Tagged: art

Mike Gold: Superman, Captain America, and Hitler – In 2013

Mike Gold: Superman, Captain America, and Hitler – In 2013

Gold Art 130724If you’re in Chulalongkorn University’s freshman art class… well, you’re in Thailand. And you’re attending one of that nation’s leading schools.

Oh yeah, and you’re also as dumb as a bag of doorknobs. And The Simon Wiesenthal Center doesn’t think much of you.

Go figure. As you can see from the above photo, the freshmen painted a farewell banner to the outgoing class of 2013. Yes, that’s Superman, Batman, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, and Adolf Hitler sending the graduates off to their future.

The idea was to show that good and bad people coexist in the world, according to school dean Dr. Suppakorn Disatapundhu. He also said “(We) would like to formally express our sincere apology for our students’ superhero mural… I can assure you we are taking this matter very seriously.” He did; they took it down. Well, they took it down after two days. And after photos got out showing enrobed graduates imitating the infamous Nazi salute.

You will note the superheroes (giving the Hulk the benefit of the doubt) were in color and Wicked Uncle Adolf was in greytones. “They told me the concept was to paint a picture of superheroes who protect the world,” Dr. Suppakorn told the Associated Press. “Hitler was supposed to serve as a conceptual paradox to the superheroes.” I guess something got lost in translation. The Camptown ladies sing this song, Doo-da, Doo-da…

Now, as a professional comic book editor (depending upon how you define “professional”), I would not hire these students. But it’s not out of any perceived sense of anti-Jewish or pro-Hitler feelings. Absent of other information, I’m willing to take Dr. Suppakorn at his word. And I wouldn’t pass them by because they are undereducated. If you can draw swell and you make deadlines and you don’t throw up on the publisher’s rug, you’ll get lots of work.

I wouldn’t hire them because, artistically speaking, these kids really suck at their chosen profession.

As for the folks at the Wiesenthal Center: you guys gotta work on that “Never Again” thing. You’re losing traction.

THURSDAY MORNING: Dennis O’Neil

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Martin Pasko

 

All Pulp Interviews Bad Tiger-Final Interview- Steven Wilcox!

  • News
  • July 24, 2013

For the last interview in the BAD TIGER STUDIO series, ALL PULP takes on Steven Wilcox, Artist!

ALL PULP: Tell us about yourself, your personal background, and how you got into writing/art/etc.
 
SW: I have been drawing, in some form or another, since I was able to hold a pencil – even before I could write. My dad cultivated my love of drawing things like Batman and Spider-Man into a love of comic books by subscribing to several titles when I was growing up. The love of drawing and love of comics seemed to go hand-in-hand for me. As my tastes matured, so, too, did my art ability. 
 
AP: What is your role at Bad Tiger?
 
SW: At Bad Tiger, I’m the co-creator, penciller, inker and colorist of The Black Viper: Enemy of Evil strip.
 
AP: In our modern society, some would say that there’s nothing new or original anymore.  What makes Bad Tiger stand out?
 
SW: While there is “nothing new” these days there are new ways of presenting old ideas and themes. Bad Tiger wants to be known as the New Home of Pulp Adventures!
 
AP: What are your inspirations, influences for the work you do?
 
SW: Personally, my wife of twenty years and my four children inspire me in everything I do. Artistically, I find inspiration in a lot of artists, mostly comic book artists like John Byrne, Alex Ross, Arthur Adams, Mike Mignola, Tim Bradstreet, and Jim Lee to name a few. Outside of comics, I love the work of Norman Rockwell and Alphonse Mucha.
 
AP: What do you think appeals to the public about heroic/genre fiction and/or comic strips?  Why will people come to Bad Tiger?
 
SW: Because most of us grew up on comics and pulp adventures, and like the old fashioned storytelling of ouryouth, we tend to make our comics/stories the way we would want to read them…
 
AP: Last question! Say whatever you’d like to about Bad Tiger, yourself, or the experience!
 
