Suspended Animation: Age of Reptiles

<b>Review by Mark Allen</b><br><br>If there is one subject that crosses over into practically every visual medium, it's dinosaurs. Movies, television specials, magazines, children's books, even

Wednesday, January 3rd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Review by Mark Allen

If there is one subject that crosses over into practically every visual medium, it's dinosaurs. Movies, television specials, magazines, children's books, even video games, have all spotlighted and highlighted the big reptiles. The comic medium is no exception, with one of the best examples being Ricardo Delgado's Age of Reptiles.

With no word balloons or narrative captions, Delgado's creation is not your typical comic fare. The level of enjoyment one will receive from his work
is also atypical. This type of endeavor pushes the art of comics to it's ultimate form of expression; I suppose you could call it the purest form of sequential art.

Storytelling is not forsaken, however, for a lot of pretty pictures. Delgado's highly detailed, richly colored panels communicate events in a way that would be lessened by the presence of lettering, even if used in a strictly narrative function. The remarkable cinematic quality of his work has even been praised by producer/directors John Landis, and Ray Harryhausen.

Unfortunately, an issue of this title can be completed in a very short time, even by comic book standards, and some may feel slightly cheated after shelling out their hard-earned bucks. All the more reason to buy collections.

Age of Reptiles, however, will prove immensely appealing to lovers of dinosaurs (consider it the Discovery Channel's Walking With Dinosaurs in comic form), as well as those who appreciate great art.

To date, two Age of Reptiles trade paperback collections have been published by Dark Horse Comics; "Tribal Warfare," and "The Hunt." In "Tribal Warfare," a rogue tyrannosaur raids a deinonoychus pack's kill, and sets off a struggle for survival between two dinosaur families. "The Hunt," while featuring a story between a few main reptilian characters, also tells several other short stories of survival in cretaceous America.

Both Age of Reptiles collections can be acquired through comic shops, or by logging on to darkhorse.com, clicking "buy," and then running a search.

Age of Reptiles, published by Dark Horse Comics; "Tribal Warfare" $14.95, "The Hunt," $17.95.