Rook (comics)

The Rook is a time-traveling comic book character whose adventures were chronicled in various issues of "Eerie" magazine published by Warren Publishing in the 1970s and 80s, before getting his own title. He was created by writer Bill DuBay. He appeared in "Eerie" #82-85, 87-95, 98-105. He got his own "Rook Magazine" which ran 14 issues from 1979 to 1982 (after which he returned to "Eerie" and concluded the storyline in #132 and continued in 134 and 136). "Warren Presents" #2 reprints the stories from "Eerie" #82-85. "Eerie" isues #116 and 120 had stories staring his great-grandfather.

The Rook is actually a scientist named Restin Dane. Dane comes from a family of scientists whose members include the unnamed protagonist of the novel "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells. Dane gains his nickname from the fact that his time machine resembles a giant chess rook. Dane takes to wearing Western style clothing and a gunbelt. His first adventure is to travel back in time to the Alamo to save an ancestor. He does succeed in saving his great-great-grandfather Bishop Dane, who accompanies him on many of his adventures, along with two robots he built.

In a later adventure, he meets the Time Traveler (who is revealed to be his grandfather Adam Dane) from Wells' book, and helps him in a war between the Eloi and the Morlocks.

Harris Comics would later 'revamp' the character in name only, first in a mini-series "Chains of Chaos", then giving him a short-lived series for 5 issues (#0-4) in 1995.

Below is a link to the most detailed information in The Rookhttp://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Rook.htm