Well, why did I pick this? Kirby has produced a wide array of characters and stories that have won over both fans and the public with his imagination and creativeness. Whether it be Captain America or Darkseid, his creations are known globally and loved by many. So, I have decided to pick something different, something I think even Kirby fans themselves would agree doesn’t merit the highest of praise. In theory (at least to me anyway), a book featuring a giant pink dinosaur and a freaky-looking hair-covered boy would be something that would intrigue me. Just saying that makes me interested in what it might be about. But then, you have to remember that this is from the late 1970s of comics, a time when comics were becoming slightly darker and more serious in their tone. Could something like Devil Dinosaur live in those changing times? Could Jack Kirby for that matter? By 1978, Kirby had come back to Marvel from DC, producing runs on Captain America and the Eternals. From what I gather, Kirby himself didn’t appear to be particularly happy around this period and he also appeared to be running out of steam, only natural when you have been writing and drawing comics for nearly forty years. Devil Dinosaur is really one of the last “mainstream” comics made by Kirby. By that, I mean that this is possibly his last ongoing work for Marvel. This may be the end of an era of sorts for Kirby, but a comic featuring a giant dinosaur isn’t exactly what he’ll be remembered for.
Devil Dinosaur 1-9 was published from April to December 1978. All stories were
written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with Mike Royer inking. I have read these stories in the Devil Dinosaur trade paperback.
Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy/Devil’s War --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
Long ago in the prehistoric era, there was Devil Dinosaur and his friend Moon Boy. In the Valley of the Flame, Moon Boy riders Devil Dinosaur as he fights Thunder-Horn, another giant dinosaur. As Devil Dinosaur manages to defeat Thunder-Horn, he roars with victory. After Moon Boy celebrates and the two walk through the night, he recalls how the two of them met. When he was younger, Moon Boy left his human tribe to witness the sight of a volcano, which is when he came across a group of Killer-Folk cavemen, who murdered a pack of dinosaurs. Using torches, they burnt one of the dinosaurs, turning his skin red, which angers it. After the cavemen retreated in fear, Moon Boy found the red dinosaur in pain and comforted him. Suddenly, Moon Boy was attacked by another dinosaur, but the red dinosaur saved him. After he took the red dinosaur to a lake to cool down from his burns, Moon Boy called the dinosaur Devil. When Moon Boy returned to his tribe with Devil, they ran away in fear, causing Moon Boy to stay with Devil. Back in the present, the Killer Folk cavemen fight one another before coming to the conclusion that they must fight Devil to reclaim their power. Later that night, Moon Boy wakes up and finds the forest is on fire. As Moon Boy rides Devil seemingly to safety, the Killer Folk wait nearby with a trap: a pit full of sharp thorns…
Although knowing that they are heading into a trap, Devil jumps straight into the thorns, shattering them. Surprised, the Killer Folk attack Devil using pointy sticks, but Devil simply kicks them in the face. Nearby, one of the Killer Folk decide that they should bury Devil and Moon Boy. By stabbing the rocks with their sticks, it causes an avalanche and Devil, and Moon Boy are buried. Believing Devil to be dead, the Killer Folk find Moon Boy unconscious and take his body away. Soon afterwards, Devil awakens and is met with Iguanodon, another dinosaur who tries to fight him. However, Devil easily defeats him and begins his search for Moon Boy. Meanwhile, Moon Boy awakens tied up near the Cave of Long-Legs, where a giant spider (also named Long Legs) appears and edges closer to him, while the Killer Folk cheer. Suddenly, Devil appears with a burning branch in his mouth, throwing it onto the Killer Folk and watching them catch fire. As Devil saves Moon Boy, the Killer Folk decide to hide in the cave, where they are seemingly attacked by Long Legs. Moon Boy rides Devil out of the fire and he roars with victory.
