Title: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol 1 | Series: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Author: Amy Reeder | Illustrators: Brandon Montclare, Natacha Bustos | Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain | Publisher: Marvel Comics | Pub. Date: 2016-7-15 | Pages: 160 | Genre: Science Fiction Graphic Novel | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 3 out of 5 | Source: Bookstore coffee read
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Vol 1
LUNELLA LAFAYETTE IS AN INHUMAN PRETEEN GENIUS WHO WANTS TO CHANGE THE WORLD!
That job would be a lot easier if she wasn’t living in mortal fear of her latent Inhuman gene. There’s no telling what she’ll turn into – but Luna’s got a plan. All she needs is an Omni-Wave Projector. Easy, right? That is, until a red-scaled beast is teleported from the prehistoric past to a far-flung future we call…today! Together they’re the most Marvelous Team-Up of all – the Inhuman Moon Girl and time-tossed Devil Dinosaur! But will they be BFFs forever, or just until DD’s dinner time? And Lunella soon learns that there are other problems with a having a titanic T. Rex as a pet in the modern-day Marvel Universe. School, for one. Monster hunters are another – especially when they’re the Totally Awesome Hulk! Then there’s the fact that everyone’s favorite dino didn’t journey through time alone. Beware the prehistoric savages known as the Killer-Folk – New York City’s deadliest tourists! Can Lunella handle all this turmoil… and keep herself from transforming into an Inhuman monster?
Collecting MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1-6.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Review
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a graphic novel that I had on my list several months ago as one I wanted to read. Well, the day before Miss L had her heart catheterization and bronchoscopy, we were playing hooky from all responsibilities. We went to the local Barnes & Noble and snagged a few graphic novels to read while we had our ‘coffees’. She had picked up the latest Supergirl comic, but within minutes of me starting Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, she was peering over my shoulder. And then she started grouching at me when we weren’t flipping pages at the right rate for her. So, safe to say she was a fan.
While I did enjoy Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, it was more that I enjoyed the experience of sharing it with my child than the actual content itself. The illustrations were okay. Some of my favorite ones were where Devil Dinosaur was carrying Moon Girl around. Those made me laugh. I didn’t particularly care for Teenage Hulk’s presence in the story. The colorist did a great job on Moon Girl and I liked the color choices in general. The dialogue was middling though. While it was fun to make the indignant tones and growling noises of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, not a single line of the dialogue stands out in my mind even two hours later.
As for the story itself – well, there was something in there. I liked that Moon Girl was so determined to protect herself from the Terrigen mist. She wasn’t going to depend on anyone else to fix the problem. This isn’t some damsel in distress. But, through six issues, she never actually manages to accomplish anything in the way of saving herself. In fact, the volume ends with her in a serious “oh, crap!” position. On the one hand, she’s only nine. On the other, she’s supposed to be some sort of super genius, so… I don’t know. All I know is a lot of the volume is her hijinks with trying to rescue or be rescued by the devil dinosaur, and that’s not really enough to motivate me to want to read more from the series.
And – this must be said – I only knew what the Terrigen mist (cloud?) was because I’d seen it when I was working my way through a Spanish-language Marvel sampler. I’m still not sure what role the ‘Inhumans’ play in the Marvel Universe. Are they different from superheroes? So if you’re not really familiar at all with the Marvel Universe outside the glut of superhero movies, you might have some problems.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but not a memorable one. I might check out the second volume next time I’m at Barnes & Noble, but that really depends on if there’s anything else more interesting looking available. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur may be a good pick for younger readers, though.
Buy Link: Amazon
Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Coolthulhu Crew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
Though no longer involved with Ladies of Horror Fiction due to other responsibilities and a too-full plate, she was one of the original 4 co-founders.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.
Glad to hear Miss L gets her good days.
Thanks, Brian. It hasn’t been all bad. She has lots of good days. It’s just that the quality of those good days is degrading steadily it feels like.