Comic Review Off! Thun'da #1

If there's one thing that can win over my undivided attention without question, it's dinosaurs in a comic book. It stirs something inside me that goes back to being a kid playing with dinosaur toys. Or watching Jurassic Park for the first time, or the second, third, fourth time. Well, my friends, if you feel the same nostalgia for dinos, Thun'da might just have the right amount of prehistoric creatures for you.

I love being dropped right into action in comics. Maybe you do to, but if you don't then don't buy Thun'da #1 from Dynamite Entertainment. The story starts out with a helicopter going down in flames, and our protagonist radioing a distress call. Helicopter crashes into water, and our guy is the only survivor. But when he awakens he can't remember his name. Luckily for him, and us as viewers of his unfortunate disaster, he still remembers all of his combat training. Which will come in handy, because he just crash landed in the land before time.

Suspense ensues, action and adventure, and very little reading compared to some comics. It really was a quick read, simply because there was so little actual reading to do. But even so, the little narrative all takes place inside the protagonist's head. And the lovely thing about following a character who can't remember who he is, is that we don't know who he is either. We are automatically on the journey with him, and apparently we are going to find out about who he is, but more importantly, who he will become.

Robert Place Napton does a great job scripting Thun'da. But honestly how can you go wrong? Like I said there was very little reading to do. And even though I enjoy the concept of it, I can't shake the feeling that the story has been done before. And no, not because this Thun'da is actually a remake, the original of which is actually printed at the back of this issue. I don't know enough about Turok, so feel free to correct me here, but it has a very Turok like feel to it. Man vs. Dinosaur in a mysterious land. I suppose that also bears a slight resemblance to Jurassic Park 3. It may not be the most original idea, but all in all the story is compelling, and I will probably keep reading it for that part.

The art by Cliff Richards though, is the real selling point of Thun'da. It is so appealing that even without much to go on for story, it grabbed my attention right from the start. Like I said, you can't go wrong with dinosaurs in a comic. But you really can't lose when those dinosaurs are exceptionally drawn. There's a page that involves a baby sabre tooth tiger that made me just stop and study the art work. Great attention to detail by the artist.

All in all this book was a fun read. The writer does do a great job attracting you to the character, and after reading the original Thun'da at the back of this one, he is doing a much better job than Gardner Fox did at that. I really did appreciate that the old-school Thun'da #1 was printed for my viewing pleasure. Although it begs the question, are relaunches in comics a fad now? There seem to be so many, but so many that are an improvement on the original. This one is no exception to that, but how many relaunched titles will the public gobble up? I really liked this comic, it's not much like anything I'm currently reading. It's new a fresh, and has dinosaurs. 'Nuff said! 
Story: 7/10
Art: 9/10