MY THOUGHTS
Most of the stories that Jack Kirby both plotted and wrote usually aren’t exactly what I’d call plot heavy. In fact, sometimes the plot can be incredibly simple (i.e. Kamandi fights some talking tigers). To some extent this is part of Kirby’s charm, but as this series goes on, it becomes more of a hindrance to good storytelling. This story pretty much just introduces us to the main characters and delivers an interesting, but later overused plot. I know that this is a work of fiction but man and dinosaur never co-existed. Just putting that out there. But then again, I can’t imagine that there were any bright red dinosaurs either. One of my favourite aspects of this story and actually the run as a whole is the friendship between Moon Boy and Devil. It feels very genuine and verbally, I like how it is one-way. If Devil could talk, it would just ruin our whole perception of him. He’s a giant dinosaur who roars. If he spoke, then that threatening image he has just vanishes. Yet, from his actions, it is very noticeable that he sees Moon Boy as a friend. The recalling of their origin story in the first issue is slightly over-told by Moon Boy (whose words are translated to English), but it adds depth to the two characters. The first two issues simply display how much of a strong and near-unstoppable force the two characters are. Their battle against the Killer Folk is good for two reasons. Firstly, it adds a real sense of tense action into the story and secondly, it reinforces the friendship between Devil and Moon Boy. It is a fairly simple idea for a story, one which Kirby has used multiple times before (by that I mean giant battles which last half the issue), but I think it succeeds in its main purpose of introducing us to the main characters. That being said, for a kid who can’t speak much of any language, Moon Boy never stops talking and after a while, you just want him to shut up with his junior Shakespearean rambles.
Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Giant --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
As they hear screams in the valley, Devil and Moon Boy wake up to a seemingly huge giant dinosaur attacking others. Although Devil and Moon Boy chase after the Giant, a boulder is thrown at them and they are injured. Then, Moon Boy notices the silhouette of the Giant near the volcano and he decides to leave Devil to find him. Moon Boy then finds Giant beating another dinosaur, before realising that their attacker is a caveman wearing a dinosaur’s head. As Moon Boy runs away to find Devil, he is captured by someone. Meanwhile, Devil charges across the valley and finds Giant. While the two fight, Moon Boy is captured by Ruka, a friend of Giant. Suddenly, Moon Boy begins to screech, attracting a group of pterodactyls who attack Ruka and allow Moon Boy to escape. He quickly finds Devil, who throws Giant into a river, but he can’t swim. Moon Boy manages to convince Devil to save Giant, which he reluctantly does. Afterwards, Giant tells Devil that he has misjudged him, and the two groups agree a truce, with Giant and Ruka going one way and Devil and Moon Boy another.
MY THOUGHTS
I suppose the aim of this story was to show that Devil and Moon Boy aren’t alone in the valley when it comes to more competent life. Giant and Ruka are very similar to Devil and Moon Boy, both in appearance and action. The tone is set from the very beginning as a rivalry of sorts is constructed between Giant and Devil. The story focuses on a fight to be the king of the valley. Who is the stronger of the two? Devil or Giant? As an idea, I think the story works because it is focusing on something different from the previous story. Yet, my biggest issue with the story is that the story is far too short, and it needs to go on for longer. There is a random moment around the half-way mark where Moon Boy decides to leave Devil to find Giant, somebody who could crush him. Why? There isn’t any logic in that decision. I think Kirby needed to add more story here. Even if it remained a one-off, Kirby could have added more to make the length of the story feel justified. Perhaps that is down to the editors who maybe wanted to tone Kirby’s storytelling down, but I’m not sure. In conclusion, the idea is good, but the execution is somewhat lacking.
Story: 6.5/10
Art: 8/10
Object from the Sky/Journey to the Centre of the Ants/Eev!/Demon-Tree --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
Moon Boy and Devil witness the fulfilment of a prophecy in which a giant beast rises and eats the moon. Although they try to run, Moon Boy falls into a pit before waking up and realising it was a nightmare. As Moon Boy tells Devil about it, he notices (continued)
something coming from the sky. Once it crashes onto the surface, Devil and Moon Boy head towards it, finding a huge spaceship. They are then attacked by a group of robots, who manage to take out Devil and capture Moon Boy. Soon afterwards, the invaders, known as Sky Demons, capture dinosaurs and cavemen. Two cavemen, White Hairs and Stone Hand manages to evade the Sky Demons and they find Devil, who attacks one of the Sky Demons before being aided by Stone Hand. Knowing that the enemy can be defeated, White Hairs and Stone Hand ask Devil if they can help and defeat the Sky Demons together. Devil simply roars and takes the lead. As Devil, White Hairs and Stone Hand find the Sky Demons taking captured cavemen and dinosaurs onto their ship, they watch as one caveman is killed for trying to escape. Devil then heads in the direction to the Tower of Death, a place which White Hairs believes will overwhelm the enemy…
