Science fiction and comic books love to look into the future. Sometimes the future is a better place, but often it isn't. Usually those dystopian futures are attributed to nuclear war or alien attack, but that's not the case with Xenozoic Tales.
Cover dated February 1987, this comic tells about a world where the world was wrecked by natural disaster. Humans went underground and stayed there for 450 years while the surface boiled, finally emerging to find a world wrecked by the disaster and populated by a variety of prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs and giant mammals.
The comic follows the attempts by humanity to find its place in this new world, while adapting remaining technology (such as some remaining automobiles) and structures (including a partially-submerged city).
It would be easy to credit creator, writer and artist Mark Schultz with great prediction powers, since he seems to have been ahead of the curve on Global Warming (though, as with all such things, your mileage may vary).
What he did have was a darn good comic. He populated its pages with strong characters like "Cadillac" Tenrec (who got his nickname from the cars he worked to rehabilitate) and Hanna Dundee, an ambassador from another tribe - a strong, tough and sexy female. The stories were short vignettes, but all well written and loaded with lots of action and clever plot twists.
His art is outstanding, managing to blend the best elements of Will Eisner (strong layouts and creative angles) and Wally Wood (especially evident in his beautiful female characters).
This book enjoyed a degree of success - it was the basis for a cartoon series, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, at least one videogame and assorted toys - but sadly, it didn't last too long, fading away after 14 issues (although it was reprinted in collections).
It deserved a much longer run. An outstanding series, sadly overlooked and well worth tracking down!
Grade: A-
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