Publication History
The only comic book series to feature Devil Dinosaur was short lived, lasting only nine months (April – December 1978). The original Devil Dinosaur series chronicled Devil and Moon-Boy's adventures in their home, "Dinosaur World". After the cancellation of Devil Dinosaur, the character’s appearances were relegated to one-shot comics, cameos, and supporting roles in other series.
Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy were the brainchild of artist Jack Kirby who scripted and penciled all nine issues of the first series. Devil Dinosaur was created during Kirby's third stint at Marvel (1975–1978) with the series being produced in hopes of being picked up as an animated series. Perhaps not coincidentally, seventeen years earlier Kirby had penciled Amazing Adventures #3 (August 1961) in which a time-traveling couple encounter a red Tyrannosaurus rex similar in appearance to Devil Dinosaur.
In Devil Dinosaur #1, Kirby states in the "Dinosaur Dispatches" letters column that the original intent was for Moon-Boy and Devil to be an early human and dinosaur from Earth's past. Kirby writes: "After all, just where the Dinosaur met his end, and when Man first stood reasonably erect, is still shrouded in mystery." Writers subsequent to Kirby have approached the character’s origin in various ways. Some have followed Kirby’s lead and portrayed the character as being from the prehistoric past of the main Marvel continuity (sometimes referred to as “Earth-616”), while others have depicted Devil as hailing from either an alien planet or an alternate reality Earth. Marvel’s most recent publications list Devil’s home of origin as "Dinosaur World (Earth-78411)", a primitive version of Earth existing in one of the many alternate universes contained within the Marvel Multiverse.
The first appearance of Devil Dinosaur after the cancellation of the original series in 1978 was in Marvel's Godzilla comic book series of 1979. The character was not to be referenced again in a Marvel comic until 1986 when the Thing of the Fantastic Four travels to a Pacific island where "Devil Dinosaur: The Movie" is being produced. During the Thing's visit, Godzilla appears. After battling and destroying a robot Devil Dinosaur used in the film, Godzilla disappears once again into the ocean. Devil Dinosaur himself does not actually appear in the 1986 story, but beginning with the Fallen Angels limited series of 1987 the character has continued to make appearances in Marvel publications at sporadic intervals.
Read more about this topic: Devil Dinosaur
Famous quotes containing the words publication and/or history:
“Of all human events, perhaps, the publication of a first volume of verses is the most insignificant; but though a matter of no moment to the world, it is still of some concern to the author.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“We may pretend that we’re basically moral people who make mistakes, but the whole of history proves otherwise.”
—Terry Hands (b. 1941)