On the Sky Demon’s ship, Moon Boy finds himself trapped in a glass cell. As one of the Sky Demons believe that the humans could become dangerous with time, they gas Moon Boy. Meanwhile, Devil, White Hairs and Stone Hand are found and attacked by Sky Demons. As they reach the Tower of Death, a Sky Demon appears, but it is quickly attacked by insects known as Swarmers, which destroy it. Meanwhile, the Sky Demons test Moon Boy and discover that he has a greater potential for intelligence (explaining why he talks and doesn’t shut up). When learning that Moon Boy is linked to Devil, the Sky Demons decide that the dinosaur must be killed since he is too dangerous. Soon afterwards, the Sky Demons unleash the Land Crusher, a flying device which destroys the land using lasers. The Sky Demons find Devil, White Hairs and Stone Hand running from Swarmers before heading into the Tower of Death. As Devil manages to save himself and the others by sealing the entrance to the tower with boulders, the Sky Demons are attacked by Swarmers and defeated…
As Stone Hand prepares to leave Devil and White Hairs behind (for some reason), they discover Eev, a cavewoman who fights against Swarmers. As Devil and the others help her take them out, Eev explains how she is only attacking the Swarmers for their food. Devil and White Hairs watch as the Swarmers charge towards the Sky Demon’s ship. Meanwhile, the Swarmers attack the ship and destroy some of the Sky Demons, allowing Moon Boy to escape. As the ship explodes, Devil roars and becomes sad, but White Hairs doesn’t know why. Stone Hand then claims that Eev belongs to him and the two begin fighting. White Hairs is then attacked by Stone Hand, who claims himself to be the new leader. At the same time, Moon Boy wanders across the valley and finds a “demon-tree”, a device making electrical sounds which talks. Suddenly, Moon Boy is attacked by dinosaurs, but he manages to hide in a cave, hoping that Devil will find him. Meanwhile, Stone Hand, Eev and White Hairs discover the demon tree, which tells them that it is the all-powerful…
As Devil approaches the demon tree, it attacks him and Stone Hand and Eev believe that the tree has chosen to protect them. The demon tree then produces a shelter over Stone Hand, Eev and White Hairs, trapping them inside as the tree explains that they shall function together for all time. Meanwhile in the forest, Moon Boy continues to evade dinosaurs before he finds Devil. The two are happy to see each other as Moon Boy gets on Devil’s back. Meanwhile, the demon tree has created water, fruit and greenery inside the shelter, but Stone Hand still demands to leave. The demon tree then gasses Stone Hand for his resistance, and he falls asleep. At the same time, Devil and Moon Boy travel across the valley, finding it now safe from Sky Demons. Devil then notices the demon tree and he head towards it. There, Eev and Stone Hand discover that White Hairs has died from old age, angering Stone Hand since he believed that the demon tree would protect them. As he attacks the tree, it fights back and attacks Stone Hand and Eev. Suddenly, Devil appears with Moon Boy and they charge into the shelter walls, destroying it and the demon tree. After berating Devil throughout the whole story, Stone Hand and Eev thank Devil as they wander off into the distance together…
MY THOUGHTS
This is certainly the longest story of the run and while the last part perhaps feels rather separate from the others, it is still pretty much linked to the previous stories. Okay, right from the off I have to ask about Moon Boy’s prophecy that he told Devil about at the very start. According to his people (the same people who seemingly communicate through grunting translated to us in English), a giant monster will appear from the sky and eat the moon. For starters, what does that have to do with the main story? It takes centre stage at the very start, but once Moon Boy wakes up and the Sky Demons appear, it’s never mentioned again. Also, how did Moon Boy learn the prophecy? It just feels inconsistent. But it is in this story where he is introduced to the most memorable villains of the whole series, those being the Sky Demons. It always has been a Jack Kirby idea for some intergalactic species of entity to come down to Earth from the skies, so their introduction isn’t exactly what I’d call original. Yet, I think that they are very effective and threatening villains. Kirby creates their threatening and powerful image by showing how easily they defeated Devil and Moon Boy. This is the lowest point in the story and due to that, it is when the stakes are as high as possible. The heroes have seemingly been defeated and it makes the story much more interesting and unpredictable. Also, in this story, Kirby introduces a new cast of characters, a move which is most welcome as it continually makes the overall story feel fresh and different. White Hairs and Stone Hand both appear as allies to Devil near the start of the story, but that changes