Turok, Dinosaur Hunter # 1
Writer: David Michelinie
Penciller: Bart Sears
Inker: Randy Elliott
Letterers: Tony Bedard & Ken Lopez
Colorist: Jorge Gonzalez
Cover Date: July 1993
Rating: 09/10
So for this week’s installment, I decided to review an interesting find from my stash of back issues: Turok, Dinosaur Hunter # 1. One of the many fascinating titles to come out of Valiant Comics in the mid-90s.
With Turok’s background, his title was put out way back in the mid-1950s via Western Publishing/Dell Comics and the Gold Key Comics from 1956-1982; And might I add that this new incarnation itself was spawned from Valiant’s first-ever crossover called “Unity” in which the antagonist called Mothergod, who attempts to reboot reality so she can bring back her original universe, but after that event, we find out that Turok himself was hurled through time by Mothergod and finds himself in the jungles of South America circa 1987. Now the story finds Turok in battle with the Bionisaurs- dinosaurs embedded with implants that boost their intelligence and making them more deadly all while being a part of Mothergod’s army in The Lost Land.
For some of you that have read this series back in the 90s I know there’s plenty to digest; I mean, there are vicious dinosaurs that are intelligent and a warrior trying to find his place in a world he doesn’t recognize. I really like how David Michelinie crafted the story, giving it a cool Tarzan vibe mixed in with some elements of “Land of The Lost ” and “Jurassic Park” and again you can’t go wrong with the premise as Michelinie, Sears and the rest of the creative team presented something I felt is truly special, and I also feel like Randy Elliott’s inks really made Bart Sears’ pencils look amazing and it’s very rare to see an inker of any caliber make Sears’ art look great on print, instead of him inking himself.
Overall, this issue was a real blast to read and I really got a kick out of the fact that the character of Turok got a revival due to Valiant’s popularity back in the 90s (He even had his own video game) and this series was definitely a departure from the Dell Comics/Gold Key eras as the story itself was very gritty while at the same time, it wasn’t the typical classic superhero comic that most people were familiar with, but for its time it proved to be enjoyable thanks to David Michelinie’s writing but since he did add the “wow” factor back into Iron Man and Spider-Man during his time at Marvel, Turok, Dinosaur Hunter also got that benefit, making him a memorable character for years to come.
Well, that’s it for me. I’ll be back with another review next week so thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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