SW: Working with Bad Tiger has been a joy. They embraced a character that me and my co-creator Justin Jude Carmona came up with a few years ago and gave him a home. We’re about to embark on adventures of The Black Viper that haven’t been sitting in a drawer for a few years, (the first two episodes were done in 2008 or 2009).
 
BAD TIGER STUDIO- www.badtigerstudio.com

All Pulp Interviews Bad Tiger #3-D. C. Golightly!

  • News
  • July 23, 2013

For the third interview in the BAD TIGER series, ALL PULP corners Writer/Creator/Marketing Director D. C. Golightly!

ALL PULP: Tell us about yourself, your personal background, and how you got into writing/art/etc.

 DCG: I reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my wife and kids. I love comics, cookies, and characters. Follow my freelance rumblings at http://dave-golightly.blogspot.com/. I’ve always been a huge comic fan, and growing up I really got into more adventure pulps as my comic collection grew. Since I wanted to weave a wonderful world myself, I started scribbling little stories. I’ve been lucky enough that some people are willing to pay for those stories. I always wanted to be an artist, but I lack talent. Therefor the pen is the only version of the brush that I can manipulate as a creator.

AP: What is your role at Bad Tiger?

DCG: I write The Skull, a bi-monthly strip, as well as the prose for The Black Kingdom. I’ve recently agreed to take on the role of Minister of Propaganda…or Marketing Director…or whatever you want to call the guy that advertises our junk.

AP:  In our modern society, some would say that there’s nothing new or original anymore. What makes Bad Tiger stand out?

 DCG: It’s a group of like-minded people that have a single goal: create awesome stories. We’re not doing this to get paid; we’re doing this because we love these characters and this genre. There’s a lot of work being put into this venture, and a lot of talent to recognize. This group is populated by people that are not only good enough to make it in the industry, but to an extent already are. We choose to take the time to build this initiative because we believe in it and want to get our stories told.

AP: What are your inspirations, influences for the work you do?

DCG: Jim Butcher is always on his game, and I would buy lunch for Mark Waid any day of the week. Jeffery Deaver can write a character out of any corner.

AP: What do you think appeals to the public about heroic/genre fiction and/or comic strips? Why will people come to Bad Tiger?

DCG: Bad Tiger Studios will quickly become a place fans recognize as a platform for creative talent, free of charge. We’ll toss incredible projects to the wall, see what sticks, and then turn them around for readers. The quality of the material is out of this world and the people interested in this genre will undoubtedly return after they get a sample of what we have to offer. These are the kinds of stories that people want to see, and we’re more than happy to offer them.

AP:  Free response! Say whatever you’d like to about Bad Tiger, yourself, or the experience!

DCG: I’m flattered to be associated with such uniquely creative people. These people are putting in many long hours of work just to provide entertainment, and all they are asking for is a shot to be viewed.

BAD TIGER STUDIO- www.badtigerstudio.com

 

ALL PULP INTERVIEWS BAD TIGER #2- JUSTIN DITZLER!

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  • July 22, 2013


ALL PULP continues its series of interviews with BAD TIGER STUDIO! This time, we have co-founder Justin Ditzler in the hot seat!

ALL PULP:  Tell us about yourself, your personal background, and how you got into writing/art/etc.:

JD: I live in Central Pa with my wife and we are expecting our first child in December. I have always been an artist, for as long as I can remember. My family still has drawings of mine from before I can even remember. I’ve always enjoyed working in pencil, black and whites, and inks. When I was in school, all of my best grades came from art class. I entered a few school based competitions over the years and usually place high if not on top. My home town is also the location of the county fair where the school would enter my work and I had quite a nice collection of blue ribbons as a kid. As I grew older, life kept pushing me further and further away from the artwork that I loved so I was forced to find other outlets for my creativity. Through this I discovered I could use a computer to create, so I took to some digital coloring for my drawings and scraps. Over the last decade or so, I’ve been learning about digital art and web design in my free time and squeezing in some drawing where I can. In the past I have created album art and logos for the various musical projects and the occasional tattoo design.
 I am new to the world of comics and pulp, but I’m really liking what I have seen thus far.

