TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #9

“Where Prowls The Devil Shark”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Dan Spiegle

Keera is now living with Tragg’s tribe in the caves by the sea. We start with two cavemen trying to take her as a mate. Thus Tragg must come in and beat some sense into them. Keera is thankful for Tragg’s intervention but is feeling lonely so decides to sneak away and live by herself. It is while hunting that she is attacked by a dinosaur. At this time Zorak and his followers are jetting through the skies looking for the traitor Ferenk who tried to start a revolt.

Zorak and his fellow Sky Gods manage to kill the dinosaur and Zorak makes a move on Keera which is quickly repulsed. Angered he orders Keera executed but his men miss shooting her on purpose. Still an arrant shot knocks her off the cliff into the sea. A large Devil Shark is prowling the waters for food and zeros in on Keera. Luckily Tragg and Lorn are there to jump in and rescue her. Tragg being a badass manages to kill the 120 foot shark with a stone tipped spear. When the three make it to the beach they are confronted by Zorak. At the last minute they are rescued by Ferenk who drives him off. Ferenk and Keera fall in love and they depart in peace with a new found respect for each other.

“Valley of the Shadow”
Writer: Unknown

Tragg with his mate Lorn, his brother Jarn and some other tribesmen have come to the Valley of the Shadow to hunt game. The others are superstitious about entering the valley. A shadow of a skull is visible and they believe an evil spirit inhabits the valley. Tragg doesn’t believe in evil spirits so with Lorn and Jarn descend. They find the skull shaped rock casting the shadow and topple it ending the evil curse.

So this is the last of the Tragg comics. It was a solid story. Keera finds someone to love. Zorak once again gets his ass kicked. Dinosaurs, giant shark and a one page cheezy story at the end round out the experience. I guess we will never find out how it ends with the Sky Gods. Reinforcements were on the way. Also how it ended with the Dark Gods introduced last issue. Tragg obviously came out the victor because homo sapiens went on to evolve into the modern society of today with comic books, cars and canned beer. I think this is a good title to get a reboot. It has all the elements for a great series.

So anyway Tragg fades into the mists of time as an obscure series from the ’70s. Remembered fondly by me.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #8

“Master of the Living Bones”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Dan Spiegle

Tragg’s tribe must now find a new home and decide on the caves by the ocean. After killing the cave bear they settle in with a celebration. Meanwhile a mysterious meteorite lands and Keera decides to see if it is more Yargonians. Instead it is an alien sorcerer named Ostellion. Ostellion was assassinated by his people and shot out into space. The mysterious Dark Gods have brought him to Earth and resurrected him. They need him to kill Tragg so that future descendants will not be a threat to them. The Dark Gods give Ostellion the power to re-animate skeletons.

Keera goes to Tragg and warns him but already Ostellion strikes by animating skeletons. Keera has enough power in her gun to save Tragg. Tragg then goes after Ostellion and has to fight a re-animated T-Rex skeleton. Tragg lures it over the cliff and whacks Ostellion with his stone ax.

“Tragg and the Jaws of Death”
Tragg and Lorn are coming back from a hunt when they come across a sabretooth fighting two wolves to protect their cub. Tragg kills the sabretooth and nurses the surviving she-wolf and cub back to health.

So Tragg now has a new threat. The Dark Gods those beings that once ruled Earth and thrive on evil. There is also another alien, this one of magic and not science. The prehistoric Earth is getting more interesting and I like the new villains that Tragg will have to deal with. Keera is now a friend of Tragg which is great since I liked Keera.

The short story was ok. Kind of simplistic but I like that they made an effort in these old Gold Key comics to inject some flavor with a short written story.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #7

“Battle for a World”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Dan Spiegle

Tragg and his new allies of triceratops riding cave man are on the march. Their objective is to free Tragg’s tribe from captivity in Fire Mountain. At this time Zorak the leader has assembled most of his force to destroy the remaining members of Tragg’s tribe. What follows is an epic battle of jet pack laser welding Sky Gods fighting cavemen on triceratops. While the Sky Gods have technology on their side the cavemen have numbers and strength. Surprisingly spears and stone axes do take their toll. This and the thick hides of the triceratops shield the cavemen and eventually the Sky God’s weapons run out of power. Tragg manages to bust into Fire Mountain and destroy the Sky God’s volcano control machinery causing a massive eruption that destroys the mountain. Zorak manages to evacuate a number of his people.

“Spotlight Keera”
A one page article on Keera. Keera was a young girl when the revolution came and was excited by the prospect of going to the stars. She enlisted in the academy and excelled, eventually becoming an officer.

So this story comes to a big epic battle that defeats the Sky Gods. Their home base is destroyed and they are in disarray. Tragg’s people are free. But it still seems that Zorak escaped and there are reinforcements arriving from Yargon so the threat to Tragg’s people is far from over. A really exciting story. I love how the cavemen are able to unite and through strength and determination defeat a more powerful enemy.

The Keera article was interesting but I would have liked a little more information as it seemed to be pretty general in its information. I really like Keera and she was one of my favorite characters in this series. Should be interesting to see where the story goes after this victory.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #6

“Death-Duel”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Dan Spiegle

Tragg & Lorn enter the territory of a tribe that has domesticated Triceratops. The tribe is hostile to outsiders and captures them to take to their chief for execution. Tragg manages to save the live of the chief’s son and gains his gratitude although the number two man still insists that tradition be honored and Tragg & Lorn be executed.

