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Devil Dinosaur Omnibus by Mike Royer, Frank Giacoia, Walt Simonson, Tom Brevoort, Jack Kirby
dozmuttz's review
5.0
JACKY KIRBY+DINOSAURS SOUNDS AWESOME SO NO WONDER IT ACTUALLY WAS!!!
To continue Kirby Month, I decided to check out one of his more random and under the radar projects. It was one of the many titles he was working on with his return to Marvel and with only 9 issues and it not being a main superhero title, folks dont really talk about this one. The character of ‘Devil Dinosaur’ did make a return in 2015 with a new title, however it never really took off. Regardless of all that, I decided to finally check out this strange book without any idea on what to expect. In these 9 issues Kirby gives us a prehistoric tale of ape-like men who live among the dinosaurs and other bizarre creatures. Moon boy is our main protagonist and he is a part of a group of people named the small-folk. He meets our other main character, Devil Dinosaur, after a volcanic eruption burns the creature to a red crisp, Moon Boy feels a connection between the two and helps save the dinosaur's life. We then just follow their bizarre adventures in a tale that feels to be a lot about companionship and takes you to places you’d least expect in a book like this.
Jack Kirby does both writing and artwork on this one and he knocks both out of the park! To start with the artwork, Kirby gives us an amazing prehistoric environment full of epic scenes and cool looking creatures of the time. I’m sure a lot of stuff isn't accurate to the age of this prehistoric era, but I mean it's comics so whatever. Kirby gives us his famous formula of splash page as the first page, into an epic spread page as the second page, and again, IT IS EPIC! As simple as I can put it, it’s Jack drawing dinosaurs so from his history of monster stuff, this is something that you can only expect he’d do phenomenal on. The fight scenes are fast paced and dynamic, the character designs are interesting, and the background drops are stunning and tone setting. All in all it’s another satisfying piece of work by Kirby.
On the writing portion and storytelling of this small run, it is another part that Kirby completely SMASHES! I really didn’t know what this story was going to be, I thought it might be something silly or not up to par with Kirby’s more acclaimed work, but boy I was wrong! I’m glad I was wrong too, because this was such a nice and different read for me. On the surface, sure this is about ape-men and dinosaurs going on crazy adventures, but ohhh it's far more than that! It is a heartwarming story about companionship, with two very different individuals that truly care about one another. There’s also A LOT that happens, in such a short amount of issues, but it's all perfectly paced with great plot points each issue. The story goes all over the place from, straight up dino-fights, battles among the different ape-folk, invading AI, and witches messing with the future! ALL IN 9 ISSUES! HOW?! Jack THE KING Kirby that's how!
Overall; I loved this read and Jack really shows that he’s one of a kind. The concepts, plotting, pacing, and artwork all feel great and ahead of its time at some points. It feels like a cult classic film that did a lot more with a lot less compared to other projects from other people and even Kirby himself! Also a very sweet and touching story at times that had some great in the feels moments. Another chef's kiss by The King!
To continue Kirby Month, I decided to check out one of his more random and under the radar projects. It was one of the many titles he was working on with his return to Marvel and with only 9 issues and it not being a main superhero title, folks dont really talk about this one. The character of ‘Devil Dinosaur’ did make a return in 2015 with a new title, however it never really took off. Regardless of all that, I decided to finally check out this strange book without any idea on what to expect. In these 9 issues Kirby gives us a prehistoric tale of ape-like men who live among the dinosaurs and other bizarre creatures. Moon boy is our main protagonist and he is a part of a group of people named the small-folk. He meets our other main character, Devil Dinosaur, after a volcanic eruption burns the creature to a red crisp, Moon Boy feels a connection between the two and helps save the dinosaur's life. We then just follow their bizarre adventures in a tale that feels to be a lot about companionship and takes you to places you’d least expect in a book like this.