AP: What is your role at Bad Tiger?

JD: I am the Co-Founder of Bad Tiger Studio, along with C. William Russette. Also, I am the web-designer/webmaster at www.badtigerstudio.com, the Co-Creator of Operator Zero and the colorist/letterer of Operator Zero. Furthermore, I have designed all of the logos for Bad Tiger Studio and Operator Zero and I am one of the Administrators of the Bad Tiger Studio Facebook Page.

AP: In our modern society, some would say that there’s nothing new or original anymore.  What makes Bad Tiger stand out?

JD: In most cases, I would agree. Originality is something that seems to be very hard to come by these days. To me this is not a surprise. With the invention of the internet and social media it’s becoming harder and harder to come up with a truly original idea. Also, we have to consider the amount of characters and stories that are out there today. Our Genre is not a new one and there are so many Archetypes out there that influences and similarities are very hard to escape.

I think originality is found within the stories of the characters we create. As creators we spend amazing amounts of time figuring out the backgrounds and the stories of our characters. When we write our stories we need to know how our characters will react to the situations and why and what made them react in such a way. So we spend countless hours creating worlds, families, friends, foes and histories just so we can convey the best story and best character to our readers.

At Bad Tiger Studio, our characters and our stories make us stand out. From our writing to our character design and development, to our artwork and finished products, I think we have some great things to offer.

AP:  What are your inspirations, influences for the work you do?

Considering I am quite new to the world of comics and pulp, I think my inspirations and influences are everywhere. I’ll spend hours in the local book store browsing the comics section, picking up book after book just to see the differences in style and technique. Sometimes I learn things and sometimes I get lost in the story.

JD: What do you think appeals to the public about heroic/genre fiction and/or comic strips?  Why will people come to Bad Tiger?

I think hero fiction appeals to everyone’s inner hero. I think that all people have some sort of drive or urge to do the right things on one level or another. The hero fiction genre allows us to indulge our inner hero with the ability to put ourselves in the hero’s shoes, or cape in some cases. These small escapes give us the opportunity to imagine ourselves standing up for what is right and just. Thankfully for us, the creators, once a person is hooked on this feeling and finds our characters relatable, they keep coming back for more. I think as our stories unfold at Bad Tiger Studio, our audience will see just how intricate our stories are and they will keep coming back to find out where the story is headed next.

AP:  Any last words?

JD: Thus far Bad Tiger Studio has been a great experience for me. I work with very talented people and we all seem to share a common interest. We all want to get our characters out there into the hands of the readers and we all want to tell our stories.


Bad Tiger Studio- www.badtigerstudio.com 


INTERVIEW SERIES- ALL PULP TALKS TO BAD TIGER STUDIOS- INTERVIEW ONE- C. WILLIAM RUSSETTE

  • News
  • July 21, 2013


BAD TIGER STUDIO debuted recently as a new force in Pulp and Comics, fitting the bill for just what All Pulp covers!  With this first interview of Company Partner C. William Russette, All Pulp begins a series spotlighting Bad Tiger Creators discussing characters, plans, and more to come from this new, but already popular company in Comics and Pulp Fiction


ALL PULP BAD TIGER INTERVIEW #1
C. WILLIAM RUSSETTE

ALL PULP:  Tell us about yourself, your personal background, and how you got into writing/art/etc.


