"Dinosaur Island" Topic

I'm on a thread right now on THE MNIATURES PAGE and the topic is historical vs fantasy wargaming, but a purist is protesting that we now have zombies invading every historical war, and various "Weird West" rules like DRACULA IN AMERICA and so forth. But I vaguely remember as a boy, so in the 1950s more or less, buying and reading comic books that had American soldiers or ships encountering dinosaurs and whatnot on Pacific islands. Was there an actual comic series that was based on that strange premise?

Yes, there was exactly that kind of comic-book premise—American soldiers (and sometimes sailors or ships) encountering dinosaurs (and other prehistoric creatures) on mysterious Pacific islands during WWII. It was a recurring feature called "The War That Time Forgot," which ran in DC Comics' Star Spangled War Stories starting with issue #90 (April–May 1960) and continued as a popular (if repetitive) series through 1968.⁠Wikipedia
The stories were created by writer/editor Robert Kanigher with art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. They typically followed groups of U.S. soldiers or Marines who end up stranded or on a mission to a remote, uncharted Pacific island (later retroactively called Dinosaur Island) where dinosaurs never went extinct. The GIs battle T. rex, pterodactyls, and other beasts—sometimes while also fighting Japanese forces, but the dinos quickly become the bigger threat. There are no ongoing main characters; each story usually introduces a new squad that stumbles into the chaos. It perfectly blended WWII "war comic" tropes with science-fantasy "lost world" elements (inspired by things like Edgar Rice Burroughs' stories).⁠Toonopedia
Your memory of buying these "as a boy in the 1950s more or less" lines up well. While the main series kicked off in 1960 (early Silver Age/very early '60s), DC had already done a very similar one-off story in 1950: a Captain Compass naval adventure in Star-Spangled Comics #108 that involved an island with dinosaurs and tapped into the same "soldiers vs. prehistoric monsters on a Pacific isle" idea. That could easily be the exact comic you recall from the 1950s.⁠Fandom
These weren't a standalone monthly title like Superman, but a long-running feature/anthology series within the war-comics line—dozens of issues with titles like "Dinosaur D-Day!" or "Doom Came at Noon!" It was exactly the kind of "fantasy creeping into historical war" mash-up that the purist on your miniatures thread is complaining about. (DC even brought Dinosaur Island back in later stories, crossovers, and a 2008 miniseries.)⁠Smithsonianmag
If you were a kid flipping through racks in the late '50s/early '60s, this is almost certainly what stuck in your memory—pure pulp fun with GIs, PT boats, subs, or paratroopers suddenly facing down dinosaurs in the Pacific. It was a weird, memorable corner of comics history that fits your description to a T.

I remember something much later--maybe that 2008 miniseries?--which somehow brought Deathstroke the Terminator to Dinosaur Island. In the end, seeing what the Marines have for weapons and the size of the local fauna, the Great Assassin feels obliged to give them his personal weapon--roughly the size of an office photocopier--and accept a loss on the assignment. For a cold-blooded killer, Deathstroke is a pretty nice guy.

I missed that one!

The War That Time Forgot, The Haunted Tank, and Weird War Tales. I had all these when I was a kid. Fun times!

Was the haunted tank a Stuart? with JEB's ghost?

Yep, it was.

Thanks.

John

Later to be upgraded to a Sherman :) Had General Sherman AND old Jeb looking out for them

Now one of the 90's Godzilla movies had that same plot!

A group of Japanese solders with the help of Godzillasaurus fight US Marines and win until US cruisers put a beat down on Godzillasaurus.

Best part is the Americans are the bad guys!

The GZ films always seem to leave out the US fleet.

What were the weird Fantasy semi-pornographic comics of the late 1950s early 1960s about WWII? They appeared on many a respectable magazine rack in the UK and, even as a pre-pubescent kid I thought them a bit off.

Scantily clad ladies on the covers, in a rig wrong for WWII anyway, clearly facing a "fate worse than death". It was allowed then, but surprisingly available in the UK anyway.

I suspect Porn and WWII would make a great study anyway, but would never be allowed here! But a great insight into misogyny if only the censors would risk it…I would not blame them if they did not, too open to abuse.