Jack Kirby does both writing and artwork on this one and he knocks both out of the park! To start with the artwork, Kirby gives us an amazing prehistoric environment full of epic scenes and cool looking creatures of the time. I’m sure a lot of stuff isn't accurate to the age of this prehistoric era, but I mean it's comics so whatever. Kirby gives us his famous formula of splash page as the first page, into an epic spread page as the second page, and again, IT IS EPIC! As simple as I can put it, it’s Jack drawing dinosaurs so from his history of monster stuff, this is something that you can only expect he’d do phenomenal on. The fight scenes are fast paced and dynamic, the character designs are interesting, and the background drops are stunning and tone setting. All in all it’s another satisfying piece of work by Kirby.
On the writing portion and storytelling of this small run, it is another part that Kirby completely SMASHES! I really didn’t know what this story was going to be, I thought it might be something silly or not up to par with Kirby’s more acclaimed work, but boy I was wrong! I’m glad I was wrong too, because this was such a nice and different read for me. On the surface, sure this is about ape-men and dinosaurs going on crazy adventures, but ohhh it's far more than that! It is a heartwarming story about companionship, with two very different individuals that truly care about one another. There’s also A LOT that happens, in such a short amount of issues, but it's all perfectly paced with great plot points each issue. The story goes all over the place from, straight up dino-fights, battles among the different ape-folk, invading AI, and witches messing with the future! ALL IN 9 ISSUES! HOW?! Jack THE KING Kirby that's how!
Overall; I loved this read and Jack really shows that he’s one of a kind. The concepts, plotting, pacing, and artwork all feel great and ahead of its time at some points. It feels like a cult classic film that did a lot more with a lot less compared to other projects from other people and even Kirby himself! Also a very sweet and touching story at times that had some great in the feels moments. Another chef's kiss by The King!
ponycanyon's review
5.0
One of Jack Kirby's most underrated projects, Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy features classic Kirby storytelling, this time in the Savage Land. Amazing that they're doing a big edition of this - it's so often overlooked!
art_cart_ron's review
3.0
I'm tempted to give this a 4 because of a lot of the brilliant kinetic artwork - but the stories and experimental nature of the book don't reach that far. Given some more time, Kirby may have found his stride - but for the most part, the book fails to find a niche that it can run with. I think what I love most about Devil Dinosaur is that Kirby isn't what you would call traditionally good at drawing dinosaurs - - and yet he does amazing things with each page, as always.
The demon tree, and the story it follows, are highlights.
The demon tree, and the story it follows, are highlights.
birdmanseven's review
4.0
It’s Dinovember at the library so I read Jack Kirby’s 9 issue series Devil Dinosaur! Jack Kirby’s art stretches all the way back to the 1940s and is pretty legendary among comic book fans. His output as a writer greatly increased late in his career, most notably with The New Gods for DC and The Eternals for Marvel. While those series tend to be a little trippy and sometimes over-written, Devil Dinosaur hits it just right. The story is simple: Moon Boy, an ape-like member of the Small-Folk tribe rescues Devil Dinosaur from the Killer-Folk and the two become fast friends. The rest of the series has Moon Boy and Devil travelling across a prehistoric landscape, scrapping with the Killer-Folk and looking for a place to settle. The art is dynamic and the story is full of adventure. Great for classic comic book fans and newbies alike.
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-273-its-dinovember-2020/s-LS8OCFV1qvt
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-273-its-dinovember-2020/s-LS8OCFV1qvt
hypops's review
4.0
One of Jack Kirby’s better known ‘70s-era solo productions. The art is fantastic, and while the dialogue is Kirby at his campiest, it’s also a no-holds-barred attack on any “mainstream” appeal.
It’s goofy as hell, and it’s no wonder it was canceled (as was the cartoon that was planned to follow on its heels), but man does this stuff sing. It’s like opera with dinosaurs. The premise and plot arcs don’t ultimately go anywhere, but whatevs. It’s great reading.
It’s goofy as hell, and it’s no wonder it was canceled (as was the cartoon that was planned to follow on its heels), but man does this stuff sing. It’s like opera with dinosaurs. The premise and plot arcs don’t ultimately go anywhere, but whatevs. It’s great reading.
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