Dinosaurs Attack! The Graphic Novel (1991) #1 by Gary Gerani, Herb Trimpe, George Freeman, Earl Norem, et al.
Eclipse had been serialising graphic novels by publishing them in three squarebound, 48 page issues first for a couple of years. With Robin Hood half a year earlier, they had moved to floppies, and this continues that trend. It’s a 48 page floppy for $4, which was more expensive than the norm at that time.
And unlike many of the other graphic novels Eclipse published, it’s not fully-painted. Instead it’s… Herb Trimpe.
The comic is based on the Topps trading cards, but I’m assuming that the author added a whole lot more plot here. I mean, it’s a very simple concept in essence (Dinosaurs! Attacking us now!), and the scientist guy above lays out how this is going to happen.
But complicates things a lot, adding ESP and domestic problems and … For something that must have been intended as a goof, it takes itself very seriously.
Fortunately, after 25 pages, the dinosaurs finally attack, and we shift to fully painted artwork and get to see some faces melt, like we deserve.
We’re given an explanation as to what it all means.
These are presumably images from the trading cards? The trading cards are a lot funnier than this issue.
I mean, just look at that happy dinosaur.
As with the other series Eclipse launched in December 1991, only one issue was published. I’m going to do ahead and guess that this is because Eclipse were in financial difficulties at this time, and I’m going to guess that the professional artists involved here aren’t going to draw a single page before they get paid.
And a lot of artists in these twilight years didn’t get paid.
IDW published a complete edition of this graphic novel 25 years later:
Ultimately this issue spends a lot of time setting up the protagonists and their complicated divorce. It’s evident from the getgo this is a comic from before our time. The structure and heavy exposition style of it harkens back to a day and age when folks actually wanted to read when they opened a comic. It still holds up though and as long as you have the patience for it there’s an interesting story unfolding here.