Meanwhile Zorek plans to exterminate Tragg’s tribe because of Keera’s betray of him. Keera is freed by a Yargonian who is in love with her. Keera goes by her jetpack and finds Tragg & Lorn. Landing the tribe believes her a goddess and Keera wants Lorn put to death. The tribe have the two fight next to the pit of spears to the death. The fight is in doubt until Keera loses her footing and falls into the pit. Tragg manages to save her. Keera feels shamed after such a sacrifice and tells Tragg of Zorak’s plan. Tragg enlists the aid of the tribe to help rescue his people.

So finally we get the catfight between Keera and Lorn. Always love catfights and this was a pretty good one. So now Tragg has found allies to help him against the Sky Gods. Keera seems to have resigned herself to the fact that Tragg will never love her. The next issue points to an epic clash with the Sky Gods. There was a one page extra titled “Tragg’s World”. It explained how dinosaurs still survived in the little corner of Tragg’s world. An enjoyable entry in the epic soap opera of Tragg.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #5

“Attack of the Man-Apes”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Dan Spiegle

Tragg and Lorn enter the territory of the Man-apes. Tragg rescues a man-ape from a triceratops. No good deed goes unpunished as the fight manages to close a flaming fissure in the ground. This fissure was the source of fire for the man-apes and they worshipped it as a god. This and the fact they hate no-hairs the man-apes chase the two into a crevasse in the ground. The crevasse is home to a dinosaur that is trapped and very hungry. Tragg manages to lure the beast into the oil pool and set it on fire. The new source of fire distracts the man-apes long enough for the two to escape.

Another chapter in the quest of Tragg and Lorn to free their people from the Sky Gods. The Sky Gods are not very prominent in this story. Keera is found out to have saved Tragg from Sabre-Fang and is imprisoned as a traitor by her douche bag fiancée Zorak. Otherwise a pretty standard story. Tragg does gain a friend in the man-ape White Top. Perhaps that friendship will come in handy in the future.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #3

“Slaves of Fire Mountain”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Dan Spiegle

The Sky Gods have decided to establish a base inside an active volcano. They need slaves to do the heavy lifting and luckily their puppet Gorth convinces the strongest men to go to the Sky Gods and worship them. When they get there it becomes quite clear that Tragg was right but its too late. The men are impressed into slave labor. Tragg’s brother Jarn manages to go to Tragg and tell him of the tribes predicament. The three go to Fire Mountain and while escaping a pterodactyl the three are captured. The leader Zorak wants to test the devolvo rays on Tragg turning him into a sub-human beast. Keera is still infatuated with Tragg even though he has rejected her. She manages to save Tragg and he along with his mate, brother and chief manage to escape. After fighting off a large reptile trapped in the volcano the four successfully escape with Tragg and Lorn going off to find others to fight for the cause of freedom.

So Tragg’s tribe finally learns the truth. Probably a little too late but Tragg and Lorn are no longer the outcasts that they once were. Keera is still infatuated with Tragg. Her fiancé Zorak suspects. Keera takes out her rejection on Lorn. Kind of like a soap opera with space aliens and cavemen. A real enjoyable treat.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #2

“The Day the Earth Thundered”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Jessie Santos

Tragg and Lorn go back to their tribe to warn them about the Sky Gods plan to enslave them. But jealous Gorth does a good job of turning the tribe against them. Still the chief hears Tragg out and agrees to have him escort Gorth to see if the Sky Gods have returned. Seems a stupid idea to put Gorth who hates Tragg as the designated guy to accompany Tragg. True to his form Gorth knocks Tragg on the head and dumps him into a pit.

Tragg is a very strong caveman and still manages to slay a sabre-tooth barehanded and continue on. The Sky Gods have decided to exterminate the local tribe fearing they are a threat. Using Mesmagas on Gorth he will lead the tribe to a plateau where the Sky Gods can instigate a stampede of the dinosaurs to kill the tribe. Tragg meanwhile gets captured by the only female alien Kreera who happens to fall in love with Tragg. Tragg uses this to escape and with a captured jet pack stops the stampede. Unfortunately Gorth still turns the tribe against Tragg and he and his mate are forced once again into exile.

The second issue starts to set up what we can expect from this series. Tragg is very strong and smart and will singlehandedly save the day. The only female alien of course develops an obsession with him. The aliens are marooned and must conserve power which will limit their ability for mischief. This is a very fascinating and unique comic. Very fast paced with a lot of action going on.

TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS #1

“Spawn of Yargon”
Writer: Don Glut
Artist: Jesse F. Santos

A tribe of Neanderthals are visited by two aliens. They descend from the sky in a golden globe. The aliens are two scientists from the planet Yargon. They are humanoid with golden skin and green hair. The two scientists decide to help evolution along and kidnap two women who they then proceed to genetically alter. The two women give birth to two children a male and female named Tragg and Lorn. The two bare a remarkable resemblance to the Sky Gods. The Sky Gods then leave.

Twenty-five years later the two grow into adulthood and it is apparent the they are different and much smarter than the tribe. This causes fear among the tribe and a hothead turns the tribe against them saying its their fault the Sky Gods left. Tragg and Lorn flee. At this time the sky gods return but there has been a revolution on Yargon and these Sky Gods are interested in conquest. They will enslave the inhabitants but run into trouble when a Triceratops wrecks their ship stranding the Yargons. Tragg and Lorn manage to kill one of the gods and know that they are not invincible. They pledge to stop the sky gods from enslaving their people.

This is the first in this old Gold Key series. A fascinating idea with aliens visiting our past and being responsible for the progenitors of modern man. This was at the time of “Chariots of the Gods” craze which is still with us. They have dinosaurs in this story but explain that some areas the dinosaurs still survived. I suppose that’s possible. It think this series was ahead of its time and quite sophisticated for a children’s comic book.