Turok Dinosaur Hunter #3

By Greg Pak, Mirko Colak & Cory Smith

Turok Dinosaur Hunter has gotten off to a bit of a shaky start. The first two issues left a lot to be desired, which is odd because Greg Pak is a very talented writer. One of the problems may be that this was a Valiant property and people are familiar with the character from the old line of comics. Either way, Pak and Colak need to inject some life into this comic before it’s too late.

Greg Pak gives us a pretty solid issue for the first time on his run with this title. The first two were not bad, but they were too slow for a character like Turok who is known to have a violent streak. Pak continues to show Turok getting comfortable as a leader of his rag-tag group and it is a pretty sensible step for the character. Pak is also doing a fine job of letting the reader know just how ruthless the British lord is, as he is willing to sacrifice his own daughter for the pursuit of gold. Some of the side characters get a little more light on them as well this issue, as Kita and Andar continue to grow.

The art this issue was better than it has been in the previous two, but there are still some rough spots. Mirko Colak does improve though, and we are treated to a couple of full pages of  dinosaurs, which is cool. Colak’s work gets better as the issue goes on, it seems a bit less detailed and bland for the first few pages, but then he seems to hit his stride near the middle of the book. Last issue, Colak didn’t have a real stand out panel, but we get one this month as a dinosaur bites an Englishman’s horse in half. It’s a very nicely drawn panel that is a testament to what Colak is capable of.

This has been the best issue of the series so far with the new line up of Pak and Colak. Greg Pak’s writing is getting better as his story starts to take form and develops a little. Mirko Colak can hopefully use this issue as a stepping stone and build off of the momentum he has going for him in the second half of this book. Hopefully this will be a turn around issue for a solid writer and artist team and their re-imagining of a classic Valiant character.