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Jurassic Park: Redemption #4
Reviewed by Patrick Hayes aka PatBorg
The covers: The T-Rex menaces others on two
distinctive covers. On Cover A Tom Yeates, with colors by Jamie
Grant, has two of the beasts tormenting a neighborhood, where
the one in the foreground is about to munch an escaping car,
while in the background the second floor of a building proves
that carnosaurs don't need to bend over to eat. The bright red
contrasts with the reptiles' skins beautifully. Cover B brings
Bernie Wrightson into Park with a Rex prowling into an alley
glaring down at a girl who can't hide herself in any amount of
trash on the ground. It's Wrightson doin' dinosaurs! How could
this be anything but awesome? The Cover R(etailer) I(ncentive)
is Bernie's naked pencils. Drool, drool, drool. Overall grades:
A A, B A+, and RI A++
The story: Welcome to the big payoff! Bob
Schreck ended the mystery of the wheelchair bound antagonist --
Tim and Lex's Uncle Pete from Jurassic Park II: The Lost World
-- last issue, and the dino-action is ramped up as the series
comes to a close. Added into the mix is the return of Ellie
Sattler and Alan Grant from the original film, but their
arrivals are overshadowed by Uncle Pete's revenge story and the
many dinosaurs running amuck. Playgrounds, suburbs, downtown,
and country fairs all get dino trampled. There's so much going
on, I don't see how everything can be resolved in in just one
more issue. I've always wished to see the dinos of JP overrun a
city, and we got a taste of that in JP II. In this trip to the
Park, Schreck is giving me what I wanted more of from the second
film. I look forward, with some regret, to the final issue.
Overall grade: A
The art: Seen the previous issues? Then you
know what to expect from Nate Van Dyke. Though I've loved the
previous issues, Uncle Pete's visage is just an utterly graphic
joy to behold. Repulsive and hypnotizing, I can't get enough
shots of this hate-filled man. Add to that some dino carnage,
and cravers of dino gore should be happy (I'll be expecting to
see a horse with an eye patch in the final issue). I will say
that the death that occurred on Page 20 was too restrained. I
expected much more violence after all the build up of the
previous issues. However, it's still a graphic demise; I just
wanted more. Ellie and Alan look nothing like Laura Dern and Sam
Neill, but I can let that go because I really like Van Dyke's
art. I'm still very happy with his work. Overall grade: A
The colors: Jamie Grant is also continuing to
do an excellent job. Page 1 doesn't really lend itself too well
to a colorist to show off their skills, as it's simply a
dialogue shot with a crowd, yet Grant does it. But with all the
colors of the crowd, the backgrounds, and sound effects, this
page, as does the entire book, looks so damn sharp. I love how
the backgrounds blend from one color to the next. Gorgeous.
Overall grade: A
The letters: Chris Mowry gives sixty-five sound
effects in addition to dialogue and narration. I loved the comic
booky POWs, but not the ROARs that looked like movie poster
fonts. Still, loads of fun. Overall grade: A
The final line: Wheeeeeeee! Overall grade: A
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