Comic Review - Super Dinosaur #1

April the 20th sees the release of Robert Kirkman's latest creation, Devil Dinosaur, published by Image Comics. Inspired by his 5 year old son who asked Papa Kirkman to draw a Super Dinosaur he held onto the idea for almost two and a half years before creating SD, Derek Dynamo and his genius father, Doctor Dynamo.

If you don't know who Robert Kirkman is, you've been under that rock for way too long. He is one of the five head honchos at Image Comics and the creator of such powerhouse titles as Invincible, The Astounding Wolfman and the Eisner award winning The Walking Dead. A creator owned dynamo who has changed the face of modern comics.


The first thing that strikes you about this comic is that it is fun. Fun is something that is sadly missed in comics quite often. Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee's Thor: The Mighty Avenger was the most fun comic that I had read in the last five years and thankfully, Super Dinosaur gives me what I've been missing. Then again, how could a comic called Super Dinosaur not be fun?

Kirkman does what Kirkman does best. In the first half of the book he manages to create an entire new world which is completely seperate and entirely self contained from the Invincible and Walking Dead universes. By the end of the book he's created a small handful of characters and fleshed them out more than enough for me to want more. Within one book he has managed to do what sometimes doesn't happen until well into a story arc, if at all. He got me to care about Derek, his father and that giant, video game loving dino. I will say that the character of SD fell a little flat but in giving Derek more page space he asserted his role as the main protagonist and the emotional centre of the book.

Kirkman has collaborated with his Astounding Wolfman artist, Jason Howard, who not only illustrates but also colours. Howard's art just pops off the page. His style is much lighter than in Wolfman with thinner and less angular outlines. The palette is rich and vibrant . This lends itself perfectly to the intended all-ages audience. Howard is the perfect artist for this project, his art is understated, colourful and easy on the eyes.

Kirkman has often voiced his opinions that the comic book industry is in desperate need of more "all ages" books. I personally thank him for putting his money where his mouth is. Super Dinosaur #1 was just as fun as the name sounds and I get the distinct feeling that thre are plenty more good times to come.