by Richard Fairgray & Terry Jones
“I’m going to the bathroom. It’s been about 65 million years…”
As of the end of the first issue of Blastosaurus, readers were beginning to piece together the universe that Richard Fairgray and Terry Jones have created. Issue two opens with a recap page, and it helps set the stage before jumping back into the story. The boy, Richard, and the scientist, Jasper, each recount, in separate settings, the events of the failed mission that led to a group of humanoid dinosaurs coming to the present day. It is a clever back and forth to see how each individual delivers the story, bringing slightly different tones to the summation of events. As the recapping of the disastrous science experiment concludes it appears as though Blastosaurus was unable to successfully time-jump with the rest, winding up in the future.
Fairgray and Jones certainly have several different ideas, but they have a very good approach to delivering them. From the opening sequence in issue #1, there are teases of all kinds of information with little explanation. While this can sometimes be frustrating or overwhelming, the slow delivery as to the purpose of those teases is all the more engaging. Hints of some type of robot takeover through some offhanded comments and information posted in a museum present the reader with pieces at a time. This type of controlled delivery is far more preferred to exposition and Fairgray and Jones have struck a balance that will leave readers trying to fill in the gaps on their own, drawing on imagination rather than explanation.
Once Richard Greene and Blastosaurus meet in the future, readers begin to learn a bit more explicitly about this new world order. It is a bit of an information dump, but Fairgray and Jones manage to do it well, dropping in bits of comedy and other minor interruptions to the monologue that keeps it from feeling like a history lesson. As impressive as this segment is in its delivery, what really stands out is how coherent and logical all of these seemingly disjointed genres connect.
After a run in with the Raptors and robot cops, the group recognize that Blastosaurus is the fighting chance they needed and explain that they only have enough power to send one being back and only so far. They set their sights on the day this all started, when the Raptors first appeared ten years prior, in hopes that Blastosaurus can prevent this future. It seems a bit rushed in how quickly they go form not trusting this stranger to using their one opportunity to right the past on him. This is definitely an example of how decisions are made not necessarily authentically but out of necessity to the plot. While not a serious grievance, it is a notable scripting flaw in an otherwise very well crafted issue. Fortunately, the chapter ends strong with a grim conclusion that chooses quietness over bombast to make its point.
This is a really strong second issue; one that cleans up a bit of the confusion from the first, while pushing forward with a fascinating narrative. Though it seems to include far too many genres to make much sense, Fairgray and Jones do a great job of not only making space for it all, but scripting a story where these different pieces exist together naturally. The story of Blastosaurus now has its mission, its hero and villains, exciting technology, and still enough questions to create some real suspense and intrigue. Get on board.
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