CWR; My name is C. William Russette I currently pay the rent working retail. I have an incredibly supportive wife and a fantastic son who digs my art. I have been drawing since I could hold a crayon as so many artists claim. Far as I recall it was the truth for me. I didn’t get interested in writing until I started playing role playing games and the plots provided just weren’t interesting enough for me to run my players through. Basically I always fancied myself an artist but never pushed that too hard. Writing was all dabbling too until I was in the army and took a correspondence course. That and trying to impress my future wife got me to start taking my writing seriously. I wrote some comic book scripts and short stories. Tommy roped me into the first of many web projects and his health has been on the decline ever since. I have been published in both comic book format and prose; most recently in Pro Se Presents.

AP: What is your role at Bad Tiger?


CWR: I am the co-Founder along with Justin Ditzler. That’s my biggest hat. I am also the plotter-scripter-penciller-inker of the OPERATOR ZERO comic. I recruited all of our talent from past associations be it writing or art. I also wear an editors hat but that’s pretty loose.

AP: In our modern society, some would say that there’s nothing new or original anymore.  What makes Bad Tiger stand out?


CWR: I don’t care for that idea. By that reasoning no one has done anything new or original since Macedonia four thousand years ago. Plots and themes can be retreaded and slapped together with different characters in different places and times. I think it really depends on how you present the story. How well was it written? Was it executed properly? What will make Bad Tiger material stand out is that no one has our unique viewpoints or the way we process everything we absorb. I’ll let my peers answer for themselves but I grew up reading a lot of fiction from comic books to fantasy-adventure and devouring films like Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian and especially the Ray Harryhausen works. So add to that a fondness for Pulp (that I was unaware of until it was brought to my attention.) and dump trucks of Robert E. Howard, Stephen King and Jeffery Deaver and there is a healthy eclectic mix that my creative engine can chew up, lace with adrenalin and spit out what I call my kinda stories. BTS is my stories done my way. It’s something that I have been wanting to do for some time and I’ve assembled a gang of like minded individuals to share their wares.

AP: What are your inspirations, influences for the work you do?


CWR: There are many so I’ll just scrape off the icing. For art I will say Mike Mignola, John Byrne and Walt Simonson are top of the heap. I am still learning to ink but Gary Martin and Shawn Martinbrough jump to mind. For writing it is really all over the place. Warren Ellis, Jim Shooter, Clive Barker, Stephen King, James Clavell (Shogun is still my favorite novel), R. A. Salvatore, Bruce Lee, Robert Ludlam, Chris Claremont and Grant Morrison to name a few. Are we doing movies? 13 Assassins, The Crow, Gladiator, The Avengers and cartoons like Alladin, Akira and Transformers G1. Toshiro Mifune, Jeff Goldblum, Jack Nicholson and Donnie Yen. For music its mostly 80’s rock and metal. For it all I need the high water mark, a direct line or an adrenaline shot to get the juices flowing. Oh, and coffee.

AP: What do you think appeals to the public about heroic/genre fiction and/or comic strips?  Why will people come to Bad Tiger?


CWR: I think there are a number of reasons why people like heroic fiction. I think there is a certain thrill to living vicariously through the characters that you’re absorbing. I know I do that. I think there is a certain level of escapism that feeds a down-time need during troubled times in your life. You want to forget the rent, the war, the homework or the job. Maybe reading about a domino masked ex-sailor that stands up against the unjust and lands a mighty jaw-breaking right cross is just the ticket to lower your blood pressure. The creators that I have roped into presenting their varied super-charged crime-breaking, airship-flying, sword swinging, mask wearing, machine gun unloading stories will deliver the super charged pulp, genre tales that much of the comic book industry just doesn’t deliver. Heck, we even have a comedic strip in Junior’s World by Frank Dawson Jr. Its all under one roof and great things are coming down the pipe. I assure you.

AP: Any closing thoughts?


CWR: I’ve gone on long enough but I will say that I am having a great time working with these guys and creating along side them the stories that we all love to read. Watch this Bad Tiger as he claws his way to the top!


