Super Powered Comics: Jurassic Strike Force 5 issues 0 and 1

The cover to "Jurassic Strikeforce 5 #1"

Jurassic Strike Force 5 is an interesting comic. I used to be quite a dinosaur fan when I was younger. I knew the names of all the dinosaurs including the T-Rex and Triceratops. Reading this comic, it plays on my love of comics but also reminds me of my childhood.

This introductory issue essentially serves what #0 issues usually serve. The reader gets a small history of the dinosaurs’ time on earth. Afterwards, we see some ship with an alien in it scanning dinosaur DNA, and combining it with human DNA. We then see that there is an alien emperor getting ready to invade what I presume to be earth or has he says: “the third satellite of the sol system.”

Moving into the first issue, this is where things really start to develop. A group of explorers explore a cavern they find in the arctic, and they find mysterious things going on. An explosion occurs there shortly after, and the alien emperor from the #0 issue appears. He has been apparently imprisoned for 160 million years, and he is angry…… The men surrender, and the dinosaur warriors from the prequel issue appear ready to serve their master. Some boy runs into find his father in the cavern, and he finds a strange bug he becomes friends with. He then finds his dad, and convinces the bug they are friends too. The bug does something strange to the computer, and he is seemingly releasing the other dinosaur warriors (or at least working on that). The story then transitions to the U.S. base in Antarctica where they are under attack by the evil dinosaur warriors commanded by their leader the alien emperor. The troops are called in, and a battle ensues. The issue then goes back to the boy’s first encounters with the other dinosaur warriors (these guys may actually be friendly).

I think Joe Brusha and Neo Edmond really do a good job here. They have a handle on their characters, and are telling a really interesting original story. The only problem I have is that the book is a bit too long as it feels it drags on,and I feel they could have reduced some of the action in the first issue. On the art side, I am sure JL Giles-Rivera is having a ball. You can tell from the art work that he is enjoying the heck out of his job. I think this comic is off to a good start, and beyond the little minor problems, the team delivers a solid comic.

#0: B-.

#1: B.

OVERALL: B-.