Hey, who wants to own just a dog or a cat these days? Instead, a kid could have own Science Dog, Krypto the Superdog or now Wrex, the Terrible Lizard.
In this five-issue miniseries, a T-Rex gets a young girl named Jess to look out for it. It’s adventure to a “T” as a dinosaur takes on monsters galore!
TERRIBLE LIZARD #5
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Drew Moss
Publisher: Oni Press
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Terrible Lizard: The military unleashes advanced experimental weaponry. Temporal gateways are opening up all over the city. Hideous mutants are wreaking havoc everywhere you look. And Jess and Wrex are caught right in the middle. With the odds stacked against them, there’s every possibility that they will not make it out of this apocalyptic monster-fest alive!
CULLEN BUNN CAN WRITE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING
I first came across Cullen Bunn’s writing in The Sixth Gun, also from Oni Press. Since then, he’s written about Sinestro, Magneto, Lobo, a wolfman, Deadpool, the Empty Man, The Shadow, Venom and Wolverine.
Is there anything he can’t write?
Terrible Lizard has been an all-ages title that will appeal to everyone in the family. It’s nice to see Bunn write a mini-series that is less gray than, say, Sinestro or Magneto. It brought me back to when I was a kid, loving comics because they took my imagination to new places. This title does that very effectively. There’s enough peril that I found myself wanting to know what was going to take place next, and I’ve had a lot of trouble finding all-ages stories that make me respond that way.
One of Mr. Bunn’s strengths has always been to help us “get into” the characters he writes, and that’s been true in Terrible Lizard as well. Jess and her father are particular favorites of mine and, working with the art provided by Mr. Moss, even Wrex comes across as believable.
STRONG, CLEAR ARTWORK
Much like Mr. Bunn, Drew Moss is an accomplished artist who can draw just about any kind of story and convince us, the readers, that it’s happening. I particularly enjoyed his recent issue of Letter 44, also from Oni Press. His horror work is of note since he’s done everything from The Crow to In the Dark to Zombies Vs. Robots.
The art in this book has been easy to understand while pulling us in to caring about everyone from the people to the dinosaur. Yep, it’s true! It’s tough building expression into Wrex’s face, but Mr. Moss does that extremely well with just subtle changes. The action sequences also worked well!
BOTTOM LINE: A Satisfying End to This All-Ages Story
This issue wraps up the story arc effectively while leaving the door open for future adventures. I won’t spoil it here, but I liked where everyone ends up, even Wrex! I’d like to see more Terrible Lizard books from this creative team!
If you’re a comics shop owner looking for books to recommend to your younger customers, I think this series should be on that list. When the trade becomes available (something I’m sure will happen before very long), I’d park it near the door so both young boys and girls can find it. It provides the kind of character-driven adventure that kids and adults alike will enjoy!
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