It’s no surprise that I consider Super Dinosaur to be the best all-ages title out there currently. Its light-hearted tone mixed with great stories makes this an adventure that even people my teenager age could enjoy. Clean, all natural fun that hasn’t been plagued by today’s comic culture. Add to the fact that in every issue a new reader could jump in, we have a pretty solid thing on the stands. The latest issue continues the interesting story with the Exile and ‘Inner-Earth,’ another great comic.

Here’s the official description from Image:

“ESCAPE FROM INNER-EARTH,” Part One
Derek Dynamo is a prisoner of The Exile – who has taken him deep into Inner-Earth! Super Dinosaur must assemble a team to track down The Exile and save his best friend, but along the way, he will learn the secret of Inner-Earth – something that could bring about the fall of human civilization!

People my age are usually put off by comics with the ‘all-ages’ insignia. What that usually indicates is that the writing will be juvenile and obviously be targeted toward little kids. Super Dinosaur avoids this stereotypical pitfall. Of course the writing is more light-hearted than the usual Marvel comic, (“We can totally get to Inner-Earth on our own!”) but it doesn’t fall into the cringe-worthy juvenile pit. The best character is by far the Exile. He isn’t some generic “I want to take over the world because I want too!” villain you’d expect from an all-ages title, he’s appearing to have reason and motivation. This issue defines him as we’re giving clues of why he’s doing what he’s doing. I’m going to admit that when I see something with the ‘all-ages’ insignia and there’s a kid as the main character, I assume he’s going to be a pretty annoying/bratty focus. Not the case here, in fact, I like how he’s not showing great fear, but curiosity of what’s happening around him. When you could make a kid an engaging focus in a rated E for everyone comic, you know you’ve succeeded.

With this type of book, the art has a certain style that matches its atmosphere. It’s by no means detailed, but I really can’t imagine another art that would fit the tone. Inner-Earth does look gorgeous. My favorite scene is when the Exile and Derek is ambushed by a Tyr-well, you’ll just have to see it for yourself. It was intense and probably one of the best scenes yet in this series. While of course the most interesting part of this issue is with the Exile and Derek, the other people get some page time. We get some generic stuff like the kids somehow outsmarting the adults and eluding them, but nothing too bad.

Overall, another solid issue of Super Dinosaur. The Exile continues to be a great antagonist, and by the end, I was left wanting more. That’s when you know you have a good comic, when by the end you’re left wanting to know what happens next right away. You’ll definitely want to give Super Dinosaur #12 a go.

4/5