Turok Son of Stone (Dell)

Turok, 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 and Paul S. Newman as the feature’s earliest writers.

The Western Publishing version of Turok was a Pre-Columbian era Native American (identified as Mandan in the first issue, on page 21 and 32 of Dell Four Color #596) who, along with his brother, Andar, became trapped in an isolated canyon valley populated by dinosaurs, which they refer to in general as “hoppers”, “monsters” and more often than not, beginning in Dell issue number 9, page 35 as “honkers”, as well as by their most obvious characteristics (tyrannosaurs are called “runners”, pterosaurs are called “flyers”, velociraptors are “screamers”, plesiosaurs are “sea demons”, Triceratops are “rammers”, etc.). The Du Bois stories involve Turok and Andar seeking a way out of the canyon. Du Bois was influenced by his visits to Carlsbad CavernsNew Mexico and developed the “Lost Valley” from his visits to the area.

After two appearances in Four Color #596 and #656, the title ran 27 issues (#3–29) published by Dell Comics (1956–62); then issues #30–125 (1962–80) from Gold Key Comics; and finally issues #126–130 (1981–82) under Western’s Whitman Comics imprint.