Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Dinosaur in Grandfather's Barn
Here's a fun little tale for you fans of freaky dinosaur driven action and drama (like Valley of the Gwangi and especially Beast of Hollow Mountain), about a spunky city kid finding way more than he ever b-b-b-bargained for on a visit to the c-c-c-country! From the F-F-F-February 1952 issue of Youthful's Fantastic #8, art by Henry Kiefer.
It's not unheard-of in a kid-oriented monster story, but I'm a little surprised that the cat becomes a victim.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a little surprised by the topical reference at the bottom of Page 3. In a story like this, it's a little jarring.
By having the dinosaur survive, it looks like they were planning some kind of sequel.
Man, I just hate it when the innocent cat gets killed by a monster. (Still not happy over Mews' death in Stranger Things)
ReplyDeleteI do however love that the dinosaur is still on the loose by the end of the comic--usually said monster is killed or defeated.
Also, Grandpa was taking seeing the dinosaur, and the barn on fire awfully well. I also love how the police actually do believe them pretty quickly too unlike in most stories.
A fun boys adventure yarn with super questionable science, years off by the millions, and a crazy mismatch dinosaur. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteGreat art. Nicely done animals, which a lot of times artists are poor at. The horses were especially well rendered. The dinosaur was fun and memorable. Story was paced a bit oddly, but it follows a very specific and static archetype.
Poor Tabby!
I also love how in the splash page, it looks like the dinosaur is shoving the horse's head through the "O" in the title!
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ReplyDeleteMore cat violence! Didn't we just have one where a kitty was set on fire? ;)
ReplyDeleteDamn ice cliffs again. Every time you turn around, damn ice cliffs making something unseasonably cold, being darn spooky, or eating up your livestock and burning down your barn. Wouldn't put anything past those damn ice cliffs, I tell ya. Gotta keep your eye on 'em.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Mr.C. If I had a nickel for every time...
ReplyDeleteYou'd think Ceratosaurus would have a fairly obvious place in scary dinosaur stories, since that horn really tops off the scary look, but the only other place I can think of seeing one is in ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. Are there many other stories?
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember some (fake-looking) Ceratosaurs in Unknown Island (1948).
ReplyDelete@TC:
ReplyDeleteAnother is the great 'The Land Unknown'.