Jul
2020
Dinosaur Hunter Diaries #048: Return of the Dragon
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #12
Vengeance for Monty.
Turok's just walked into the bionisaur's den, and didn't see the first strike
coming — his gun's out of reach and all he has at hand is his knife. The two
land some mean strikes, but this fight won't go in his favour--
-- unless he can unload the clip into its head at close-range. A bionisaur's
secret weakness!
Chun Lee Fat's miffed, and sends his bruised underlings, the Golden Tigers,
to finish the job they failed last time, while he and his right-hand man Fang
make their escape with their most profitable merchandise.
... or they would, if the city wasn't beating with rain, making the traffic
impassable. Believing this to be a bad omen from killing the white buffalo, the
two ditch the escape car and make for their escape boat instead. Meanwhile,
Turok makes short work of the remaining henchmen, having swiped a machine gun
from one of them.
While exploring the hideout's tunnels, he catches a glimpse of Fat's macabre
collection: skulls, malformed infants, severed limbs... all preserved in
embalming fluid. He does what he thinks is right for the remains of his fellow
man.
He catches Chun Lee Fat and Fang as they're preparing their boat, and Fang
rises to give his master time to escape. The two duel, Turok with his knife,
Fang with dual katanas. Turok draws first blood, and they go for a second
strike...
... but he's got no time for this. He throws sand in Fang's eye and stabs him in
the heart, and jumps for the boat just before Fat exits the dock.
Vengeance is swift.
But there's another surprise in wait — Fat had two bionisaurs! He was
pretty coy about that one. It overturns the boat and starts clawing its way
through, where Turok has taken shelter. Speaking of surprises...
The boat has a flare gun.
The boat's a smouldering wreck, though the bionisaur got the worse end of it.
Chun Lee Fat is dead, and his medicine poaching ring will go down with it. His
bionisaurs are no longer a threat. Turok's quest for vengeance is complete.
"Now, how do I get home?"
Another arc concludes with an issue light on story and packed with action. It's a fun change of pace for Turok, taking him out of his element and into areas previously unexplored, be it the sprawling, chaotic inner-city streets, or the domain of subterfuge. Mike Baron presents some fun characters and situations to play with, even if it's practically a who's-who of '90s racial stereotypes, unfortunately.