Welcome to Gateway Comics! Ever wanted to get into these wonderful stories but you're just not sure where to start? Or what to start with? Are you into fantasy? Superheros? Horror? Well in this series I’ll go be getting into some of my favorite comics that are easily accessible to to new readers, and give some backstory to help you understand some of the lore, if there is any. First up, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur!
Comics are just like cigarettes, you wanna hook your customers when they’re young. Moon Girl is great for all ages, young and old, but it certainly has children in mind so this would be a great comic to start your future little nerd out with.
(Sure, boys get their dogs but girls get dinosaurs!)
Not only is the main character a nine year old girl at the time the series starts, which is certain will appeal to younger readers, but she’s also black. We’ll get back to that part later but I think it’s something that’s important to point out with so very few young heroines of color who have their own series. Also, there are talks about this duo actually getting their own TV series so make sure to watch out for that in the coming months!
The series was created by Brandon Monclair and Amy Reeder who have worked together on other books before, usually with Amy as the artist. For Moon Girl however, they tapped Spanish illustrator Natasha Bustos who’s art perfectly fits the fun and playful style of the book.
(Seriously, look at how adorable Bustos draw the flaming T-Rex! He’s like a sad puppy!)
Honestly, this is also a great book to just sit down and read with your younger kids who aren't old enough to read by themselves yet. There’s guest stars galore and even if you don’t know the characters full backstory, it’s always fun to point them out to kids like, hey, guess who’s popping in now!
So with all that out of the way, what exactly is Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur about? Well, since I don’t want to spoil too much of the series, I’ll give you guys a nice, quick, generalized overview of the overarching plot.
Lunella Lafayette is a genius. In a world already full of hyper intelligent men, she could easily stand in their midst if she wasn’t, you know, nine years old. And forced to go to elementary school.
Yes her parents know she’s smart but their afraid that Lunella wouldn’t be properly socialized, but kids can be cruel. Calling her Moon Girl, our heroine just can’t seem to fit in. It doesn’t help that she has a clock ticking down over her head.
You see, Moon Girl is an pre-Inhuman. Someone who when hit with Terrigen Mists will mutate with amazing new abilities, but she’s afraid of what she'll become. Now she’s trying to find an old alien artifact in hopes of combating her uncertain future.
All this is happening when a mutant T-Rex is brought to the present and is on the hunt for vicious killers that murdered his only friend, Moon Boy. When these two forces of nature meet.... well it’s certainly not love at first site. Or second really but they soon join forced because those murderers have the Kree artifact the Moon Girl needs!
(Well, that’s one way to meet your new best friend!)
While you don’t need to know a lot of the story of some of these older characters, themes, and ideas to enjoy the series, sometimes a little extra info can help smooth out some of the details.
Let's start with the titular Devil Dinosaur. This iconic firey T-Rex was a creation of comic book legend Jack Kirby in an effort for Marvel to create a series to go up against a DC product title. Devil is pretty much a mutant dinosaur. He’s stronger than the average rex and his intelligence is close to that of an actual humans. Originally he was paired with a caveman known as Moon Boy, hense the series title.
Next, the Inhumans are a species of human, surprising eh, that have descended from an alien, human hybrid created by the alien Kree to act as soldiers for their war. They use Terrigen Crystals or Mists to activate the transformation, changing into a chrysalis before emerging powered. Most Inhumans usually end up with some physical transformations but it’s all random. Some Inhumans include characters such as Black Bolt, Ms. Marvel, and Lockjaw.
(Yes, Lockjaw is a big teleporting bulldog. Comics!)
Finally, there are quite a few guest stars that grace the comic, and almost all happen to be legacy characters. Those are characters that have taken the names the older, more well known heroes. Amadeus Cho is the first example. The newest Hulk is an asian american who was a huge fan of Bruce Banner and seventh, at the time, smartest person in the marvel universe.
(Hulk and DD don’t exactly have a friendly relationship.)
Next up we have Ms. Marvel. Kamala Khan is a muslim/ Pakistani american Inhuman. With the powers to stretch and control her body, she has taken her name from Carol Danvers and is not only one of the best new young heroines, she’s also a huge nerd and I’ll be covering her in a future Gateway Comics.
Finally we have Ironheart. A 15 year old African American MIT student, Riri Williams has inherited a suit and a Tony Stark AI to essentially become the next Ironman.
But that’s all the time we have for this new budding team. As I said before, this is a great series to start young readers off right into their future comic addiction, so be sure to check it out. In the meantime, we head back to Hollywood Goggles with the Mad Titan himself...Thanos.
(Yes, let’s end on Moongirl and DD! And yes, Inspector Gadget was a inspiration.)
