Action Lab Danger Zone 2016
Written by Markisan Naso
Illustrated & Lettered by Jason Muhr
Coloured by Andrei Tabacaru
Chef Nate Willner hunts dinosaurs in the past and secretly serves them at his restaurant in the present. But unbeknownst to him, he’s actually been hunting in an alternate reality – a world where dinosaurs evolve into Saurians, a technologically advanced race that rules the far future! Some of these Saurians have mysteriously started disappearing from Cretaceous City and the local authorities are not happy about it…
Missed the first arc no worries you don’t need to have read that to enjoy this one. This first issue is extremely well done and shows us everything we need to know to understand what’s happening. Plus not only is this heavy in the science fiction but it’s also got smart dinosaurs, ones who are cops, have usable fingers and jobs I mean c’mon this is the stuff we love to see!
The writing and characterisation here is spectacular the introduction of these futuristic dinosaurs is done flawlessly. Plus as we open up this issue and we see the story unfold it’s premise is laid out and we begin to understand what’s happening here almost immediately. Gus is at once likeable and relatable to as a man who loves his spouse. His pain and emotional state are extremely well portrayed and make him endearing.
As the story goes forward and the reality of what’s been happening begins to sink in to Gus and his partner Owen the whole picture is only available to the reader. We know because of A. the what’s come before and B. the previous series exactly what is going on but getting a chance to see these two guys who are totally out their realm right now experience it is something to see. I like the use of the Butterfly effect, something happens in the past and it ripples through time and changes the present. It’s well done here and surprisingly something that is highly successful in being able to spot and deal with in a limited time frame.
Jason and Andrei do some absolutely magnificent work here. I mean not only do they make dino-people believable to the eye the attention to detail here blows me away. The creativity and imagination that we see in not only these Saurians but with the world they live in where science fiction to us is fact really goes the extra mile. Plus there’s time travel involved here as well and we get to see traditional dinosaurs and again wow such powerful imagery.
So what we get here is the beginning of a brand new adventure where our star chef has yet to appear but his actions are what’s causing everything we’ve witnessed. Can Gus and Owen travel to the past and stop Nate from taking dinosaurs of that time period and altering the timeline and prevent people from being born in the future?
This my friends is the kind of sci-fi/action/adventure that you’ll want to be reading. It’s strong premise, excellent writing, characterisation and story development surrounded by gorgeous interiors will make the top of your reading list.