Paleo

Paleo by Jim Lawson is a graphic novel, a complete collection, of what it life might have been like in the late Cretaceous period viewed through comic art. This book doesn't have any people or anything from any other time, just dinosaurs and animals that lived in that time period. The book gives a brief history of dino comic art in the beginning of the book which is quite interesting. The stories in this book are all drama, violence, and potential events that could have really happened at one time although we will never know, but with this book it is fun to imagine. The art work is astounding. Great job. I enjoyed it completely. The fact it didn't have people in it and more of a dinosaur book made it appealing to me. I received this book from NetGalley for a honest review and it in no way effected my rating or review content.

I truly enjoyed this comic book...sorry if that is not the correct lingo. The only thing that would have made it better is if it was in color!! The artwork is great and the stories are cute and fun. Overall a great book for kids and adults.

I went into Paleo with high hopes due to the author, Jim Lawson's, pedigree. I didn't quite what to expect, however, because the concept was rather hard to wrap my head around. A three hundred page graphic novel focusing on real-life dinosaurs. No anthropomorphizing them. No applying human thoughts or attributes, or breaking from the likely reality that these massive creatures experienced. It's an easy enough concept but seemed like a doozy to make a lengthy storyline out of. It also seemed terribly, compellingly unique, so I jumped at the opportunity to see what exactly Jim Lawson has been up to and why the fans of this series were so ravenous.

Let's not bury the lede. Lawson keeps this book interesting by breaking it up into a series of vignettes. Each vignette focuses on a day, or series of hours, in the life of a single dinosaur. I was worried there would be a lack of drama but was very wrong. The line between life and death is only minutes, or even seconds, when the focal 'saur becomes the hunted -- even if they begin their day as the hunter. Likewise, Lawson avoids humanizing his subjects, but also narrates from inside their heads, letting us peek into what each dinosaur may be thinking. These are creatures you can empathize with and root for, which is no easy feat to pull off.

The art certainly helps. While I am partial to full color, the black and white sketches are well done and do a good job of setting the scene and allow us to settle into the pre-history before us.

All of that said, Paleo just wasn't for me. It is absolutely unique, and dino-fans will go ga-ga for it, but the side-effect of keeping the dinosaurs true to life is that the narration often feels like a National Geographic documentary. It's interesting, and some stories are better than others, but I often found myself returning to it just for the sake of finishing, not because I was consistently compelled by what I was reading.

This isn't a knock against Paleo. It accomplishes its goal with exceptional grace and style. Graphic novels just aren't the medium I turn to for that type of story. I'm happy to have read it, but caution new readers that this is a truly different type of story for the medium. Whether that's a plus or minus depends entirely on you.

I'm truly impressed by what Lawson has accomplished here. These dinosaurs are not even a little anthropomorphized. They act on true animal instinct and motivation. No human thoughts or attributes. Its like if a nature documentary were a comic. Very detailed drawings. Truly, an admirable feat. A great choice for adults who view comics as an art from, less so for kids how devour them as entertainment.

The art work in this book is just amazing - I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in this genre - one of the best books I've read this year.

I never really outgrew the childhood fascination with dinosaurs that grips most boys when they hit two or three.....If there's a dinosaur in a film, book, or TV show, I'm there. That said, Jim Lawson's PALEO: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION didn't look like it was going to be my cup of tea. Lawson is mainly known to me from his work on TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, and the cover art made the book look like an anthropomorphic piece, like THE LAND BEFORE TIME. I could not have been more wrong.

First off, Jim Lawson's artwork here is a revelation. Each panel is a work of art. I can scarcely imagine how much time he spent on each panel. The details, both on the dinosaurs and in the backgrounds, are phenomenal and awe-inspiring. Storywise, Lawson confounds reader expectation, using our expectation of anthropomorphism against us. It's easy to expect these animals to behave in a human manner, but Lawson presents them as real, three-dimensional creatures, ruled by fear, hunger, and lust....the stories are brutal, heartbreaking, and sometimes tough to read, but they're incredibly well-done and worthwhile. I plan on picking up a hard-copy for my six-year-old son. He'll enjoy the wonderful dino art now, and come to appreciate the masterful stories as he gets older.

