An intergalactic fried chicken war has gone interdimensional, and now things get weird…  Your Major Spoilers review of Blastosaurus #3 awaits!

BLASTOSAURUS #3

Writer: Richard Fairgray, Paul Eiding
Artist Richard Fairgray
Publisher: Golden Apple Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 24, 2018

Previously in Blastosaurus: Dimensions collide as the fallout from an intergalactic fried chicken war hits our reality – and our heroes – square in the face. When Richard discovers the person his mother is dating is nothing more than a chicken wearing a hat, it’s up to him, Tabby and their Sauropod friend to figure out just what on earth is going on…

I BOUGHT IT ON TITLE ALONE

This issue opens with a VERY awkward date full of very awkward conversation.  One participant is the mother of Richard, the young man who found a dinosaur in issue #1, and the other is very sensitive about being called a “chicken” for not wanting wasabi.  Returning home to her son, Mom (who is never named in the issue) finds Richard sneaking out with his explanation being that he’s “not going to go see a dinosaur.”  That’s a mighty specific denial, by the way.  Richard and his friend Tabitha sneak out, only to have the strange man in a hat pop up in their path, explaining that he just wanted to see Richard.  Rather than run away screaming “Stranger Danger!”, they agree to listen to his story of coming from another world where everything is a chicken.  Dogs, cats, people are all chickens, and chickens?  Chickens are perhaps the most chicken of all.  His world was overrun by strange Noodle Men who harvested his people to keep their fried chicken restaurant running, and the noodle men have no arrived on Earth.

Also, there’s a dinosaur who might be named Toby.

“DO YOU THINK HE’S A *SKATING* CHICKEN?”

So, having never read an issue of this book, I wondered about what the Blastosaurus might be, and this issue took its time to show us what that was all about.  The story of the chicken war is both amusing and engaging, but it comes out of nowhere and much of the issue feels very stream-of-consciousness in its storytelling.  By the time we meet our dinosaur, there’s already Noodle Man drones in the air, and the chicken-man (who is also a duplicate of Richard’s long-lost father, apparently) is unceremoniously removed from the story, ending the issue with a chase through a skate-park and a mid-sentence cliffhanger ending.  I enjoyed this issue’s art quite a bit, with it’s elements of Gahan Wilson and Judd Winick’s work, but the real star visually is a wild-and-beautiful coloring job featuring a hypercolor/pastel palette that feels very eighties and really enhances the best parts of the art.

BOTTOM LINE: I’D BE INTO READING MORE OF THIS BOOK

I hadn’t heard about this first two issues of this book or its creator before, but I’d like to read more, especially finding out more about the titular dinosaur and his deal.  Blastosaurus #3 reminds me of my earliest days of comic collection, where an issue is full of potential, enthusiasm and energy, even with any faults that it might have, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall.  I like what this issue does, even with the parts that feel like these creators could improve their craft, making it a positive reading experience for me.