I just finished all nine issues of the comic book Korg: 70,000 BC. It was written and illustrated by Pat Boyette and published by Charlton Comics from 1975 to 1976.
Charlton Comics has a somewhat unique place in comic history. It was a company that paid lower wages than its larger competitors and published often hurried content, but there are some fun gems in the company’s large output.
The comic book is based on a short-lived, live-action Saturday morning television show that began in 1974 and ran for 19 episodes. The show is about a family of neanderthals (Korg, his wife Mara, their three children, Tane, Tor, and Ree, and Korg’s brother, Bok). I haven’t watched it, so I’m unsure if any of the comic book stories are related to the television plots. I have a feeling that, other than sharing the characters of Korg and his family, there is probably no overlap between the television stories and the comic book plots.
Initially, the comic maintains a somewhat realistic depiction of early human life (given the knowledge of prehistory at that time, combined with some artistic license), but soon strays into pseudoarchaeology. From perusing the titles of the television episodes, I think the TV show stuck to a more “realistic” tenor.
I enjoyed the comics. The first issue is a nicely-paced, compact story that really works, and it drew me into the imagined primeval world of Korg and his immediate family. They are cave-dwellers, reliant on their fire, spears, strength, and family to survive. As the series develops, it becomes necessary for them to uproot and leave their home in the face of the advancing continental ice sheets.
Boyette produced compelling art. He has a certain leanness to his illustration that fits the depiction of a prehistoric setting, and he is creative in using dynamic panel layouts. I’d like to find more of his comic book art. He also crafts some entertaining, laconic stories.
Each issue has a short back-up story, as well as a one or two-page text story. I love this kind of additional content that is often found in older comics. It reminds me of reading old comics when I was a kid.
As mentioned, some of the stories delve into the realm of myth and science fiction, with visitation from an advanced humanoid species with robots, an appearance of a gorgon and, in a different issue, a cyclopes, and the existence of an advanced Atlantean civilization. Although these break from the world as first depicted, they still work and provide fun stories. Unfortunately, the series ends abruptly in the middle of a story at the end of the ninth issue. Readers wanting to know what happens to Korg and Bok, who are in the midst of a perilous journey, are left to their imaginations.
