By Mark Schultz
Publisher: Flesk
ISBN: 978-1-933865-31-7
The Earth has turned against humankind with a global cataclysm of devastating proportions, leaving isolated pockets of people attempting to survive in the ruins of their former civilisation. Strangely, prehistoric creatures, millions of years extinct, have steadily repopulated the land, sea and air, making a difficult environment all the more harsher. One man who has come to terms with this new world is Jack 'Cadillac' Tenrec, a mechanic and engineer who embodies the memory of what went wrong with the Earth and is determined that humans don't repeat the mistake, so he strives for understanding, tolerance and respect for the resurrected beasts. He lives in the 'garage', an enormous construction on the cliffs adjacent to a semi-submerged city still widely populated by people, and it is to this city that a stranger from a rival tribe sails to – Hannah Dundee. Hannah is an ambassador for her people, seeking knowledge and trade, but her very presence creates unwelcome tension.
What follows are a series of tales centred around this premise, as Hannah and Jack venture below the city, out into the wilderness and gaze back into the recent past to the causes of the cataclysm, all the time facing the dangers of dinosaurs and other prehistoric fauna, and slowly revealing a wider mystery.
This is an exceptionally good work, not just because it is well written and thought-out, but because Schultz clearly loves to draw it. Whether it's a Coupe de Ville or a lumbering sauropod, Schultz draws them beautifully with an incredible understanding of both anatomy and the importance of light and shade. His detailed linework is exquisite, getting better by the page, grounding the stories in a believable reality. The stories themselves, largely due to the way Schultz portrays his characters, have a classic movie feel to them, no doubt inspired by the likes of the original King Kong, infused with romance, danger and thrills. At almost 350 pages long there's a lot here to enjoy, and enjoy it you will.
And if you liked that: Apparently there will be new material soon
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