What would’ve happened if Earth was spared the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs? Red 5 Comics has explored the idea by teaming up writer Paul Ens with artists J. Korim and Jessie Lam to create Neozoic, an exciting story that speculates about such a “what-if” future. The typical science fiction clichés have been tossed out the window: there is no high-tech weaponry, battle robots, space ships (well, maybe one, but its brief), or alien races weighing down this tale. Instead, Neozoic comfortably uses ingenious plot devices, interesting characters, and awesome action sequences; all of which makes for an epic story worth much more than the book’s cover price.
Neozoic opens by presenting a conception of Earth if it were spared the bombarding meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Completely altering history, humanity never became the reigning species of the world, faced instead with pure survival. The comic’s proxy of humanity is Monanti City, a walled kingdom ruled over by the monarch King Ulas. Among the king’s most elite warriors is the Predator Defense League, led by the weathered Captain Clawson and his celebrity protégé, Lilli Murko. The skills of the PDL are wide and various: they are master swordsmen, archers, trackers, and the ultimate survivalists.
The plot deepens when Lilli rescues a stray talpid child (a pale segment of humanity that lives underground) from a dangerous herd of dinosaurs. After Lilli spirits the child away to the protective walls of the city, destruction follows in their wake—ultimately bringing the entire population of Monanti to its knees.
It’s difficult for me to remember the last time I read an independent comic I enjoyed as much as Neozoic. The book combines all the traditional elements that I look for in a story, elements that are increasingly rare in contemporary science fiction and fantasy: originality, endearing characters, exciting action, unique settings, and a memorable plot. The most ingenious, yet exciting, element of Neozoic is the use of Earth’s prehistoric denizens as the foil working against the story’s heroes instead of some fantastical contrivance. Ens smartly tosses aside rip-off monsters construed from myth and pop culture and uses the planet’s rich ancient history to his advantage.
Amusingly enough, I developed an appetite to pop in my Star Wars DVDs after reading Neozoic because of the comic’s ensemble of characters. The PDL waves around swords effortlessly while scaling massive beasts and towering trees as if gravity was a tool rather than a force. Soaking up these sort-of Jedi knights, I had no idea that the story’s writer, Paul Ens, has an impressive résumé centered on the pop mythos of a far away galaxy from long ago. Ens worked as the director of Lucasfilm’s Lucas Online division for seven years, as well as having written the Star Wars: Evasion Action online comic. He even penned the television special, R2-D2: Beneath the Done, which I remember from my younger years.
But action sequences are worthless without appealing characters engaging in them. Thankfully, Ens, Korim, and Lam deliver, crafting an winning cast ranging from warriors to reporters. Of them all, I developed a fondness for the misplaced rookie, Ross. Raised in a picturesque family, belonging to the middle class of Monanti, possessing sharp intelligence, and working in the glory of the PDL, Ross appears to have it all. But the harshness of the outside world strips the character down to his deepest layers—forcing him to question the life he wants versus the life he has been given. There are actually so many interesting characters in Neozoic that there’re not enough pages to fully explore them all, which was disappointing.
The artwork of J. Korim and Jessie Lam wholly compliment Ens’ story. Resembling something of a hybrid between the work of Stuart Immonen and Andy Kubert, the imagery in Neozoic captures the audacious spirit of graphic storytelling. There is some fault pertaining to the cast designs, however. Quite a few of the characters look very similar—too similar, making it hard at times to figure out who is who. Making matters worse, almost everyone’s names are vague and hard to recognize at times. The problem straightens out towards the end, but until then I was left flipping back through the pages from time to time.
But my minor gripes aside, Neozoic is an invigorating read loaded with adventure, likable characters, and solid uniqueness; after all, the story ultimately probed my imagination. I continuously questioned myself as to what the world would really be like if humankind didn’t inherit the earth. A constant reminder that loomed in the background of the book like a glowing question mark was Earth’s half-shattered moon. Each time it appeared in a panel, it always poked at the imagination’s deepest question: What if?
This comic book review originally appeared on Comic News on 08 May 2009.
