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COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #2

March 8th, 2014 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

Written by Greg Pak

Art by Mirko Colak & Cory Smith

Published by Dynamite Comics

When we last left Turok, he had been excommunicated by his tribe and was living on his own. He had decided to kill some of the kids that bullied him in cold blood and while he was in the act of doing so, his life changed forever. Two of the kids were eaten alive by dinosaurs brought forth by the English and they quickly overran the tribe’s village in an effort to find riches. The fate of the remaining villagers is left in the hands of Turok and his foe-turned-friend, Andar.

I have been a gigantic fan of Turok ever since the first game I played back on Nintendo 64 years and years ago. I couldn’t really tell you why I developed such a strong bond with the character, but I’ve always been fascinated by him. This is a story absolutely packed to the gills with action, but for all the amazing guerilla style fighting and badassery, this is a coming of age tell about a young boy who’s never quite fit in with his own people. In just two issues, Greg Pak has managed to turn Turok from a standoffish young boy into a man that’s really learning his place in the world. It’s really incredible how many layers he’s managed to add to our young hero in such a short time and this is definitely a series I’ll be sticking with for as long as Mr. Pak decides he wants to write it. There’s action, adventure, a great story, oh and in case I forget to mention…DINOSAURS!

I really like the art in this book, but I find that some of the character models look a bit too much alike. That being said, Mirko Colak and Cory Smith do a wonderful job portraying the large spectrum of subtle emotions that this story carries along with it. There’s some pretty heavy stuff going on, but Turok, being a person that’s constantly had to deal with bullying his entire life, has learned to keep a stiff upper lip and not wear his emotions on his sleeve. That’s not to say he’s a stone wall though. Turok is like a pressure cooker that I feel is just waiting to explode and you can see it seeping out from time to time and I absolutely love that they decided to go that route in developing the character instead of turning him into a stone-cold badass right away.

This is definitely something you should be reading. Greg Pak is a guy that’s gotten a lot of critical acclamation lately and for very good reason. While Turok isn’t a name that carries the same wait as Superman or Batman, Pak has turned him into a force to be reckoned with. This series may not be for everyone, and it’s not perfect, but I can promise you that if you give this team an issue or two more to really hit their stride, this is going to be a book that you’ll wish you had been reading all along; it’s that special. I absolutely love it and can’t wait until next month so I can dig into more of Turok’s adventure!

4 out of 5 nerds

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.