Wikipedia

Turok

For other uses, seeTurok (disambiguation).

Turokis a fictional character who first appeared inAmerican comic bookspublished byWestern Publishingthrough licenseeDell Comics.He first appeared inFour Color Comics#596 (October/November 1954).[1]After a secondFour Colorappearance (#656 October 1955), the character graduated to his own title –Turok, Son of Stone(#3 March–May 1956) – published by both Dell and thenGold Key Comicsfrom 1956 to 1982. Subsequently, he appeared in titles published byValiant Comics,Dark Horse ComicsandDynamite Comics.

Turok
Logo of theTurokcomic series starting with theValiant Comicsrun
Publication information
PublisherWestern Publishingthrough licenseeDell Comics
First appearanceFour Color Comics#596 (October/November 1954)
In-story information
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
Abilities
  • Olympic-level athlete
  • Master archer, knife fighter, marksman, hunter, tracker, wilderness survivalist

The character also inspired a popularvideo game series,starting withTurok: Dinosaur Hunter,published byAcclaim Entertainmentin 1997. Several sequels would be released in the following years for various gamingconsoles.

Publishing history

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Western Publishing

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Turok: Son of Stone#93 (November 1974 cover) (copy ofDell#19 (March–May 1960))

The original comic, titledTurok, Son of Stone,was illustrated by Rex Maxon. The writer-creator credit for the characters of Turok and Andar is disputed, with historians citing Matthew H. Murphy,Gaylord Du Bois,andPaul S. Newmanas the feature's earliest writers.

The Western Publishing version of Turok was aPre-Columbian eraNative American(identified asMandanin the first issue, on page 21 and 32 ofDell Four Color#596) who, along with his brother, Andar, finds himself lost in an isolated valley populated bydinosaurs.Turok refers to many of the prehistoric animals as "honkers" or by their most obvious characteristics (tyrannosaurusare called "runners",pterosaursare called "flyers",velociraptorsare "screamers",plesiosaursare "sea demons",Triceratopsare "rammers", etc.). The Du Bois stories involve Turok and Andar seeking a way out of the valley. Du Bois was influenced by his visits toCarlsbad CavernsinNew Mexico,and developed the "Lost Valley" from his visits to the area.[2]

After two appearances inFour Color#596 and #656, the title ran 27 issues (#3–29) published byDell Comics(1956–1962); then issues #30–125 (1962–1980) fromGold Key Comics;and finally issues #126–130 (1981–82) under Western's Whitman Comics imprint.[3]

The first Turok one-shot (Four Color#596) was originally written by Du Bois as aYoung Hawkstory.Young Hawkwas an earlier Native American comic book feature Du Bois created, which appeared in Dell'sThe Lone Rangercomic book series.

Although the artists had long since established Turok as an adult, Du Bois's last scripts for the series (Turok#8) still introduced stories by describing Turok and Andar as "youths", more befitting Young Hawk than Turok (though Andar was depicted as a youth). The first story in that issue begins as "Turok and Andar, Indian youths, have found their way into a strange network of deep canyons in the Carlsbad area, where ancient forms of life still exist... They have found no way to get out". The second story begins where "trapped in a deep canyon in the Carlsbad area of New Mexico, Turok and Andar, two Indian youths, have met ancient forms of life which have disappeared from all other parts of the world".

In Du Bois' last Turok story (issue #8, "Turok Seeks the Trail to Freedom", in which Turok encounters a herd of horses, which he calls "slim-legged creatures", having no word for them, as the horse had not yet been reintroduced to the Americas by the Spanish), Turok scales the cliffs, and escapes the Lost Valley. However, he returns for Andar, who was left behind after being injured. Soon, an avalanche permanently seals the way out and the series begins anew.Paul S. Newmanbegan writing the Turok stories afterward.

Valiant Comics

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Valiant'sTurok: Dinosaur Hunter.Art byBart Sears.

In 1992,Valiant Comicsintroduced a revamped Turok, debuting him inMagnus: Robot Fighter#12.[4]With this version, the concept and setting were altered. Turok and Andar were now 18th-centuryNative Americans.The isolated valley became "the Lost Lands" – a land wheredemons,dinosaursandaliensflourish and where "time has no meaning". A cosmic anomaly causes time in the Lost Lands to move in a self-contained loop (which means that while millions of years pass outside of it, inside it, time barely moves at all). "Unity",a line-wide Valiant Comics crossover storyline, altered the concept even further. The crossover's main villain, a psychotic superpowered being known asMothergod,uses the Lost Lands as her base of operations. She outfits dinosaurs with intelligence-boosting implants, turning them into "bionisaurs".

In the aftermath of the final battle between Mothergod and theValiant Universeheroes, the Lost Lands begin to disappear. Turok and Andar are tossed into apost-apocalypticfuture Earth, and a group of bionisaurs make it to Earth along with them. Following this, they become ruthless hunters trying to contend with the demons and aliens that exist in the future world, as well as variousLovecraftianabominations and high-tech future warriors. Mothergod seizes power in this future and begins to rebuild her empire and attempts to hunt down and kill Turok and Andar.