as the plot progresses. The first two issues tackle the threat of the Sky Demons. There are some interesting scenes when the Sky Demons hold Moon Boy captive, believing him to have potential in terms of his intelligence. It is an interesting concept which is never explored further. Why is it that Moon Boy is more intelligent than other creatures? It isn’t really explained. Perhaps Kirby was planning to explain that if the run had continued, but I somehow doubt it. Anyway, before we enter what I call the second act of the story, I think the method in which the Sky Demons are defeated is very clever and feels like a satisfying end to the villains, with the Swarmers basically tearing them apart by leading them to the Tower of Death (I still don’t know why it is called that). But then, we enter the second act of the story, where it begins to fall apart somewhat and the intensity of the first two parts just vanishes. Looking at the third part, with the exception of Eev who I’ll get to in a minute, the third part feels very empty. Apart from Moon Boy escaping and Stone Hand acting questionably, nothing else really happens. I do have to say that the scenes in which Moon Boy searches for Devil are quite intriguing as you wonder whether they will be reunited once again (even though it is fairly obvious they will). Now, Eev is a strange character who just appears out of nowhere really. I would say that she is interesting, but I don’t think Kirby gives her much of a character. The same goes with Stone Hand, who for some unknown reason turns against Devil and then tries and takes Eev as his slave. These changes just come out of nowhere and I think some context of a build-up would been needed. The fourth and last part of the story deals with a threat rather different than the Sky Demons. In fact, what the hell is this demon tree meant to be? Is it the controller of the Sky Demons? Is it the mastermind behind everything that has happened in the story? Well, it isn’t very clear. For some reason it also contains Stone Hand, Eev and White Hairs in a shelter and preserves them. Why? I don’t know. Clearly it doesn’t work though because White Hairs just randomly drops down dead. Apart from the great reunion between Devil and Moon Boy, the rest of the story just left me rather confused. I didn’t really think the demon tree was much of a threat, nor did I even understand what it was trying to do and how it was evil. Nonetheless, Devil saves the day by headbutting it. Yep, that solves it all! Then, just to add even more confusion, Stone Hands and Eev thank Devil and treat him like their best friend after basically telling the demon tree to kill him. Overall, the first half of the story is enjoyable and tense, partly due to the villains. But, by the second half, the story comes to a standstill before wandering around aimlessly until it finds a place to just stop. The Sky Demons really are what make the story.
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 8/10
Dino-Riders --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
As Devil and Moon Boy head to where his tribe once was, they are followed by a group of evil Riders with dinosaurs. They believe that capturing Devil and using him
will make them powerful. Meanwhile, Moon Boy finds his tribe, who are frightened that he may be still with Devil. Once he tells them that he is, they order him to leave. Suddenly, Devil roars and Moon Boy finds him tied up by Riders, who attack Devil using rocks. However, Moon Boy fights back and releases Devil, who tries his best to take out the riders but fails and he is captured, with Moon Boy escaping back to his tribe. He tells them about the Riders and how Devil is his friend. Moon Boy manages to convince them to fight against the Riders to ensure that the valley remains safe. Meanwhile, the Riders take Devil back to their leader, the Spirit Killer, who pledges to destroy Devil’s fighting spirit. But then, Moon Boy and his tribe appear, throwing rocks at the Riders and throwing them into bottomless bogs. Moon Boy then finds Devil before being attacked by the Spirit Killer, which angers Devil who breaks free and fights against Spirit Killer, defeating him. Afterwards, Devil and Moon Boy walks away into the valley.
MY THOUGHTS
If this was the first story of the run or the first Devil Dinosaur story that I read, I probably would have liked it. However, since I have read the first two-parter, it just feels like I’m reading it again. While I do like how we see more of Moon Boy’s tribe here, something which was only mentioned in previous issues, the villains are just evil cavemen, just as in the first story. The only real difference is that Devil is defeated by them, but that happened in the last story with the Sky Demons. I don’t mind this story to be honest. I do like the sense of action it has and it is great to see Kirby expand on Moon Boy’s past, but the main problem is the story lacks originality. In fact, that is a problem with Devil Dinosaur as a whole. I mean, you have to understand obviously that at this point, Kirby had been writing comics in some shape or form for nearly forty years so it was always inevitable that the stories were going to become slightly stale. But in this case, everything has been done before, making it a very average and predictable read.
