Jul
2020
Dinosaur Hunter Diaries #046: The Rag & Bone Man
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #11
Turok goes undercover.
Because it's been a while since we've had a dinosaur attack for a cold open, a
couple of schmucks break into Chun Lee Fat's textiles store, supposedly a front
for his shady business... but what they've really walked into is feeding time
for the guard dog bionisaur.
This doesn't just save him the cost of feeding the thing, it also makes for a
good snuff film to threaten his continental rivals with... and even make a bit of dosh
on the side from folks eager to see a real-life 'dragon'.
Back in Utah, Turok learns about the bionisaur from the now-deceased mercenary
Bile captured; the crime boss has found a way to make it loyal to him. Bile's
seen too much bloodshed to want to pursue this further, but lends Turok his
truck for his journey of vengeance.
Onward to San Francisco! His long road trip is a chance for Turok to reflect on
the new world he's found himself in — the wonders of maps and automotive
transport gives him greater speed and freedom than he had in his time before the
Lost Land... but there's so little of his people to be found. He makes contact
with whoever he can, hoping to make an 'in' that'll get him close to Chun Lee
Fat.
Turok stops by a bar in San Fernando and gets acquainted with a Blackfoot, Lyle
Jakes, pretending to be a trader of skins and bones. He shacks up with him and
his fellow labourers while working on the next step of his plan, moving into the
city to undercut Fat's operations and gain his attention.
The city proves overwhelming for Turok, but he persists.
If you want to be obnoxiously pedantic, you could argue Turok's already been
exposed to cities before when he and X-O Manowar went dino-hunting in the New
York sewers... but that's a different kettle of fish from having to integrate
under false business pretences. Also, that's assuming the X-O Manowar
crossovers are actually important to continuity.
He soon makes a name for his disguised self in the folk medicine business, selling any old
animal remains and claiming it's prime-grade fertility drugs. News quickly slips
to Chun Lee Fat, who dispatches a band of hired goons to put the squeeze on his
operation; they may be tough, but Turok's able to send them packing with just a
buffalo femur as his weapon.
He must be hitting close to home if Fat is out for blood, so he moves in, able
to track down Fat's business by the smell of bionisaur. The intrusion does not
go unnoticed, though the crime boss is eager to watch Turok on his hidden
cameras. His bionisaur warned him about this guy, and he's eager to see if he
lives up to his reputation.
An issue light on action, but a fun exploration of Turok finally exploring the
modern world on his lonesome, and seeing for the first time the fate of his
fellow natives.