Review by Win Wiacek
Jack Kirby remains the most important single influence in the history of American comics, and his return to Marvel in 1976 was much hyped at the time, but proved controversial. Kirby was never slavishly wedded to tight continuity, and preferred, in many ways, to treat his stints on titles as another “Day One”: a policy increasing at odds with the close-continuity demanded by a strident faction of the readership and many younger editorial staff at the time.
Until his?/her?/their? recent rehabilitation, Devil Dinosaur was possibly Kirby’s most divisive creation, proving sheer anathema to those fans who scrupulously policed Marvel continuity, perpetually seeking out infractions to the holy writ and demanding “does this fit in?” They were apparently blind to the unfettered, joyous freedom of imagination run wild, the majesty of pulse-pounding thrills and electrifyingly galvanising BIG ART!
And that is the reason this collection is so enthralling. Kirby’s commitment to wholesome adventure, breakneck action and breathless wonderment combined with his absolute mastery of the comic page and unceasing quest for the Next Big Thrill makes for a captivating read. Who can’t love a monkey man, riding a big red dinosaur, fighting monsters and aliens, for Pete’s sake!
It takes place in an unspecified time in prehistory where various emergent species of hominids eke out a perilous existence beside the last of the great lizards and other primordial giants. In that perilous world, a wide-eyed innocent of the timid but clever Small Folk rescues a baby tyrannosaur from humanoid hunters known as the Killer-Folk. These hairy thugs have already slaughtered its mother and siblings with cunning snares, and now torture the little lizard with blazing firebrands, turning its scorched hide a livid, blazing scarlet. Under the roaring light of a blazing volcano, Moon Boy and Devil bond, becoming inseparable companions wandering the vast lush valley which is their home.
The scarlet saurian is no ordinary beast. Blessed with uncanny intelligence and unmatchable ferocity, it soon becomes an equal partner in a relationship never before seen in the world. That does not, however, prevent the duo being targets for the Killer-Folk’s ambitious new chief.
Having set the scene and established the protagonists Kirby then explores the sheer variety of humanoid life from their viewpoint. There’s a monumental man-thing frenziedly hunting for his missing offspring, giant termites, and a telling biblical pastiche of the Garden of Eden. In ‘Object From the Sky’ bizarre, merciless strangers erupt out of a bizarre metal craft. We’d call them robotic aliens, but the only certainty the assorted Earth creatures know is that these monsters are coldly hostile butchers.
The last story is certainly the most intriguing as ‘The Witch and the Warp’ sees Devil fall into a naturally-occurring space-time fault seemingly controlled by a peculiar hag and her quirky disciple. It takes all Moon Boy’s persuasiveness to get her to bring Devil home again, and even after the friends are reunited the voyager has no means of relating the details of his shocking adventure in Nevada, circa 1978 AD.
This compilation is a dose of bombastic, uncomplicated comics magic: bold, brash and utterly compelling. How can you possibly resist the clarion call of this astounding, eccentric escapism?
