Valley of the Dinosaurs – The Covers by Fred Himes
1974 was the prehistoric year for Saturday morning TV shows on the three major American networks. NBC debuted the live-action The Land of the Lost which would live the longest at three seasons, ABC had the live-action Korg 70,000 BC which survived one season, and CBS green-lit the animated Valley of the Dinosaurs which also lasted a single season.
In Valley, the Butler family is sucked into a river vortex in the Amazon, and when they are spit out on the other side find themselves in a valley filled with dinosaurs and prehistoric peoples. It was typical cartoon fare of the day and I remember enjoying it as a kid.
When I started backfilling my Charlton Comics collection some years ago, I found Charlton had done the Valley comic book. And for whatever reason I started going around doing an announcer voice saying, “Valley of the Dee-No-SOURS!” Thankfully, I kept these occurrences to myself, but I’d still like to clear out the thoughts that somehow created this brain fart.
So maybe colouring and packaging up the covers will purge this questionable behaviour.
Collected here are all 11 covers as originally published, and also with new colour and trade dress by me.
Fred Himes wrote, drew and lettered all 11 issues of Valley of the Dinosaurs.
From the Lambiek Comiclopedia:
Frederick H. Himes, who was born in Mexico, was a director and animator of commercials between 1960 and 1968. From 1968 throughout the 1970s, he was a writer and artist for Charlton Comics. He worked on western, war, romance and ghost titles like Fightin’ Marines, Cheyenne Kid (the “Apache Red” feature), Secret Romance, Haunted, Ghost Manor, The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves and Ghostly Tales. He was a productive artist for Charlton’s Hanna-Barbera titles, such as Barney and Betty Rubble and Top Cat. In 1978, he opened his own studio, where he did audio-visuals, brochures, posters and magazine art. He has illustrated among others a series on Texas history by Dr. Walter McCaleb.
Hanna-Barbera character guide for the main cast.
No. 1
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 2
As published.
Scan from Heritage Auctions.
Minor clean-up to make it production ready.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 3
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 4
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 5
As published.
Scan from Heritage Auctions.
Trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 6
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 7
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 8
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 9
As published.
Scan from Heritage Auctions.
Trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 10
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
No. 11
As published.
Lineart extracted from published comic, trade dress removed and missing bits drawn in.
New colour.
Re-created trade dress added.
New Hanna Barbera branding added.
Related
Valley of the Dinosaurs Model Sheets
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Valley of the Dinosaurs No. 1 – The Remastering
Remastered and recoloured for today's audiences, Valley of the Dinosaurs returns. Fun and thrills for the whole family.
Korg 70,000 BC – The Covers by Pat Boyette
Some great painted covers are rescued from the ignominy of bad production and printing. New packaging by Scott Dutton.
Outer Space – The Covers
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