A new volume of Turok's own comic,Turok: Dinosaur Hunter,was launched in 1993. Valiant published 53 issues beforeAcclaimpurchased the company, includingTurok: Dinosaur Hunter#0–47,Original Turok: Son of Stone#1–2,Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Yearbookin 1994, and the two-issue miniseriesTurok the Huntedin 1996.Turok: Dinosaur Hunter#1 was the sixth best-selling comic of the month of June, surpassed only by the first five installments of "Reign of the Supermen!".[5]

Acclaim Comics

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A new Turok series, titled simplyTurok,was published by Acclaim Comics in 1997 and 1998. In the revamped Acclaim Comics universe, Turok is not the character's name, but rather a title meaning "Son of Stone". The Turok must protect the barriers between this dimension and the others—the axis of all worlds being the Lost Lands, a place where creatures from across time and space had been dragged and where "time has no meaning". Joshua Fireseed, the latest Turok, must travel between alternate universes stopping those who would try to conquer the Lost Lands, and thus all of the multiverse with it.

Dark Horse Comics

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A new Turok series, again titledTurok: Son of Stone,was launched by Dark Horse Comics, under license by Classic Media in 2010. The title was written by former Valiant Comics writerJim Shooterand illustrated by Eduardo Francisco. This was one of a series of titles released by Dark Horse that year based on classicGold Key Comicsproperties. The entire line, including Turok, was short-lived, with Turok lasting only four issues.[6]

Dynamite Comics

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Dynamite Entertainmentlaunched a new Turok comic series, titledTurok: Dinosaur Hunter,as well as books based on other Gold Key Comics properties, as part of a licensing deal withDreamWorks Classics.[7]The creative team on the title wasGreg Pakand Mirko Colak. This comics series was released in 2014.[8]The series ended after 12 issues.[9]

In 2016, Turok appeared in a five-issue miniseries calledGold Key: Alliance.Written byPhil Hesterand illustrated by Brent Peeples, the book starred heroes from multiple Gold Key Comics titles.[10]

Dynamite published a second Turok comic series titledTurok,written byChuck Wendigand illustrated by Álvaro Sarraseca, in 2017. It also featured backup stories starring fellow Gold Key characterDoctor Spektor.[11]

Fictional character biography

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Turoks have included, in chronological order from earliest to most recent:

Collected editions

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In 2009,Dark Horse Comicsstarted an archive series to reprint the original comics:

  • Turok: Son of Stone Archives:
    • Volume 1(collectsFour Color Comics#596 and 656 andTurok#3–6, 224 pages, March 2009,ISBN1-59582-155-4)
    • Volume 2(collectsTurok#7–12, 224 pages, July 2009,ISBN1-59582-275-5)
    • Volume 3(collectsTurok#13–18, 224 pages, August 2009,ISBN1-59582-281-X)
    • Volume 4(collectsTurok#19–24, 224 pages, November 2009,ISBN1-59582-343-3)
    • Volume 5(collectsTurok#25–30, 224 pages, March 2010,ISBN1-59582-442-1)
    • Volume 6(collectsTurok#31–35,37, 224 pages, July 2010,ISBN1-59582-484-7) (#36 reprinted issue #14)
    • Volume 7(collectsTurok#38–43, 216 pages, November 2010,ISBN1-59582-565-7)
    • Volume 8(collectsTurok#44–50, 232 pages, April 2011,ISBN1-59582-641-6)
    • Volume 9(collectsTurok#51–53, 55–56, 58–59, 232 pages, November 2010,ISBN1-59582-789-7) (#54 reprinted issue #26 and #57 reprinted issue #17)
    • Volume 10(collectsTurok#60–67, March 2012,ISBN1-59582-861-3)

Additional collections

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  • Turok: Son of Stone(byTony Bedard,88 pages, September 3, 2008,ISBN1-59582-201-1)[15]Adaptation of the 2008 DVD film.
  • Turok: Son of Stone Volume 1: Aztlán(byJim Shooter,Eduardo Francisco, and James Harren, 96 pages, December 21, 2011,ISBN1-59582-690-4)[16]Collects the four-issue 2010 Dark Horse Comics series.
  • Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Vol. 1: Conquest(by Greg Pak, Mirko Colak, and Cory Smith, 128 pages, September 9, 2014,ISBN1606905201)[17]Collects issues #1–4 of the 2014 Dynamite Comics series.
  • Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Vol. 2: West(by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, 120 pages, April 22, 2015,ISBN1606905988)[18]Collects issues #5–8 of the 2014 Dynamite Comics series.
  • Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Vol. 3: Raptor Forest(by Greg Pak, Paul Tobin, Lee Ferguson, Ruairi Coleman, Stephen Downey, and Felipe Cunha, 128 pages, August 12, 2015,ISBN1606906933)[19]Collects issues #9–12 of the 2014 Dynamite Comics series.
  • Turok Vol. 1: Blood Hunt(by Chuck Wendig and Álvaro Sarraseca, 140 pages, May 16, 2018,ISBN1524106526)[20]Collects issues #1–5 of the 2017 Dynamite Comics series.