 Bad Tiger Studio- http://www.badtigerstudio.com

Interview With Steampunk Octopus Artist Brian Kesinger

  • News
  • July 12, 2013

LA-based illustrator, animator, and artist Brian Kesinger has just released his first book, Walking Your Octopus: A Guide to the Domesticated Cephalopod. I first came across Brian a few years ago when I was the judge for the WeLoveFine steampunk tee shirt art contest, where he submitted “Walkies for Otto”. He won that contest and thus started the Internet’s love affair with his adorable characters Otto and Victoria. Since then, Otto and Victoria have grown to encompass books, prints, shirts, and more. Brian was good enough to sit down with me for an interview on his new book, upcoming projects, and the very important question of “why the octopus?”

ComicMix: How did you get started in the arts?

Brian Kesinger: I was fortunate enough to born into a family of artists. The thing is they were all musicians! In fact I’m the only one in my family who couldn’t play an instrument. I was much more fond of drawing than practicing piano. My parents recognized this and were able to support my artistic endeavors all through school and that support has certainly helped make me the artist I am today.

otto-by-the-sea-brian-kesinger

ComicMix: How did all this Steampunk style art you started doing in 2010 come about?

Brian Kesinger: I had been drawing steampunk art before I knew of that term. Back in 2000 I was doing layout and background design for Walt Disney animation studios on the film, Atlantis. It was on that film that a grew fond of drawing submarines, gears and gadgets. After that I moved on to the film treasure planet where I continued my alternate history aesthetics that time with the mixture of tall ships and sci-fi. It wasn’t until recently that I started doing my own steampunk art and I think my passion for the subject matter stems from the education I had on those films.”

Brian-Kesinger-осьминог-Otto-and-Victoria-deviantartcom-524333

 

ComicMix: Can you tell us a little about the new book you have coming out?

Brian Kesinger: My book, walking your octopus: a guidebook to the domesticated cephalopod is based on two of my more popular original characters, Otto and Victoria. It’s not your typical storybook. It reads more like an owner’s guide to pet octopuses. (Think of a Victorian era “puppies for dummies”)
It’s sort of a satirical look at how we all can get a little carried away with how we raise our pets. It’s certainly inspired by my own dog Scout but also inspired by the ups and downs of raising two young children with my wife. My hope is that the book speaks to not only steampunk fans but pet owners and parents as well.

ottoandvictoria

ComicMix: Why the Octopus?

Brian Kesinger:  I find octopuses extremely fun to draw. It is a real challenge inventing eight different things for them to do in every image. They are nature’s original multi-tasker and they certainly have captured the imagination of a lot of people. Along with the squid and other Cephalopods, octopuses seem to be a sort of theme animal for steampunk so when I set forth trying to render an image of a high class Victorian lady and her boutique pet the choice was obvious. What was not obvious was how popular Otto has become since I first drew him a year ago. He has inspired fan art, tattoos and I’ve even seen girls cosplay Victoria and conventions around the country! And for that I am so grateful and it keeps me drawing octopus.

Brian Kesinger's Tea Girls

ComicMix: What other things do you have coming up that we all should look forward to?

Brian Kesinger: Well my first love is movies. It’s why I have wanted to work in animation. So I have been developing several short film ideas and in addition to that I am in the very early stages of developing a full length feature of Otto and Victoria’s adventures. I would love to see a beautifully rendered steampunk animated film and I can’t think of any characters better suited for that than Otto and Victoria. Stay tuned for more details!

