This past September I showed a story of frontier adventurers, Tomahawk and his young friend, Dan, fighting pirates. In Tomahawk’s era there would be a possibility he could meet a pirate...but not a dinosaur. Still, this story is about just that. Tomahawk and Dan wander into a lost valley full of prehistoric creatures.

When this story takes place (date given is 1769), dinosaurs had not yet been discovered as an extinct species. It would take another 80 years, according to “Early Dinosaur Discoveries in North America”, where it is said:  “It is generally accepted that the first discovery of dinosaur remains in North America was made in 1854 by Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden during his exploration of the upper Missouri River.” To be fair to the Tomahawk writer, one caption mentions dinosaurs, but Tomahawk never calls them that. Still, he does know that the giants are critters of another time.

It reminds me of the basic premise of Turok, Son of Stone. Turok and Andar were two pre-Columbian Indians who stumbled into the lost valley of dinosaurs, and couldn't find their way out. Who knows? Maybe it was the same valley.

From Star Spangled Comics #83 (1948). Drawn by Fred Ray.

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In later years Tomahawk encountered all kinds of crazy stuff: aliens, dinosaurs, supernatural creatures, etc. You can find an especially oddball Tomahawk story from the mid-'60s which I featured in 2010. Just click the picture.

Tomorrow is the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day, so practice your best Robert Newton Long John Silver impression, and holler “Yarrrr!” and “Arrrrr mateys!” at work or school tomorrow. Everyone will love it. NOT.

I never need a reason to show a story about pirates, but it seems more appropriate today to feature Tomahawk and Dan, the buckskin Batman and Robin, and their encounter with buccaneers. Pirate Cap'n Henry Gannon makes Tomahawk walk the plank! Yarrrr!

From Star Spangled Comics #80 (1948), with artwork by the fabulous Fred Ray. To demonstrate how fabulous, look at that splash panel.

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Clicking the thumbnail will take you to Tomahawk’s first appearance in Star Spangled Comics.

 

There isn't a lot of information available online about artist Edmond Good. He was born in 1910 (no death date listed; is he still alive at age 102?) Worked in Canadian comic books during WWII, then came to the U.S. to work on the comic strip, Scorchy Smith, and then comic books. He was the first artist on "Tomahawk," which began in Star Spangled Comics in 1947.

Tomahawk's first appearance was shown in Pappy's #985. Good worked for Fox, doing Dagar, Desert Hawk, and also at ACG in the 1960s, doing supernatural stories for editor Richard E. Hughes. He had a very pleasing style, which once identified, becomes immediately apparent when spotted.

In the answer to a question in Adventures Into the Unknown, Hughes further identified Good as a member of the Woodstock, N.Y. art colony.

 Joe Samachson wrote this tale, the second-ever Tomahawk story, in Star Spangled Comics #70 (1947):

Number 1050


Veteran's Day 11/11/11


Today is Veteran's Day in the U. S., honoring all who have served in the armed forces of the United States. That's a lot of veterans, and includes me.

For the occasion we've got a couple of special war stories, one story from Our Army At War #8, 1953, written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Irving Novick. It's in the form of the original art taken from the Heritage Auctions site. I also took the other story from Heritage, which harkens back to an earlier era of conflict. It's from the next-to-last issue of Tomahawk*, #139, 1972, written by Bob Haney and drawn by Fred Ray. Ray, who had drawn Tomahawk for years, was an expert on the Revolutionary War period, and looks like he could handle the Civil War period, also.

These stories are dedicated to my fellow veterans, and to those serving now. Thanks to all of you!


















*The cover logo says Son of Tomahawk.