Story: 5.5/10
Art: 8/10
The Witch and the Warp --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
As a hag performs a ritual, she finds Moon Boy and Devil behind her and she warns them to leave. Although Devil wants to fight her, Moon Boy tells him not to as she may summon evil spirits. Moon Boy and Devil then explore the pits where the hag lives, before being attacked by spirits and demons. Devil then falls down into a pit of light, seemingly dying and making Moon Boy miserable. In 1978, a group of hunters roam Nevada before Devil appears, roaring as the hunters shoot him. They manage to escape in their car, but Devil is very confused about where, or when, he is. Back in the past, Moon Boy finds the hag and her son. Moon Boy begs for Devil’s life back, but the hag refuses to help, until her son reminds her that spirits may be angry if the two are kept apart. Back in 1978, Devil wanders into a town where he frightens civilians. Although some attack him with guns, it doesn’t injure him. Devil then finds a small boy, who is saved by his mother, reminding him of Moon Boy. Back in the distant past, (continued)
Moon Boy, the hag and her son appear at a pit where spirits often returned unharmed. The hag explains that casting stones down the pit will attract spirits. Suddenly, there is a huge explosion from the pit as a portal appear. Back in 1978, Devil is now being attacked by the military when suddenly, he vanishes and appears back in the past to Moon Boy. Once Moon Boy tells the hag and her son that they will never return to the pits, they wander away together into the distance.
MY THOUGHTS
After a story which I would describe as average at best, the last issue of the run gives us one of the strangest stories of the series. I was going to say that including witchcraft in the prehistoric dinosaur era was out of place but time travel even more so. There isn’t really a real villain here, at least not one with explicit malicious intent. The hag basically tells Devil and Moon Boy to leave and it is their own fault that they fall in a pit which for some reason takes Devil to 1978. In fact, maybe it is the hag’s fault for just leaving that pit out in the open. In all seriousness (I mean that with sincerity as I’m talking about a giant red dinosaur), I do like the adventure-feeling that the story contains as it feels very tense, particularly the scenes in 1978 where Devil is being attacked by angry hunters and the military. Kirby also includes a great moment when Devil finds a helpless child, reminding him of Moon Boy, which cements their friendship even further. That is one of the key aspects of the title really and this story proves it. Ultimately, it is about friendship and when they are reunited at the end, it does feel like a satisfying end. That being said, I still do think that the inclusion of time travel feels entirely out of place here and the story does feel rather minimalist at points. Yet, it is better than the previous story and makes for a suitable ending to the run.
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 8/10
THE ART BY JACK KIRBY AND MIKE ROYER
I don’t really have to state the obvious that Kirby’s art is visually impressive, vibrant and very fun to look at, but I just did. Despite my opinions on the stories perhaps not being fantastic, the art does add something dynamic and exciting to the stories. That being said, the page layouts and panels are very different to the type of pages you’d see from Kirby at DC during the early 1970s. There, on the Fourth Word titles for example, Kirby would not just write and pencil the stories, but he would also edit them as well, allowing him to basically have free reign over most of the title’s choices. By the time of 1978 and Jack was back at Marvel, he was no longer the editor on his books, explaining the lack of double splash pages or a single splash page every so often in just one comic. I do approve of this move to an extent since the pages are much more centred on the story rather than just creating an appealing and dramatic image. Mike Royer’s inks are very smooth and while I do prefer inkers like Wally Wood, Joe Sinnott and Joe Simon who tone Kirby’s rather chunky art style down a notch or two, Royer does a great job with what he is given.
VERDICT
Overall, Devil Dinosaur by Jack Kirby isn’t exactly the masterpiece that perhaps his other work is. It does have some very good aspects and some of the stories, particularly the earlier ones, are very enjoyable. However, as the run goes on, the originality of the ideas vanishes and it does feel like Kirby is using older ideas more frequently, as if he is just copy and pasting them. But I suppose that is to be expected from a man who has contributed so much to comics for such a long period of time. As I said earlier, the title is overall about a friendship and an interesting one at that. Just to reiterate what the back of the paperback says, Devil Dinosaur is about “the adventures of a boy and his dinosaur!”. It certainly is that.
Stories: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Next Week: The Question: Quarterlies (Question Quarterly 1-3, 5). Written by Dennis O’Neil, Kelley Puckett, Mike Gold and Mike Baron. with art by Denys Cowan, Joe Quesada, Mickey Ritter, Bruce N. Solotoff, Joe Rubinstein, Jan Harpes, Mike Mignola, Mike Manley, Mark Badger and Shea Anton Pensa (yay). Expected by 06/12/2020.
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