Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 22, 2025 | 3 comments

SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS…

By SCOTT SHAW!

Tomahawk was a backup feature in Star Spangled Comics, starting in 1947’s Issue #69, and also ran in World’s Finest Comics. The hero proved popular enough to earn his own series, which premiered in July 1950, lasting a strong 140 issues, until March 1972.

He was created by Joe Samachson and Edmond Good, but some of his best-known stories were by writer France Herron and artists Fred Ray and Bob Brown. Tomahawk and his sidekick Dan Hunter wore buckskin outfits that resembled that of Davy Crockett, dealing with the British military as well as American Natives during the Revolutionary War. But in the summer of 1958, Tomahawk and Dan suddenly had to face something they’d never seen before — a live Tyrannosaurus rex!

Then and now, I’ve had an obsession with gorillas and dinosaurs that happened to match DC exec Irwin Donenfeld’s recipe for selling comic books. In the 1950s and 1960s, he felt that having a gorilla on the cover of a comic would jack up the sales. That led to dinosaurs and crazy monsters of all types. They didn’t pop up in DC’s romance or kiddie comics, but their other titles were full of ’em. One of those was Tomahawk, which was beginning to have faltering sales in the late ’50s.

So, here’s TOMAHAWK’S REVOLUTIONARY WAR AGAINST 13 MONSTERS:

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I’ve never been much interested in history – unless it’s prehistoric history – but when I first saw the cover of Tomahawk #58 with Bob Brown’s unfrozen Tyrannosaurus with the blood-red claws, the deal was sealed!

Bob Brown

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Next up is another DC sure-thing for sales, a monstrous “robot” made from wood:

Dick Dillin pencils, Sheldon Moldoff inks

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Then it’s back to another dinosaur, this time a hot pink Stegosaurus, a vegetarian but still with some pointy problems!

Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff

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From the Jurassic period to the far future, a chief from outer space was a new challenge to Tomahawk:

Dillin and Moldoff

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Naturally, a gigantic purple gorilla entered the Revolutionary War — King Colosso, who returned in Tomahawk #93:

Brown

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Then, ecology turned on Tomahawk with a bushy behemoth:

Brown

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Someone at DC must have been watching Japanese kaiju movies, because this threat reminds me of Daimajin, a wrathful spirit trapped inside an ancient statue:

Brown

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Not only do we get a huge lion fish on this cover, check out the underwater humanoids with their own tipis:

Brown

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There aren’t many comic book villains who ride a giant tarantula, but Tomahawk certainly did!

Brown

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At least we now had someone to water the Terrible Tree-Man, huh?

Brown

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Remember those “Big Frankie” Aurora plastic model kits? This guy makes ’em seem kinda puny!

Brown

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Looks like Tomahawk and his rangers finally need some Gator aid!

Brown

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No, it’s not King Colosso, but this giant gorilla is not only a fink, he’s got a supervillain controlling him!

Brown

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These covers represent only about half of the monsters that appeared in Tomahawk from 1958 to 1968. All I can say is, if these creatures were real, I guarantee that I would have received higher grades in American history classes during junior high, high school and college!

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MORE

— ODDBALL COMICS: The 1967 Issue of THE INFERIOR FIVE That Brutally Skewered DC COMICS. Click here.

— ODDBALL COMICS: When SMOKEY (the) BEAR Was Macho. Click here.

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For over half a century, SCOTT SHAW! has been a pro cartoonist/writer/designer of comic books, animation, advertising and toys. He is also a historian of all forms of cartooning. Scott has worked on many underground comix and mainstream comic books, including Simpsons Comics (Bongo); Weird Tales of the Ramones (Rhino); and his co-creation with Roy Thomas, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! (DC). Scott also worked on numerous animated series, including producing/directing John Candy’s Camp Candy (NBC/DIC/Saban) and Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. As senior art director for the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, Scott worked on dozens of commercials for Post Pebbles cereals with the Flintstones. He also designed a line of Hanna-Barbera action figures for McFarlane Toys. Scott was one of the comics fans who organized the first San Diego Comic-Con.

Need funny cartoons for any and all media? Scott does commissions! Email him at shawcartoons@gmail.com.

And check out the upcoming collections of his Sonic the Hedgehog comics here.