In this sixth volume of Turok Son of Stone from Dark Horse's Archive series we find a refinement of the characters and the world which was created a decade before. Turok is now clearly the parent in the relationship between himself and Andar with Andar increasingly behaving like a teenager, full of more energy than wisdom. Turok is the somber voice that promotes safety and caution which Andar wants to explore and seems intent on finding connections in the Lost Valley. All of the stories in the collection were written by Paul S. Newman and the artwork for all but one issue was created by Giovanni Ticci and Alberto Giolitti. George Wilson paints all the covers. The "Young Earth" series continues but after a few small tales the text pieces switch to a more purely informational format as do the one-page items which seem more generic to serve all of Gold Key's comic line.
"Valley of Dreams" in Turok Son of Stone issue thirty-one is one of the more famous or perhaps infamous stories in the series. Andar and Turok find an unknown kind of fruit which is enjoyed by a primitive tribe who tell tales of multi-headed "Honkers". When Turok and Andar innocently eat the fruit they too begin to have hallucinations. The recover and move on but the tribe seems addicted to their delusions. "Young Earth" brings us "Creatures of the Grasslands" and describes the interactions of mammals of the Miocene Era. "Prey of the Cave Monster" has unlucky Andar knocked out on a raft and drifting into a vast cave in which Cavemen say a monster lurks. Turok must go into the cave to save his young friend, despite the threats of the Cavemen. The inside covers of the comic have two installments of "Wild Animals of Africa" -- one focusing on Baboons and the other on Elephants.
The next issue begins with "The Fire-Stealers" and shows that the primitive tribes are quite aware of the powers of Turok and Andar with their skills to create fire. They want to steal this secret and kidnap Turok but when Andar is about to share the secret to save his friend a lightning bolt strikes giving the Cavemen the gift of fire they seek. They use this new power to attempt to drive another tribe out of a nice comfy cave. Turok and Andar are barely able to survive when the stupid Cavemen nearly burn down the jungle. "The Captive" tells how a wise chief adopts the child of enemies pointing the way to a more peaceful future. "Young Earth" is "The Terror of Temperature" and details how both hot and cold climates have impacted life on Earth over time. "Guardian of the Cave" has both Turok and Andar eager to find a way out of Lost Valley when Andar has a dream which might show the way. They do find a cave which seems to lead to another land but unfortunately a deadly Honker causes a cave in which blocks the possible exit. The inside front cover had a one-page piece about "Seagoing Vessels".
"Terror of the Bog" has Turok and Andar in a deadly marsh which is inhabited by strange green primitives who are after our heroes. "Creatures of the Cave" is the "Young Earth" piece and shows how different creatures battle for control of comfy cave with bears winning out until man arrives. "Man's Earliest Weapon" talks about how early man used different kinds of stones to protect themselves and to hunt. "Dangerous Friends" showcases yet again young Andar's desire for companionship of someone his own age. He seeks friends in a primitive tribe, and they are good friends but their parents want to take from Andar the secrets he and Turok possess. Andar learns a tough lesson about survival.
"The Ghostly Terror" have the boys accosted in the night by freakish pale people. They follow them down into the underground lair where they find many pale Honkers who have never seen the light. The tribe brought themselves down for safety and only venture out at night. Turok and Andar must use the bright light of fire to save themselves. "The Dinosaur's Day" is the "Young Earth" feature and shows one dangerous day in the life of a lowly Protoceratops. "Early Weapons: The Stick" talks about the early development of spears and throwing sticks such as boomerangs. "Andar's Perilous Pet" has our young hero want to adopt a turtle as a pet but finds that very dangerous. The turtle has a whole other agenda unknown to the young Native American. The main Turok story artwork in this issue was supplied by Rex Maxon who has also been doing all the artwork on the "Young Earth" features.
"Dream of Escape" has Turok find Andar unconscious after drinking some dodgy water. While he sits with his young friend, he reflects on how he and Andar came to be in Lost Valley. When Andar wakes he claims to have had a dream which showed him the way out of Lost Valley but when they seek the spot the two are disappointed that it all seemed to be merely a dream. "Man's Early Weapons: The Rope and The Thong" tell how early man used these things to his advantage. "Pursuit" has our duo chasing a Caveman who steals Andars bow and quiver of arrows. Not only do they want the weapons back they don't want the cavemen developing this technology. The chase is hard and dangerous one but finally they succeed and escape when the cavemen cannot walk on the hot sands during the day. A one-page feature on "Fish" closes out the issue.
The thirty-sixth issue of Turok Son of Stone is a reprint of issue fourteen from the olden Dell days. It is not of course included in this collection a second time.
Turok Son of Stone thirty-seven is dated January 1964 marking a full decade since the debut of the feature in Four Color. "Prey of the Flying Monsters" has an over-eager Andar want to penetrate a mist to sail a river and climb a cliff in the vague hope that they find a way out. They find instead the nesting ground for deadly flying Honkers. "The Young Earth" feature is "The Hunter" and describes how mankind came to dominate the world with his hunting skills. Man's Early Weapons: The Bow and Arrow" gives details about the development of this most deadly weapon. "Scavenger of the Storm" is a different kind of story with Turok remembering how he'd been forced to tie an unconscious Andar to a stout tree when some cavemen force the duo to endure deadly cave winds. While Turok fights deadly Cavemen to get back to his friend Andar wakes up to find a Honker very close by.
These issues read a bit more maturely than previous issues by and large. The duo are often focused on getting out of Lost Valley with Andar obsessed with it. It creates more of tension between the two than we'd seen in earlier issues. Also Turok's distrust of the primitive tribes is heightened. He'd been helpful to the tribes when the two first entered Lost Valley but increasingly he's become fearful of who the primitives would exploit the powers that only he and Andar possess. It's a bit edgier than early issues and adds some realistic luster to the series.
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