In other media

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Video games

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Main article:Turok (video game series)

The firstTurokvideo game, titledTurok: Dinosaur Hunter,was released in 1997 for theNintendo 64console. The game was followed by numerous sequels, released forNintendo 64,Game Boy,Game Boy Color,PC,PlayStation 2,Xbox,GameCubeand theGame Boy Advance.In 2008, the video game rebootTurokwas released forPlayStation 3,PCandXbox 360.

Mobile games

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The initial mobile game was developed by Disney's Living Mobile Studios and released byTouchstonein 2008. In it, Joseph Turok is a member of the Whiskey Company's elite squad. Turok survives an airplane crash, and must fend off dinosaurs.

Books

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After the success of the Turok video games, a series of non-canon Turok novels written by Michael Teitelbaum was released, dealing with the same storyline as the games. The first book was titledWay of the Warrior.The second and third books,Seeds of EvilandArena of Doom,concerned Joshua Fireseed's fight against the Primagen and the Campaigner, respectively. A fourth novel,Path of Destruction,was published in November 1998.

Animated DVD

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In early 2008, a 70-minute animated DVD titledTurok: Son of Stonewas released byClassic Media.The screen story was written by Evan Baily and Tony Bedard, with a screenplay by Bedard. In this version, Andar is Turok's nephew, not his brother.Adam Beachprovides the voice of Turok, withIrene Bedardas the voice of Catori (the wife of Turok's brother, Nashoba),Robert Knepperas the villain Chichak, andCree Summeras the voice of Sepinta. Curt Geda, Dan Riba, and Frank Squillace each directed a third of the movie. Ex-Disney (AladdinandHercules: The Animated Series) producerTad Stoneswas the supervising director.[21]

Film

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ActorAdam Beach,who had voiced the character in the animated filmTurok: Son of Stone,said he was involved in a planned Turok live-action film, and that the script was being written.[22]There has been no updates to this since 2008.

References

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  1. ^Markstein, Don."Turok, Son of Stone".Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Retrieved2 April2020.
  2. ^Fischer, Stuart (March 2018). "Those Unforgettable Super-Heroes of Dell & Gold Key".Alter Ego(151). TwoMorrows Publishing: 64.
  3. ^Schelly, William (2013).American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s.TwoMorrows. p. 162.ISBN9781605490540.
  4. ^"Top 10: December 1992".Wizard(17).Wizard Entertainment:108. January 1993.
  5. ^"Wizard Market Watch".Wizard.No. #22. June 1993. pp. 134–5.
  6. ^Johnson, Rich (May 7, 2011)."Solar, Magnus, Turok, Dark Horse's Gold Key Line To Be Cancelled".BleedingCool.Retrieved7 May2011.
  7. ^Wilson, Matt D."New Turok, Magnus, Solar And Doctor Spektor Comics Coming From Dynamite In 2014 [NYCC 2013]".ComicsAlliance. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-14.Retrieved11 October2011.
  8. ^Gerding, Stephen. (13 November 2013)."EXCLUSIVE: Dynamite Debuts First 'Turok' Pages, New Variants".Comic Book Resources.Retrieved10 Dec2013.
  9. ^"Dynamite Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #12".Dynamite – The Official Site.Retrieved20 December2015.
  10. ^"Dynamite Gold Key Alliance #1 (of 5)".Dynamite – The Official Site.Retrieved24 February2016.
  11. ^"Dynamite Turok #1".Dynamite – The Official Site.Retrieved25 November2017.
  12. ^"Turok Evolution for Xbox".GameStop. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-02.Retrieved2011-06-16.
  13. ^"Turok Evolution – PlayStation 2 Preview at IGN".Ps2.ign. 2002-01-23.Retrieved2011-06-16.
  14. ^ab"Joshua Fireseed (video game character)".Giantbomb.Retrieved2011-06-16.
  15. ^Turok: Son of Stone TPBat DarkHorse
  16. ^Turok, Son of Stone: Aztlan Volume 1 TPBat DarkHorse
  17. ^Dynamite Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Vol. 1: Conquest Tpbat Dynamite
  18. ^Dynamite Turok: Dinosaur HunterVol. 2: West Trade Paperbackat Dynamite
  19. ^Dynamite Turok: Dinosaur HunterVol. 3 Trade Paperbackat Dynamite
  20. ^Dynamite TurokVol. 1: Blood Hunt Trade Paperbackat Dynamite
  21. ^"Turok: Son of Stone (Video 2008)".IMDb.
  22. ^Adler, Shawn (June 10, 2008)."Exclusive: Adam Beach To Star In Live Action Turok Movie".MTV.Archived fromthe originalon September 7, 2015.Retrieved2011-06-16.
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