Devil Dinosaur #2 - "Devil's War"
Original Release Date: May 1978
Edited, Written, and Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Letters and Inks: Mike Rover
Colors: Petra G.
Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Killer-Folk think they've set up the perfect trap! The one trap that will destroy the might red dinosaur; their ultimate enemy. A pit of sharp stakes lies in wait for the rampaging dinosaur. Fortunately, with the urging of Moon-Boy, the mighty beast's sole friend, he makes a powerful leap over the spikes of the stakes and lands on their shafts, which effectively shatters the wooden weapons.

Turning his attention on his would-be killers, Devil smashes and thrashes his way through them. From far in the distance, the new leader of the Killer-Folk, Seven Scars, watches his people fall to the ferocity of the monster. Immediately coming up with yet another plan, Seven Scars instructs his soldiers to dig their staffs into the very cliff above the heroes of the Valley of Flame. In doing so, the Killer-Folk unleash a barrage of boulders and rock onto Devil and Moon-Boy. Unfortunately for the strange duo, they have no time to move out of the way before the raining rocks causes a rockslide. Soon they are both buried underneath.

 Moon-Boy, unconscious and barely alive, is recovered by the Killer-Folk, who decide to offer the young Dawn-man up for sacrifice. The Killer-Folk begin their journey to the cave of
Long-Legs. Back at the rubble, Devil digs himself out only to find an Iguanodon waiting to attack. And attack it does! Soon though, as with most battles, Devil is triumphant. Taking a moment to sniff the air, the massive creature catches his "brother's" scent and begins to follow it.

 Moon-Boy awakens to find himself captured! Before the Cave of Long-Legs, Moon-Boy is unable to move; his arms are strapped to two poles. In honor of his fallen brother, Moon-Boy remains silent; he wants to face this situation with no fear! The Killer-Folk look on, amazed at this young one's bravery. Soon a giant spider, Long-Legs, appears at the mouth of the cave. Unfortunately Moon-Boy can no longer contain his fear and he shouts at the sight of the deadly creature. The Killer-Folk laugh and celebrate at the sudden release of emotion. 

Devil appears, rips a torch from the hand of one of the Killer-Folk, and sets the grass aflame. The once-proud and intimidating Killer-Folk flee in all directions. Devil races to Moon-Boy and pulls him from the restraints. Seven Scars, not content with having his life, shouts and attempts to attack Devil and his brother. Devil, the badass that he is, simply stomps Seven Scars through a boulder. The massive red dinosaur then leaps over the flames to freedom. 

The Killer-Folk find themselves surrounded by fiery doom. It engulfs the land about them and eventually traps them with their backs against the Cave of Long-Legs. With their options limited, the creatures enter the cave to find Long-Legs waiting...

Outside of the ring of flame, Devil and Moon-boy celebrate. They have won their battle and both are proud. Devil releases one last triumphant roar before turning his back on the fire. The two brothers leave the scene to find a place to stay for the evening.

Well that's that, people. What did you think? I, personally, love the entire concept of Devil Dinosaur. It's such a departure from the super hero books; it's refreshing! Unfortunately, at least for Devil Dinosaur, 1978 was a pretty popular year for the super hero. No one wanted a book about a red dinosaur and his caveman friend. It just wasn't the right time, even with Jack Kirby behind it. Honestly, I think this book missed its mark by about twenty years.  If it had been released around the time Journey into Mystery or Strange Tales were going strong, then I wouldn't have to draw attention to this book. Nope, it would have been considered a classic.    

But hey, that doesn't keep me from considering it a classic! Nope, I absolutely love this book. It's just so different from all the other stuff that was being released at the time. This, along with The Eternals, were real gems of their time. Now, The Eternals book had much more of a fan base than Devil Dinosaur, but that's a story for another time (hint, hint!).

Some people might site this article as a chance for me to drool and praise Jack Kirby and, well... they'd be right: I'm a huge Jack Kirby fan. I am absolutely biased while writing this. Deal with it. Anyway, this is classic Kirby. The art is fantastic. It's Jack Kirby, so you'll know what to expect from this. The writing, hey that's Kirby too. If you've never read a book written by the King, then you might be surprised with just how good he is.  

So, with that being said, should you pick this up? Yeah. It's a fun comic that's a nice, strong step away from super hero books.  

Are the stories as detailed and intriguing as your normal comics? Maybe not; it's a pretty light book in terms of story. It's pretty damn innocent material. If it weren't for the violence, I'd almost suggest that this was a comic for the younger crowd. Do not let that sway you though. It's good stuff! 

This isn't too terribly hard to find, but you might end up paying a bit more for it than you'd expect. I wouldn't pay more than $5 for a very fine book and definitely not more than $15 for a near mint copy for either issue 1 or 2. Now, I've seen them going for quite a good bit more, but don't let that fool you. They're just not worth more than that... yet.