Roar Lion Forge 2018
Created & Written by Michael Uslan
Illustrated by Andrew Pepoy
Coloured by Jason Millet
Lettered by John Workman
Inhabitants of Reptilon, a planet of the exact opposite orbit of earth, are fully advanced humanoid dinosaurs. But they've depleted their planet of all its resources, and now need to find a new home planet and establish themselves at the top of the food chain. Once they launch their attack fleet through space toward Earth, government leaders from across the globe learn for the first time that they aren't alone in the galaxy, and their very existence is threatened by total annihilation.
First of all aside from being a huge fan of this already I feel like this is an old-fashioned Saturday morning cartoon! One from the 1980’s to be more precise as the artwork here looks like it could’ve been from that time period. That and the fact that a race of advanced dinosaurs that evolved into humanoid appearance who have lived in the same orbit on the opposite side of the sun all of this screams cartoon to me. Let us not forget the gadgets the kids have thanks to the science and technology they create it’s got that whole James Bond Jr. vibe to it.
Picking up where last issue left off with Paul being whisked away on a giant flying surfboard or skateboard is nice to see. This comes immediately after we see the armada as it heads towards Earth. This too is visually fun to see and that is mainly because they are modelled after their different species so it’s kind of funny looking. For kids it’s a thrill to see for adults it is that kind of tongue in cheek humour that gets just the right rise out of them.
Everything I have described so far is what contributes to making this one of those near perfect all-ages book. From the premise and the lesson needed to be learned alongside the fact that you can’t go it alone and having like-minded friends to assist you mean the world. These kids who are free to explore their strength’s working together all different, from different parts of the world working together show that it is possible to overcome hate that permeates the adult world. Something that regardless of your age is a lesson we still need to learn or be reminded of.
I do like the work Andrew and Jason do on the interiors here. The creativity and imagination we see is so vivid and delightful to see. I also delight in how backgrounds are utilised here so that they really do an amazing job of setting the stage, showing the scope of the story and just enhancing our enjoyment overall. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a great eye for storytelling. The attention to detail here is great to see and not just in the characters but in the way buildings or trees, et al are seen as well. I also like how we see plumage in some of the dinosaurs and not in others the diversity is wonderfully done.
So while the world leaders are shown reacting as we would expect them too, this is where we see more adult humour though kids can appreciate it as well. It is interesting to see how different minds work once we reach a certain age and we’re unwilling to keep an open mind any more as being set in our ways. I can also appreciate how these dinosaur people seem to mimic our own emotions, desires and flaws only much more violently so given the nature of what they are.
While this still feels like it is in the set-up stage I am more than okay with that. It is giving us a chance for all our players to discover what is really going on and to finally band together and hopefully figure out what to do next. The pacing here is sensational and easy to follow and this reaffirms that this feels like it should also be a cartoon. With a perfect all-ages setting and storytelling this will thrill kids and make adults feel like a kid again!