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Sunday, June 4, 2006

Devil Dinosaur: The Unseen Project


(CLICK ON ALL IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

Atomic Surgery is proud to present this gem from the "Great Idea Vaults" of Mark Schultz and Roger Petersen. Mark tells the story:
"Two or so years ago, illustrator, cartoonist and SubHuman comic artist Roger Petersen approached me with a pet project: he was in the mind to resurrect Jack Kirby's Devil Dinosaur--a much-beloved though short-lived Marvel comic from the mid-70's--and he asked me to put together a plot proposal to pitch at Marvel.

Roger had already had at his vision of Devil and Moonboy with gusto, completing the art on a beautiful seven page comic continuity, as well as a gorgeous painted cover image (complete with layout mock-up). We agreed that our relaunch should be aimed at a young audience--ideally, kids 6, 7, 8 who were theoretically just waiting for something cool to hook them on comics."



"The proposal I came up with, to the best of my recollection, suggested retelling ancient iconic myths (the flood, Atlantis...) as adventures that Devil and Moonboy actually experience. We thought it was a lot of age-appropriate fun (although maybe unintentionally Creationist friendly--hey, it's just a story, kids...), but, although encouraged to submit by an upper-echelon editor, never received a reply from Marvel. "





Art and Story © Roger Petersen. Devil Dinosaur © Marvel Comics

"Since then, Marvel has featured a revamped Devil Dinosaur under the auspices of another creator, so that pretty much puts a period at the end of our proposed version. Roger's spec continuity and his cover are probably all we'll ever see of his elegantly-designed vision."