Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #1 Review

turok
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #1 Review
“Sanctuary”

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writers: Greg Pak
Art: Mirko Colak
Colors: Lauren Affe
Letters: Marshall M. Dillon
Cover: Bart Sears, Jae Lee, Jonathan Case, Joe Bennett, Ken Haeser

Review by Scott Keys

One thing that gets me excited each year anymore is the revival of some old comic franchise. I love when today’s writers take an old concept and make it new again. When I saw that Dynamite was going to be the next to revive the Gold Key characters, I knew they would be in good hands! What did issue 1 of Turok bring? Plenty!

Pak has taken the character back to his beginning, and we get some background on how Turok came to be the way he is. It opens with his parents being chased by other tribe members, being labeled as murderers! We then flash forward 16 years to a teenaged Turok, living alone in the forest, away from his tribe.

I like that Pak made him the outcast, and you can feel the animosity the others have for him and his family. One of my favorite scenes was when Andar (Turok’s rival) pushes Turok to his limits by burning the totems of his parents, and Turok threatens him (well, as the dialogue goes, it isn’t a threat, it’s just the way things will be – GREAT line!). It’s a great dynamic, and is especially great when Andar realizes that there are dinosaurs following them, and Turok is the one saving him! The art of Colak and Affe fits this time period and aesthetic quite well. The flashback sequences look amazing, and the action scenes (especially the dinosaurs) look fantastic!

For the debut issue, Pak and company have laid enough groundwork for me to come back for issue two, and come on, it has freaking dinosaurs! Do you really need anymore than that to give it a try? If not, would a group of Templar Knights with dinosaurs in cages to subdue the natives intrigue you any? Yeah, it’s a pretty cool twist! How about another? It’s 1210 AD, and on the island of Manhattan! Such a great hook that will have me anxiously awaiting issue 2!

Art: 4.5 / 5
Story: 5 / 5
Overall: 4.5 / 5

Scott Keys is a father, Butler University grad, pharmacist, and full-time comic nerd. You can follow his adventures around the spinner-rack and his Incoherent Comic Book Ramblings on:

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