1904252_15443285_lz-1
Annie Award-winning artist Brian Kesinger has loved to draw ever since he could remember. During his senior year of high school, Brian was accepted to the Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California as the second youngest animation hire in the history of the company. At just 18 years old, Brian became a layout artist and in his 16+ years at Disney Animation, he has worn many artistic hats from visual development to story artist. In 2011, he was honored with a prestigious Annie award for his story work on the hit Disney TV holiday movie “Prep and Landing.” Brian’s most recent film at Disney is the Academy Award-nominated film “Wreck It Ralph” – and if you listen closely, you’ll hear him lend his voice talents to comic bad guy, “Cy-borg.” Inspired by his love of gadgets and fantasy, his delightful steampunk characters celebrate Victorian sensibility and timeless beauty with a dash of geekiness thrown in for good measure. His original “Tea Girls” art is created with different kinds of actual tea – resulting in an innovative visual affect.
Brian

Dragon*Con Buys Edward Kramer Out

300px-DragonconlogoThis is very good news. Dragon*Con announced this on their Facebook page today:

The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Dragon Con / ACE, Inc., producer of Dragon*Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy and sci-fi convention, have agreed to merge the company into Dragon Con, Inc. (Dragon Con) in a cash-out merger.

Led by Pat Henry, David Cody and Robert Dennis, ownership of Dragon Con includes five of the six founding owners of Dragon Con / ACE (the old Dragon Con). The effective date of the merger is July 8, 2013.

Edward Kramer, who has not had any role in managing or organizing the convention since 2000, was offered cash for his shares in the old company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“This decision only affects the ownership of the old Dragon Con,” said Pat Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Con. “Our members and others who attend Dragon*Con 2013 will experience the same fantastic convention they have come to expect from us.”

Dragon Con will continue the agreements with each of the host and overflow hotels associated with the convention as well as all of the guests and performers scheduled to appear at this year’s event, either “as is” or with amendments recognizing Dragon Con as owner.

About Dragon*Con

Dragon*Con is the largest pop culture convention featuring comics, film, television, costuming, art, music, and gaming. Held each Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Dragon*Con attracted more than 52,000 attendees in 2012. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org.

Hopefully this will now put the major stigma of having Mr. Kramer continuing to be associated with Dragon*Con behind them.

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Michael Davis: Alone In My Room

Davis Art 130702-1The other day I was sitting in my studio at 4 AM working on a double page spread for a graphic novel I’m writing and illustrating.

There was a movie playing in the background, coffee and tequila on my side table and my dog Puffy laying at my feet. The house was silent, well silent except for the screams of the guy Jason Statham just threw off a roof in the movie I was watching.

Other than that guy screaming like a little bitch, my house was silent.

All of a sudden it hit me. I’m an artist.

I went to school to become a professional illustrator. I wanted to study to be a cartoonist because I wanted to do comics so badly!

Davis Art 130702-2But…

My cousin told me if I became a cartoonist I would “stave and die.” My cousin was also my mentor and if not for him there was a very good chance I’d be in jail or dead now.

No joke.

He’s also a world-renowned artist. How renowned? The house I live in cost less than one of his paintings and I live in a pretty nice house.

Again, no joke.

So when your cousin who is also your mentor who also saved you from death and/or prison who is also a world-renowned artist tells you if you became a cartoonist you will stare and die, you listen.

I listened.

I became an illustrator and as luck would have it the industry changed so as an illustrator I could still do comics just not the traditional way they had been done.

My illustration career was pretty damn good before I got into comics that I did pretty damn bad. It took me a while to understand the medium but once I did the work got better…I hope.

Somewhere along the way my illustration and comics career stopped completely as I found myself working in other media: television, publishing, radio and education.

Before I knew it I had a mini entertainment empire going and the only art I was doing was doodling a  fat Batman every chance I got.

At 4 AM the other day sitting in my studio I realized that all is right when I’m doing art. Just me, my dog, my Captain Action mug for my coffee and tequila, a movie and my work is freakin awesome.

No Hollywood drama, no politics, no egos, no bullshit.

It’s like when I was in the sixth grade drawing the adventures of The Fighting Five my very own superhero group. The Fighting Five were, the Liberator, (spelled Liverator; I went to public school) Bulldozer, The Anything Man (because I couldn’t think of anything else to name him) Judo Master (stolen from Charlton Comics but I felt I could use him because his book was cancelled) and The Human Torch (but it was the original Human Torch and I felt I could use him also since Marvel had thrown him away).

