Valley of the Dinosaurs #11 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Debuting on the very same day in September 1974 as Sid and Marty Krofft's Land of the Lost, Hanna-Barbera's animated series Valley of the Dinosaurs is the missing link when it comes to TV series about people being sent back in time to the age of the caveman. 

The same date of premier isn't the only similarities between the forgotten cartoon series and the live action classic. Valley of the Dinosaurs starred the Butler family who are sent through a vortex back in time to prehistoric ages while on a rafting trip. Father John Butler is a scientist who uses his knowledge to educate both his children, daughter Katie and son Greg, along with viewers on how to survive the many forms of thunder lizard that roam the valley. Unlike the Marshall's on Land of the Lost, the Butler consists also of mom Kim and family dog Digger. 

The Butlers are met by a Neanderthal family who befriend the displaced family. While Land of the Lost had a heavy sci-fi influence, Valley of the Dinosaurs was more like Gilligan's Island with the Butler's introducing modern technology like pulleys and the wheel to their primitive allies. Together, the two families fight for survival against dinosaurs and warring tribes while looking for a way to return the Butlers back to the present.

Like the Marshall's, the Butler's are never shown to return to the 1970s. However, the Marshall's have had the longer staying power, with Land of the Lost airing on NBC for 3 times as many episodes over a trio of seasons. Land of the Lost has also spawned a 1990s reboot series as well as a comedic live action film starring Will Ferrell. 

One thing that Valley of the Dinosaurs surpassed the Krofft Brothers creation in was a comic book adaptation. As part of Charlton's Hanna-Barbera line of comics, Valley of the Dinosaurs ran for an impressive 11 issues. Okay, compared to the number of issues Charlton produced of sister series such as Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, 11 issues may not seem like much. That is until you realize that the entire run of the Valley of the Dinosaurs comic occurred 1-2 years AFTER the animated series had been cancelled! 

In this issue, John Butler races to reinforce a dam before a looming maelstrom threatens the safety of his Neanderthal neighbors' village. As repairs are made, daughter Katie goes foraging for food. Unfortunately the girl unknowingly enters the territory of a tribe of ape-like warriors who kidnap Katie and force her to become a slave worker for them. With the storm looming, teenage primitive Lok races to save Katie from not just the ape creatures but a rampaging Tyrannosaurus! 

The one page prose story included in this issue sees Katie and Lok once again facing that fierce T-Rex. Only this time the two teenagers are stuck in between a battle with the king of the dinosaurs and an equally hungry Allosaurus. 

Issue #11 concludes with a one-page factual strip about sea otters.

Valley of the Dinosaurs featured an impressive vocal cast. Frank Welker voiced several characters including Lok and Digger. Child actor Jackie Earle Hailey was Greg. Sharon Farnon, Alan Oppenheimer and Don Messick were other notable voice talent on the series developed by Hanna-Barbera's Australian based studio. 

As for acknowledging the talent that worked on the comic book, there's not a lot of resources to cull from. We do know that the cover of this issue was by TV advertising director turned illustrator Fred Himes. Himes was a Charlton Comics work horse, drawing covers and interiors for many of the Connecticut based publisher's horror and war titles. According to Comicvine, Himes was also the writer for this issue with additional art provided by Don Perlin. However, no credits other than Himes' signature on the cover are attributed to other creators anywhere else in this issue.

Issue #11 was the last issue of the series.

Completing this review completes Task #23 (Something Bought From a Dollar Bin) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Spidey Super Stories #38 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Spidey Super Stories was a segment that appeared on the last three seasons of the educational children's series The Electric Company. From 1974-77, the character of Spider-Man wasplayed by puppeteer and dancer Danny Seagren. Seagren's performance made him the first actor to portray the wallcrawler in live-action form and was the first time in 30 years that a Marvel character wasn't animated on screen, second to 1944's Captain America movie serial.

Spider-Man didn't speak out loud. To encourage young viewers in reading, Spidey's dialogue was spoken in word bubbles and his fisticuffs special effects of 'Pow' and 'Bam' were shown as comic book panels to minimize the violence level, as well as for educational purposes and budget cutting reasons. Spidey never battled anyone on par of a Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Instead, Spider-Man fought were small time crooks or goofy new super-villains often portrayed by the Electric Company's regular cast of characters. Perhaps Spidey's most memorable and deadliest foe was the menacing Dr. Measles who in one frightening episode infects Spider-Man by reaching into his medicine bag and throwing dots of the virus right onto his costume 

In a licensing agreement to the likes you would probably never see these days, Spidey was given to the Children's Television Workshop free of charge. Stan Lee and Marvel believed that having Spider-Man would be amazing free advertising for both Marvel and his regular titles The Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. With the CTW partnership, Marvel produced a third series, Spidey Super Stories, devoted to young readers. At 36 pages with no ads, SSS would sometimes include a list of words to look for as well as other vocabulary related fun and games. Unlike the live-action segments on PBS, super-villains and heroes alike guest-starred in these comics as well as characters from the show such as Jennifer of the Jungle and her simian side-kick, Paul the Gorilla and the funky threaded Easy Reader whose face was used to endorse each issue as 'easy to read.'

A number of Marvel talent worked on the comic. Jean Thomas (Night Nurse) penned the first 15 issues. Jim Salicrup (Fantastic Four) took over as regular series author afterwards though Bill Mantlo (Rom: Spaceknight), Sesame Street editorial director Deborah November and Michael Siporin shared responsibility for the 3 short stories that make up this issue. First, Spidey must save Aunt May from the clutches of the Scorpion. Then the stars of Electric Company make up the cast of characters in a story where Spidey and the Carol Danvers Ms. Marvel must save a ballet dancer from an evil choreographer. Finally the Thinker takes a brand new subway train hostage. As Peter Parker is aboard working for the Daily Bugle, he can't find a quiet place to change. So it's up to the Fantastic Four working from the outside to stop the runaway vehicle from crashing into Coney Island. 

Artwork from this issue was by regular series artist Win Mortimer (Superman) with assists by Don Perlin (Werewolf by Night) and Mike Esposito (Wonder Woman). 

Spidey Super Stories lasted 1974-1982; going on for another 5 years after the Electric Company was cancelled. The cancellation was not due to popularity. It was a massive hit. But the show's lack of being able to really create stand out characters such as sister series Sesame Street kept the publicly funded program from being solvent with licensing of toys and dolls. The few Electric Company products to hit the market were mostly series of books, records and a Fargo North, Decoder character board game from Milton Bradley. It is said that having Spider-Man added to the show's format helped the series to linger on a couple extra seasons which also relied more on repeated material to help stay solvent. The comic was the Electric Company's most popular tie-in, running for an impressive 57 issues. However, with the Spidey Super Stories being owned and read by young children, quality condition issues are harder to find and pricey on the collecting market.

Completing this review completes Task #3 (Comic from the Bronze Age (1971-1985)) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.