Dinosaur Hunter Diaries #128: Son of Stone Part 1
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #43
Turok and Ravenwing, sitting in a tree.
The issue kicks off hot with Turok and Andy on the run from inner-city drug runners, having witnessed them murder the only other witness — an undercover cop — and it’s not looking good if they stick around. Turok’s hasn’t quite got his head in the game; he consistently refers to Andy as Andar, and envisions themselves in the thick of the Lost Land, being pursued by velociraptors, only for them to be cut off by an interfering t-rex — or in reality, a mack truck.
Andy’s got every incentive to lie low, but Turok believes he can take them, lost in memory of his younger days before the Lost Land. Even as a young man he was serious and thoughtful; while his peers Noca and Little Bear were interested more in trophies, Turok is more considerate of his catch, having spared the elder beast so they could live on to sire good seed.
His pals ribbed him for having his eye on Ravenwing, the most desirable girl on the plains. She’s the daughter of chief Hawkmoon, and he wouldn’t give her hand in marriage to just anyone; Naiche may have offered fine trophies, but had no communal spirit. He’d have to give her up sometime, and he couldn’t keep waiting on Turok to make his move.
Turok left to fetch himself a surefire gift to win over not just Ravenwing, but the goodwill of the tribe, and set out on a mission to the camp of the Nez Perce, whose fancy-dan spotted horses would make any courtship weak at the knees. Little Bear and Walking Horse evidently had the same idea, and come nightfall they descended upon the camp, ready to fight and claim their prize.
A two-issue fill-in that serves as the final contribution from Mike Grell. These muddled glimpses of Turok and Andy roughing it in the city streets are Grell’s only instance of writing the character in the present day — it otherwise follows his tradition of telling stories set in our hero’s past. Action aside, Grell’s flashback stories haven’t done much to get me invested; this one at least is an opportunity to see a little of Turok’s life among his tribe, which is clearly where the writer’s interests lie.
We already know it won’t work out between Turok and Ravenwing. She’ll probably die under half-baked circumstances, and he’ll walk away with an unhealthy dose of man-pain, blood frenzy, or any number of edgy ’90s ailments. At this point, I’d much rather see the relationship between Andy and Turok evolve.
