Turok, Son of Stone #1

Well bless my non-existent beard, if it isn't Turok the Dinosaur Hunter with his own new series here in the year 2010!  I still recall fondly the blocky and foggy days of the Nintendo 64 and sitting down to some dinosaur blasting action, but it was only a little later when I discovered that Turok was actually a long-running comic book originally.  Did I ever read any of those books?  Hell no, but their existence always remained in my mind.  Remaining a pretty stalwart fan of the games, I decided that here with the re-launching of his comic series, I'd give my old buddy Turok a chance to impress me.  While I'm certainly on-board after the first issue, it is with mixed feelings. 

Old-School Sensibilities 

Turok is a pretty basic, if not ludicrous story that hasn't changed much in this modern series.  Our hero Turok saves a young Indian named Andar from being sacrificed by a brutal tribe bent on appeasing their mysterious god.  Turok and Andar are pursued, but soon both the pursuers and the duo are swept up in a mystical storm which transports them to a savage land of dinosaurs.  Turok and Andar must evade their pursuers as well as survive their new environment while plotting their next move.  The last quarter of the book is a reprinting of the original 1954 Turok: Son of Stone #1 which tells an extremely similar "origins" story of the two brave heroes. 
 
The problem with Turok is that it feels a little overstuffed, and that's probably due to its old-school feel.  This is because the writer, Jim Shooter (after doing some research), is a pretty old dude whose credits are filled with old Marvel and DC titles.  He's a good writer, to be sure, but he tends to over-explain things, having characters react unrealistically for the sake of spelling out actions going on.  This is also emphasized by the fact that scenes are cut together jarringly.  One second our heroes are talking about an action, and they're executing it in the very next panel!  That said, there is some great dialogue between characters, and Turok himself is written incredibly eloquently and avoids the age-old stereotypes that Indian characters often fall into in these titles. 
 
The art in this title is also extremely well-done.  It must have been difficult for Eduardo Francisco to keep up with some of the quick story changes going on, but his art anchors the chaotic narrative.  It, like the writing, has a bit of an old school feel to it, but it always looks great and the action scenes are cohesive and dynamic.  If I had to complain about anything, it'd be the colors by Jose Villarrubia who could stand to tone down on some of the pastels.  It's also worth noting that the cover designs of this and other Dark Horse titles being released now are pretty darn cool, and the artwork by Raymond Swanland is amazing. 

Here there be monsters 

In the end, your enjoyment of Turok: Son of Stone #1 is going to rely on two things, your reverence for the character and your tolerance for old-school story-telling.  If you have a strong affinity for either, this is a fun book that promises something different from other titles currently out there (and the re-printing at the end is bound to be a treat).  However, if you cringe at the thought of antiquated stories and have never heard of this Turok fella, the issue becomes infinitely harder to recommend. 
 
Turok: Son of Stone #1 gets 3 stars out of 5.