When I was alone in my room in the projects with my art nothing else mattered and I was the happiest I’d ever been as a child. Now, I’ve come full circle as I sit in my studio alone at 4 am in the morning happy with what I’m doing and who I am.

People have a hard time putting me into a category because I wear so many hats. I usually just say I’m a content producer but that’s never really felt right to me. It’s just an easy way for me to say, I’m a writer, TV producer, etc., etc., Shado, Shado (a invitation to my annual San Diego Comic Con party to the first person that gets that joke) I just figured out at 4 am in the morning sitting in my studio what and who I am.

I’m Michael Davis… and I’m an artist.

WEDNESDAY MORNING: Mike Gold Presents Pulp Pulchritude

THURSDAY MORNING: Dennis O’Neil Goes Fourth

 

WHITE ROCKET AND THE ART OF AUDIOBOOKS

  • News
  • June 27, 2013

Chris Barnes of Dynamic Ram Audio joins host Van Allen Plexico this week on the White Rocket show to discuss the art of creating audiobooks and audio dramas.  From how to produce them to how Chris got interested in the first place, it’s a wide-ranging discussion of a classic form of entertainment that is suddenly new again.

Find Dynamic Ram on the Web at http://thedynamicram.blogspot.com/

You can listen to White Rocket 029: The Art of Audiobooks with Chris Barnes now at http://whiterocket.podbean.com/2013/06/25/white-rocket-029-the-art-of-audiobooks-with-chris-barnes/

This White Rocket episode is available via iTunes (subscribe and don’t miss an episode!) or you can visit the podcast site at http://whiterocket.podbean.com/

The White Rocket Books page at http://www.whiterocketbooks.com/

Part of The ESO Podcast Network.

REVIEW: Tommysaurus Rex

Tommysaurus Rex
By Doug TenNapel
Scholastic Graphix, 136 pages, $10.99

Tommysaurus RexThe concept of a boy and his canine best friend is nothing new at all and has provided us with countless heartwarming stories through the years. That the dog dies and is resurrected as a tyrannosaurus rex is a fresh spin on the story; one so fresh that in 2004 Universal bid $1million to preemptively option the property. I have no idea what happened with that, but it was based on an earlier version of Tommysaurus Rex, which Doug TenNapel released as a miniseries through Image in 2004 and then a collection in 2008. This month, though, a revised, expanded and apparently recolored version of the story is being released from Scholastic’s Graphix imprint.

Ely is shy, without a lot of friends, except for Tommy, the golden retriever who is his companion, friend, playmate and security blanket. Overenthusiastic in all ways, he pulls free from his leash one day and is hit by a car and dies. A distraught Ely is brought to Granpa’s nearby farm and in addition to learning about agriculture, he locates a nearby cave where, tucked behind some rocks, is a living T-Rex.

The dino-phenomena proves as loving and eager as a puppy and quickly Ely realizes its Tommy reincarnated. How Ely and Tommy win over a fearful and skeptical community forms the core of the story. Of course, there’s also antagonism in the form of Randy, lead bully but rather than be pure evil, we learn what causes him to act in such a terrible way.

Of the TenNapel works I’ve read and reviewed here – Ghostopolis, Bad Island, and Cardboard – this has the most heart and soul. It’s also his earliest work so the art style and storytelling is simpler. Everything is clear and the color adds a nice dimension with solid pacing, mixing pathos, drama, and humor. I’ve been usually critical of TenNapel’s story logic lapses and this has few of those although the fact that a dinosaur is wandering the world seems to attract minimal media attention and zero attention from scientists or the federal government. It doesn’t hurt that the Mayor, up for reelection and seeing the creature’s popularity, acts as a buffer.

Pare away the bullies and gawkers and this boils down to a boy loves dog story that can warm the heart and entertain. It’s an ideal volume for third through eighth graders and is well worth a look.

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