 |
"Rogue Rex"
Valley of the Dinosaurs #4 (Charlton)
Art and story: Fred Himes |
The aging T. rex known as Godon is
forced to hunt the deadliest game...humans!
Story Summary
The aging T. rex known as Godon is no longer able to
hunt the more swift-moving prey of the Valley of the Dinosaurs.
So he sets his sights on humans. The tribe from Godon's valley
flees the beast, into the land of Gorok's people, with Godon in
hot pursuit. Hearing their story, the cave-dwellers, with John
Butler's guiding, agree to help fight off the carnosaur with bow
and arrow and a pot of flaming oil. They are successful and
their fellow tribe is able to return home to a peaceful valley.
THE END
Notes from the Valley of the
Dinosaurs Chronology
Events in this story suggest it takes place after both
"A Turned Turtle"
and "Smoke Screen".
Didja Know?
From this issue onwards, the story and art is credited to Fred
Himes, with editing by Geo. Wildman.
The title of this story is actually "Rouge Rex", but it's
obviously meant to be "Rogue Rex" since the T. rex
depicted is not red.
The cover of this issue depicts a T. rex squaring off
against a Triceratops. The ridged backbone of the
Triceratops may by a nod by artist Fred Himes to famed
dino-artist Charles R. Knight's 1901 depiction of said beast.

Page 1 claims that the lifespan of a T. rex could cover
hundreds of years! However, paleontologists believe it was much
less, around 30 or so years.
Page 1 refers to the rogue rex as a Methuselah.
Methuselah is the grandfather of Noah in the Bible and is
allegedly the oldest man to ever live, at 969 years,
according to most versions of the book.
Page 1, panel 1, features art of the rogue rex, a
Saltoposuchus, and an Archeopteryx.
Page 2, panel 1 features art of what appear to be a
Brontosaurus, a Pteranodon, and some kind of duck-billed (Hadrosaurid)
dinosaur.
The dinosaur on page 3, panel 4 appears to be a
Parasaurolophus.
The tribe from the other valley
states that they are fleeing from
Godon, the rogue rex. A
tyrannosaur also referred to as
Godon was depicted in
"A Turned Turtle",
though that "tyrannosaur" had three
claws on its forelimbs instead of the
proper two, was green instead of
bluish, and had a row of standing
scales on its back. The Godon
presented here seems more as if it's
based on the Allosaurus from the
1969 film The Valley of Gwangi
than the Godon from
"A Turned Turtle".
Oddly, in both stories it seems as if the Butlers are encountering
Godon for the first time; it seems
more definitive though that
"A Turned Turtle"
was the actual first meeting of the
Butlers with the beast.
The valley from which the other tribe has fled is presumably
the valley of the Three Giants,
where Godon was said to live in
"A Turned Turtle". |
 |
 |
 |
Godon in
"A Turned Turtle" |
Godon in "Rogue
Rex" |
Gwangi from
The Valley
of Gwangi. |
Page 5 shows that the tribe from the other valley knows John
Butler's name even though they have not been properly introduced. Maybe
the legend of the strange newcomers to the Valley of the
Dinosaurs has spread to tribes throughout the land.
On page 6, panel 2, notice that, at
Godon's approach, Glump is covering
his eyes with his forelimbs and
Digger is on his back either fainted
or playing dead! |
 |
The Tyrannosaurus/Triceratops fight on page 8
may also have been influenced by the Allosaurus/Styracosaurus
fight in
The Valley of Gwangi.
The flying creatures in the distant background of page 8, panel
6 and page 11, panel 6 look like they are probably
Pteranodons.
John has the two tribes use bow and arrow to help drive Godon
away. This suggests the story takes place after his first
introduction of the bow and arrow to the cave-dwellers in
"Smoke Screen".
Page 10 describes John as setting the archers of the tribe in
double file, like in the American Revolution. During the
American Revolution against the British from 1775-1783, the
American militias did tend to march and fight in double file
(i.e. a queue two persons wide).
On page 10, John tells the archers not to fire at Godon until
they see the red of his eyes. The normal phrase is "Don't fire
until you see the whites of their eyes", most popularly known
from the battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolution in
1775. In close-up panels of Godon in the story, the beast's eyes
are depicted as a demonic red.
After successfully catapulting a pot of flaming oil onto Godon
and driving him off, Greg remarks on page 11 that he only needs
four more to become an ace. This is a reference to a flying ace,
an air combat pilot who shoots down five or more airplanes of the
enemy forces.
On the last panel of the story, Greg stencils a silhouette of
Godon on the oil pot and writes on it the phrase "the Red Hot
Baron". This is a play on the nickname of the German WWI flying
ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron (for his "Baron"
family title and the red color of his fighter plane).
Richthofen is officially credited with at least 80 air combat
victories. Of course, Greg has added "hot" to his title to
signify the flaming oil used against Godon.
Unanswered Questions
What is to become of Godon? The beast is driven off by the tribes,
but is still alive at the end of the story. But the beginning of the
story suggests that he is growing old and is no longer capable of
hunting the more swiftly-moving creatures of the valley besides
humans. Was this Godon's swan song?
Back to Valley of the Dinosaurs
Episode Studies