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"The Blind Ones"
Valley of the Dinosaurs #1 (Charlton)
Writer and artist unknown (but story and art, including covers,
for the series were by Fred Himes, according to
Toons of Festology).
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Katie, Digger, and Glump run into trouble
after seeking shelter in a cave from a sudden jungle downpour.
Story Summary
Katie, accompanied by Digger and Glump, has
wandered into the jungle, entranced by its beauty. A sudden
downpour of rain finds them taking refuge in a cave. But a
Triceratops
soon also seeks shelter there, so the three proceed further into
the tunnel to escape the unwelcome guest. There, they come
across an underground stream, from which emerges a gigantic
leech-like creature and they find themselves trapped between the
leech and the
Triceratops.
But Lok has come searching for Katie and he
uses a spear to vault over the
Triceratops to join the endangered trio. He then
points out that neither creature has very good vision, attracted
only by movement. They remain still while the two creatures are
attracted by each other's movement and attack each other. This
gives our heroes time to run out another hole of the cave,
exiting out over a river. Katie asks why nature's
creatures
can't
ever get along, but Lok points out the friendship
between Digger and Glump, saying, "Sometimes they do!"
THE END
Didja Know?
"The Blind Ones" is a
6-page story from Charlton's
Valley of the Dinosaurs #1.
On page 1 of the story, the downpour experienced by Katie
and the pets is described as a "thundering fall of
prehistoric rain". But, while the valley may be considered
prehistoric due to its denizens, rain is rain, isn't it?
Even in the Amazon rainforest.
On page 1, panel 1, Glump is actually vocalizing a
repetitive GLUMP noise as he runs. I suppose that's why he's
named Glump, though his sounds don't really resemble the
word in the TV episodes.
The dinosaur who enters the cave for shelter on page 2 of
the story appears to be a species of Triceratops
and is identified as such on page 4.
How are Katie and Lok able to see after travelling deep
inside the cave without their own source of light?
On page 5, Lok states that a
Triceratops has poor vision and cannot
distinguish figures, only movement. I've been unable to
confirm any actual scientific speculation along these lines,
but the statement is similar to that of Dr. Grant in the
later 1993 film
Jurassic Park
that the tyrannosaur's vision is based
on movement.
Katie and Lok encounter a creature in the cave that looks
something like a gigantic leech (the size of a
Triceratops) with feeler-like tentacles on
its head. The narrative refers to it as a "prehistoric
monster", but there is no evidence such a creature has ever
existed.
The pterosaur seen in the sky in panel 2 of page 6 of the
story may be a Pteranodon.
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