Super Dinosaur #15 Review


The conclusion to ESCAPE FROM INNER-EARTH is here! It’s been a pretty fun ride. A simple but engaging story with a great antagonist. Super Dinosaur is one of the few all-ages title that actually means all-ages. Good, clean fun. Companies too often take the all-ages insignia for granted. Escape has been having everything. Exciting chases, a surprisingly well-developed villain, and dinosaurs man, dinosaurs. The finale is by far the most action-paced issue in this arc, lots of excitement in this one. (Including a fantastic scene with a Tyrannosaurus Rex helping out!)

Here’s the official description from Image:

ESCAPE FROM INNER-EARTH: CONCLUSION!

Derek is now aware of the REPTILOIDS and the threat they pose to the surface world. Super Dinosaur has learned so much about where he comes from–will he want to come back? Answers to this question and more as the stage is set for the next few years of Super Dinosaur adventures! This is where it all begins, people!

The Exile and his story background is the primary factor making this arc good. From the start we were introduced to this ‘alien,’ and thought he wanted to take over earth because he can. But as the issues went on we learned something deeper. His brother is ignorant of the land above them, and the Exile wants to change that. The last issue had a surprising turn of events when Derek decided to betray him. In this installment it’s non-stop action. Robert Kirkman’s writing is pretty strong here, not amazing, (too much use of the word ‘totally’) but still pretty good. Finally SD and pals catch up in one of those ‘Aw yeah!’ moments. A true highlight is a female T-Rex coming out of nowhere to help out. It is there also that SD gets a little character development.

Jason Howard’s artwork is pretty strong here, better than the last issue. The fights are well-done and the Exile admittedly looks pretty cool in the jail panel. Not to mention the Reptiloid Elite looked pretty menacing, and at the same time simplistic! The cover is pretty good, showing Derek and friends with two Reptiloids about to attack them. An excellent touch is the strip with the Exile and SD as a reflection in his eye.

Overall, a fun conclusion to the story. It’s packed with loads of action and pretty good writing to back it up. And it looks like we won’t be seeing the last of the Exile, which is a good thing. His story is too good to finish right now. This was definitely a very good arc of Super Dinosaur.

3.5/5

S#!T Talking Central