Kool and the Gang

Previously:

Fish Story  - -  Flash Fried  - -  About a Boy  - -  Burn Notice   - -  Quik Story

Oh yeah!  As we've seen, back in the glory days, it was all too common for commercial mascots to have their own comic books.  Usually free, always promotional, they served to remind youngsters of the coolness factor that was hopefully associated with brand name items.

It was natural fit when Kool-Aid Man starred in his own series.  A guy who was primarily known for throwing himself threw brick walls surely had an adventure or two up his sleeve.  Kool-Aid Man doesn't have sleeves you say?  Well, normally I'd agree with you.

We begin in the Flavor Lab at the Wacky Warehouse as Kool-Aid Man is on the cusp of a new fruity sensation.  Everything's coming up Kool-Aid and things couldn't be better. But before the gang could come up with a name for the new flavor tragedy strikes.

The villainously dehydrating Scorch nabs the secret formula and the chase begins!  What follows is a multi-page chase (and this whole comic doesn't have that many pages to begin with) sequence as Kool-Aid Man and the kids give the reader an impromptu tour of the Warehouse while they chase down the fiery fiend.

As often happens, a magic doorway materializes.  And with the good guys closing in, Scorch had no choice but to escape through the passageway containing the face of his greatest foe into the unknown.  But the question isn't where does the door lead...but when? 

Yep, they went back in time.  These aren't "grown in a lab for a theme park" dinosaurs.  These are the honest to goodness real deals.  Scorch, with his head start, is easily able to lose the gang in the jungle while not accidentally burning the entire place to cinders and thus destroying the space/time continuum...so that's good news.

Meanwhile Kool-Aid Man (who has traded his lab coat for a pith helmet) and the kids make a new friend.  PurpleSaurus Rex makes his grand debut as a friend in need.  The old boy (girl?) is stuck in the mud and the good guys are happy to help him out.

Sure they lost the bad guy but they made a new friend.  And P-Rex is such a total bro that he's happy to help track down Scorch and enact retribution on the villain.  And with the help of the big guy it doesn't take the gang long to find their prey.

Apparently when you're a great big giant dinosaur it's not too hard to get what you want.  You just have to threaten to eat people.  Well, the bluff paid off and K-Man got back his formula for the unnamed new flavor.  Time to head home and dole out an appropriate punishment to the recipe-stealing nogoodnik.

  
Looks like he'll be chilling out in the Ice Age for an indeterminate amount of time.  (By the way, the time portal door seems to lead to series of tubes in which one can slide from time period to time period.  They also include clearly labeled trap doors controlled by the malevolent god that is Kool-Aid Man).  So the only item of business left on the table is to name the new flavor.

And that my friends is the secret origin story of PurpleSaurus Rex.  He went on to promote the grape/lemonade hybrid and some say he still haunts these mountains to this day...

The Sinclair Dinosaurs of Oklahoma

Years ago, in Route 66's prime, the roads were packed with vacationers, salesmen and entrepreneurs who drove up and down the back roads and highways chasing the American experience.  Gas stations and motels were in fierce competition to get the attention and patronage of these weary travelers so many of them got creative.

Sinclair Oil had a dinosaur theme in their advertising and so it was only natural to have some dinosaurs at their stations welcoming the empty tanks of road weary wanderers.  The bright green statues are few and far between these days but lucky travelers can still find a few at select Sinclair stations.  And, of all places. the great state of Oklahoma has several you can spot on your next road trip like this one in Tahlequah:

This is a pretty standard example but seek and ye shall find some more colorful examples.  One of the best places to stop on an Oklahoma road trip is Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies in Davis along I-35.  You can pick up lunch, dessert and a selfie with a red version of the dinosaur that stands watch on their roof:

Further north up the interstate you can find an even more colorful guy in a very colorful place.  The Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley has pretty much every super hero, cartoon character and scifi monster you can think of.  And among the heroes and villains you can find this guy:

Even farther north is an example of another dino with a dramatic story.  You wouldn't know it to look at him now but a few years back, this dinosaur in Norman lost his head:

As you can see, he's made a full recovery but for a while he was completely headless.  How did this happen?  How did it get resolved?  News 9 reports:

Now, of course, you can find these guys outside of the Sooner State.  You just have to keep your eyes open on the road (which you should be doing anyway).  But if you're lucky, you can see the balloon version from the comfort of your own home.  After a long absence, the Sinclair Dinosaur Balloon returned to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade last year:

So if you want to find a couple of these guys then consider your next road trip to be a dinosaur hunting expedition.  You never know what you'll see on the back roads.