WARREN PRESENTS THE ROOK

“The Making of a Comic Book Hero!”
writer uncredited.

An article on the origins of the Rook. The owner Jim Warren decided that westerns were the next big thing and ordered his staff to come up with a western story. The writers didn’t really want to do a western and thought the next big thing was the future. So they compromised and came up with the Rook. A man from today who goes back to the west.

“The Man Whom Time Forgot!”
Writer: Bill DuBay
Artist: Luis Bermejo

Restin Dane brings back his great great grandfather from 1874 to his place. He has three robots who look after Bishop Dane as Restin goes back. Bishop recovers and finds out he is in 1977. His great great grandson is a genius who invented a time machine. His goal is to go back to the Alamo and save his ancestor Parrish Dane. Restin lands right in front of the Alamo and comes out armed with a MP5 submachinegun. He joins the defenders but even his modern weapon is not enough to halt the numbers of Santa Anna’s troops. He does manage to save a boy. That boy is Bishop Dane.

“The Day Before Tomorrow”
Writer: Bud Lewis
Artist: Luis Bermejo

A day before Restin arrives one member of the Alamo Gat Hawkins decides to desert. He sees Restins machine land and gets caught up with it when it takes off. He finds himself in 1874 in a small Arizona town. There he makes his way and kills the sheriff and takes over with the help of the corrupt deputies. He wants to kill Bishop who is now a famous gunfighter and coming to town with the carnival. He enlists the local brothel owner Kate McCall. She finds she likes Bishop and warns him of Gat’s plan. Bishop escapes and kills one of the deputies.

Meanwhile Restin has wandered off exploring and comes on a mine. In the mine he finds robots left over from an alien civilization that was observing humans. He gets their help in getting a teleporter that rescues Bishop from Gat who has him trapped with a Gatling gun.

“Yesterday, The Final Day”
Writer: Bill DuBay
Artist: Luis Bermejo

Restin after dropping off Bishop in the future then goes back to kill Gat. He goes to the bar but is ambushed and left for dead. He has survived and Kate and January two prostitutes ordered to dispose of the body instead take it to the mine. There the alien technology heals Restin. He gets a hang glider to infiltrate the saloon. Meanwhile Bishop and the robot Manners come back from the past and join up with the revolting townspeople against Gat and his hired thugs. A fight ends with Gat killed, the town liberated and Restin and Bishop going back to 1977 with the two girls Kate and January.

“Lost to the Land of Nowhen”
Writer: Bill DuBay
Artist: Luis Bermejo

Restin decides to go back to 1875 and explore the alien cave. He gets there but accidentally sets off an explosion that destroys the cave. Meanwhile in 1977 Manners is worried that Restin is late. Apparently he travels to time shards which have a limited time then he could be trapped when the shard runs out. So Bishop and Manners go back just in time to see Restin turn to dust along with his machine. Bishop buys the property around the mine so his future grandson will have it.

So this was a special that reprinted some of the Rook’s early stories from Eerie. I loved the idea of this guy in a leisure suit from the seventies traveling in time. This one was a crazy idea of going back to the Alamo and changing time. This got me interested in the Rook magazine. It was confusing since this issue seemed to end with Restin being turned to dust. I assume that his return was in some Eerie story I never read. Still a great character and was my introduction to the weird world of Warren comics.

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