Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur resurrects a classic Jack Kirby character and introduces perhaps the most outrageous Marvel Comics tag-team yet.
Just when you thought Marvel Comics had mined and rebooted everything in its library, it turns out there was a big concept waiting in the wings. And when I say big, I mean prehistoric, Jurassic World big. Based on a short-lived 1970s Jack Kirby series, Marvel will introduce Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur for its “All-New, All-Different Marvel” event. And yes, this book is literally about a young girl and her T-Rex pal.
The original Devil Dinosaur was a 1978 series set in a parallel universe where dinosaurs co-existed with humanity’s ancestors. Devil Dinosaur ended up partnering with a humanoid called Moon Boy and had many adventures, including some where they moved into the modern timeline of Earth-616. But now Devil Dinosaur is partnered with Lunella Lafayette, a latent Inhuman who opens a Kree time portal and meets the giant red dinosaur.
“Brandon [Montclare] and I were talking about co-writing books with Marvel, and we were really interested in doing something that would be a lot of fun, and that gravitated towards something that wasn’t made yet or wasn’t a main character or popular character for awhile,” co-writer Amy Reeder explained. “I like that idea because you get to do a lot with those types of situations. You get to put a lot of creativity into it, and have your voice heard. You’re not quite tied in to all the events. So that’s something that attracted us.”
Unlike the original Devil Dinosaur, which was largely set in a fictional past, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur‘s action will keep the focus on present day. “What’s really cool is to be able to put a Tyrannosaurus Rex in modern day New York City and also juxtapose with a little girl,” Montclare said. “You’re going to have a 30-foot dinosaur interacting with a three-and-a-half tall girl…I can’t think of any other book that’s kind of like that, where you have these kind of crazy things that are going to be very different to work on. But if everyone can pull it off, it’s going to be a unique type of storytelling.”
Naturally, the concept will lend itself to massive, larger-than-life creature battles. Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur‘s prime enemies are the Killer-Folk, ancient beings who also emerge from the time portal hoping to claim Kree technology for themselves. Moon Boy himself will also make a brief appearance at some point as well. But while the series will dip into Marvel continuity at some points, it sounds like Reeder and Montclare want the series to stand on its own.
“It’s not all about the Marvel continuity,” Reeder continued. “It’s about people, and that’s something that I’m really excited about it. It’s something that I actually didn’t expect working for Marvel, but I’m super excited about it, and I thin people are just going to love it. It’s going to have a lot of heart because it’s all coming from a good place.”
I don’t know why Spider-Man or the Avengers will give Lunella and her giant dinosaur a pass, but I can’t wait to find out. Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur launches this November with art by Natacha Bustos and a cover by Reeder.