This is a flat-out AMAZING collection. I can't imagine how it's possible that I haven't even heard of PALEO until now. That's a crime, because this book deserves all kinds of awards, as well as blockbuster sales figures. Absolutely THE best book that I've read in the past year...I can't recommend it highly enough.

Dover Publications provided a review copy.

If you are into dinosaurs, Jim Lawson has a treat for you in Paleo. Jim provides slice of life stories in series of short vignettes that cover many types of dinosaurs. Most of the tales are appropriate for children, but there is plenty of violence, multiple attacks and often no happy ending. So if you want goofy dino tales, look elsewhere, but if you want something to take you back to the Age of Reptiles, pick up this volume.

I have never read a dinosaur comic as such – by which I mean the human-free, voice-less narrative concerning prehistoric life, and not some weird Raquel Welch film rip-off. From the knowledgeable introduction courtesy of one of the purveyors of the form, and with Dover reprinting this massive collection, you feel you have found the peak of the genre straight away. A couple of the pages prove their variable source and haven't scanned in nearly as sharply as others, but what you get is fine. A few things are debatable – the description of 'voices' and so on, the gait of the heroine of the first book here – but on the whole it all looks great, and the creator knows which cinematic angle to use to show his dramas off in the best light. The fact this book has been presented before now as a 'Complete Edition', only for this volume to present even more, newer works, really does show it as essential. The only thing marking it down has to be the fact these stories aren't terribly long, or complex – and that the new works include two large pieces which are both quire dire indeed, and manage to put a 12 age certificate on things, when (but for some quite bluntly portrayed deaths) it was looking like an all-ages classic. Still, Dover need to be lauded.

Wow.

I am impressed. I didn't expect this to be so interesting. So full of action. To get caught up in these stories of survival.

Don't be taken in by the cartoony cover. The inside is a harsh look at what life with the dinosaurs might have really been like.

But then survival isn't always easy to look at.

As one of the intros suggests, "A seemingly cruel, savage world…"

It's interesting how Lawson gets into the mind of these animals. Of course, they aren't overtly thinking these thoughts, but it feels like he's getting to the heart of heir instincts with his writing.

Plus he captures these dinosaurs in amazing ways. I'm sure we don't know exactly how they acted with full muscle, tendon, skin, and scale. But Lawson makes a good, believable try at it.

Some of it is a tad confusing - like it’s missing panels. I’m not sure what happened in Book 5 between the Tyrannosaur and the Albertosaurus.

And the creativity with some of these things is interesting. The dragonfly of Book 6. The short story drawn on shadows after book 6.

I was trying to decide what age could read this. And then I got 2/3 of the way through the book. To the story, Easy.

OMG.

Yeah; this one needs to be for a little bit older.

I'm almost blushing. And at the same time horrified.

And Floater was intense!

Overall, an interesting graphic novel. Worth reading.

But not for the squeamish.

'Paleo: The Complete Collection' collects all of the dinosaur comics by Jim Lawson. At least the ones there are so far.

A brilliant introduction by Stephen R. Bissette tells of the history of dinosaur comics. We learn that sometimes comics use dinosaurs as plot devices for heroes like Tarzan to find, or time travellers to run across. There have been good dinosaur comics among them, although sometimes the science has been off, or the dinosaurs mingle with different era dinosaurs. Then along came Paleo.

This is a series of vignettes about dinosaurs living and dying. There are no speech bubbles, but there is a narrative. There are a wide variety of dinosaur represented here. Some are about creatures who are at the top of the chain, and how they meet their downfall. Some fight for food in a herd. Some are devoured by water or nature.

Jim Larson worked on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and his art here is really good. The stories kept me interested and I really liked the whole collection. If you like dinosaur comics like I do, check it out.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This was a fun, dinosaur filled graphic novel. For the most part it’s all in black and white which was a bit of a turnoff for the younger kids.

Personally I felt this book was more for children 8/9+, but its very eye catching to smaller kids because “who doesn’t love dinosaurs?”

Rating 5 out of 5
Read@Book

Pretty solid stories about prehistoric dinosaurs. My favorite story though was the one about the dragonfly.