist who wasn't quite as skilled as this guy.

Do You Really Need to Take This Trip?

Almost every comic collector I know carries a want-list around with him. This is, of course, the smart thing to do. Because my collection is relatively small and centered on a limited axis, I've never written up a comprehensive want list. However, a couple of recent things have made me decide to create a decent list.

I do collect EC Comics in a small way. I only pick them up occasionally, and only when I can get a really good deal on the book. Thus, my collection of EC comics is rather small. No need, really, for a want list. But a little over a month ago I managed to do something that I would have thought most improbable:

I bought an EC comic book that I already have! It's a great book and I won't have any trouble selling it or trading it away, but just the fact that I bought a book that I already had when I don't own that many of the title (or even that publisher)...well, it made me realize I need that list. And soon.

Because this week I came very close to buying another comic I already have in my collection: TUROK #6. This book has a most memorable cover and an even more memorable scene. It has a giant gorilla on the cover and in the story! How could I NOT recall that I already have that issue? Well, I had forgotten that I own it, and came with a lizard's whisker of buying another copy. That I don't need.

And that was it. I've already started work on a comprehensive want list.

Whoa! I almost bought this book when I already had this perfectly good copy!

TUROK back issues!

I've got a couple of writing projects coming up that will require a lot of attention, so I'm going to have to lay off the comic collecting for a while. I really have enjoyed collecting comics, so I want to keep it up. But the last few purchases I've made will probably be the only ones for the next month or so while I buckle down and pay exclusive attention to my writing.

I'd never thought much about it, but even a hobby as simple as collecting comics requires a certain amount of specific attention to detail. I just don't have the time to devote to it for the next few weeks.

So, the last few old comics I've purchased are some very early issues of TUROK, SON OF STONE, the very cool comic book originated by Dell Comics. I've covered the title before, so if you're curious, just look up those installments of the blog. I also landed a Golden Age book that I'll cover in a couple of days. I'll leave that one for later.

These two issues of TUROK were good ones for me. Adding them to the collection give me the first six issues of the title, which is a bit of a landmark and good place for me to pause for a bit. So, here they are:

TUROK #3. This is the first issue that the book was numbered on its own. The first two Turok books were tryouts in Dell's FOUR COLOR title.

The back cover. Sometimes with Dell comic books, the story would actually continue onto the back cover. Or they'd save it for a feature of some type. This back cover also shows the Dell "Pledge to Parents" that they set up so that they wouldn't have to be a part of the Comics Code Authority.


TUROK #6 had a story featuring a giant Kong-like gorilla. As DC Comics editors Mort Weissinger and Julius Schwartz had learned, if you put a gorilla on the cover, sales would be good. This issue shows up often at comic conventions, which leads me to believe that it sold relatively well.

New Old Comics

Here are a few new additions to the growing comic collection:

I managed to get a really nice condition copy of TUROK #18, which has a nifty and effective T-rex cover, and Turok wrestling a primitive caveman who is after his technologically superior weaponry.

I don't buy many Golden Age comics. When I do, I tend to stick to things like Disney books and work by Walt Kelly. But every once in a while I'll purchase an EC comic, if the price is right. This copy of FRONTLINE COMBAT #9 was in lower grade and I got it really cheap. It's in nice enough condition for me to read and it's packed with what you expect from EC--great artwork by some of the best artists ever to work in the industry, along with stellar writing from the likes of Harvey Kurtzman and company. This cover was by Mr. Kurtzman, who was probably the nicest comic book professional I ever met. Marvel had its house of ideas inside Jack Kirby's head. EC had its greatest achievements from the mind of Harvey Kurtzman.

Finally, I completed my collection of the Ditko run of BLUE BEETLE from Charlton Comics. This pair of books are in about very good condition, much lower than the other ones I landed. But good enough for me, since I read my books. It's nice to see what Ditko was doing once he'd left Marvel and was working for Charlton, for DC, and for Warren Publications (and others). His artwork was as good (in some cases better) as his Marvel efforts, but the lack of a keen editorial hand weakened his plotting and Lee's hip dialog is almost always missed.

BLUE BEETLE #2. Ditko pencils, but it doesn't look as if he inked his own work here.

TUROK COLLECTION

Another issue of TUROK with an exceptionally kickass cover. Dinosaur buffs from my era always appreciated illustrations of dinosaurs rarely used in mass media. I had a few Dimetrodon toys and there were some good paintings in my favorite dinosaur and evolution texts, but by and large you rarely saw this animal depicted in popular media. True, there were always monitor lizards and young alligators dressed up to somewhat resemble this animal, but this cover was one that instantly grabbed my imagination the first time I saw it.

It also came out the year I was born! 1957!

That year there were still dozens of science fiction and fantasy magazines on the newsstands. A few radio dramas and comedies were clinging to life, but soon TV would kill off the pulp fiction magazines, and radio drama, and most comic book lines.

Alas.

Here are the latest additions to my TUROK comic collection:

TUROK #4. Not a great cover, but decent. It possesses the drama of the better covers, but lacks color and, of course, a really cool extinct animal. I love mammoths, but kids want to see dinosaurs!

"Kill it Turok! Kill it likes it's a TV executive!"

To my way of thinking, this is one of the last of the great Turok covers (#22). After this, they just weren't quite as good as the ones that came before. However, the interior art and stories improved shortly before this, so the book's quality remained balanced.

Turok #25. One of my least favorite covers. I never liked this one very much.

Hard-to-Find Turoks

The two latest additions to my comic collection arrived today. I was very happy to locate the Turok #2 (Four Color 656) which is considered widely to be the hardest to locate number from the Dell Comics run.

Also, I landed a nice copy of #8 which has what I feel to be one of the most spectacular covers to appear on the book. #10 might actually be slightly more dramatic, but this one's at or near the top.

Four Color #656, aka Turok #2. (Note the "Dell's Pledge to Parents". This was Dell's way of avoiding submitting to the hated Comics Code Authority.)

Turok #8...to my way of thinking, probably the most dramatic cover to appear on the comic (with the possible exception of #10).

Turok, Son of Stone!

I know almost nothing about the creators involved in the comic book title TUROK, SON OF STONE. The premise was pretty simple and pure magic for a kid looking for a great fantasy book that was filled with dinosaurs. It involved two Native Americans from a time never actually stated who end up being trapped in an enclosed world where dinosaurs and other supposedly extinct animals hold sway over the land. Turok and Andar do encounter other humans in this world--but they are always more primitive people who lack the superior technology of the bow and arrow, flint tools, and usually the ability to make fire. In addition, the two heroes have located a potent poison that they use on their arrowheads to keep them safe from the hoards of roaming dinosaur predators.

At one time or another I'm pretty sure that I read every issue of TUROK. And while the stories could sometimes grow rather repetitive, this dinosaur buff never got tired of them.

TUROK, SON OF STONE #5, the latest addition to my comic collection.