Dino-Riders

Book: Devil Dinosaur

Issue No.: 8

Published: August 15, 1978

Title: “Dino-Riders”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Original paper copy

Devil Dinosaur was an early favorite of mine when I started Marvel Time Warp. I went into Marvel Time Warp looking forward to reading the traditional superhero books of the late 1970s, like The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Uncanny X-Men. I quickly found out that I also enjoy Marvel’s non-superhero books of the era, like Conan the Barbarian, Howard the Duck, and Devil Dinosaur. In fact, I’d guess that I’ve enjoyed those non-superhero books a little more than the superhero titles on average.

Some of that is probably due to the newness (to me) of the non-superhero books. I read quite a few superhero comic books when I was a kid, and I was always curious about the non-superhero books I’d see on the spinner rack at the Circle K. But if Mom gave me 35 cents to spend on a comic book, I wasn’t going to roll the dice on something intriguing like John Carter, Warlord of Mars. I was going to play it safe and get a book with Spider-Man or the Human Torch on the cover.

Eight issues in, I still like Devil Dinosaur. The title character, a crimson T. Rex, has a primitive but admirable credo — he helps his friends and terrifies his enemies. And the book’s Jack Kirby artwork is dynamic and exciting. They don’t call Kirby “the King” for nothing.

Story-wise, issue no. 2 is still the best issue of Devil Dinosaur I’ve read. In that one, Devil’s ape-person friend Moon-Boy gets captured, and Devil goes on a thrilling rampage to rescue him. This story recaptures some of that vibe, the twist being that this time around, it is the big red dinosaur that gets captured.

The bad guys here are the Dino-Riders, a group of ape-people that are larger and more savage than Moon-Boy and his friends. They capture Devil with the intent of taming him. So they can ride him — they’re the Dino-Riders, so taming and riding dinosaurs is their shtick.

Since the Dino-Riders are bigger and stronger than Moon-Boy and his pals, Moon-Boy and company use their wits and engage in some asymmetrical warfare. Moon-Boy’s friends manage to divide and conquer the Dino-Riders. Moon-Boy himself frees Devil Dinosaur, and Devil makes short work of the chief Dino-Rider.

Next time — Hulk goes another round with Moonstone!