Comic Info
Comic Name: Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert
Publisher: IDW
Writer: John Byrne
Artist: John Byrne
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2011
Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert #2
Reprints Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert #1-4 (January 2011-April 2011). Something is killing in the desert, and Sheriff Will Tobias is about to discover the creatures created by Ingen have reached the mainland. With a flock of pterodactyls flying in the desert, the danger is real, and Ingen isn’t eager for the secret to get out. Unfortunately, the pterodactyls have become killing machines and stopping them will be difficult.
Written and illustrated by John Byrne, Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert is an IDW adaptation of the dinosaur franchise. The series followed the limited series Jurassic Park: Redemption.
Jurassic Park was popcorn fun. The book was an easy read and the movie was an action rollercoaster that wasn’t too serious. Jurassic Park: The Lost World was groanworthy, but I rather liked Jurassic Park III. The Jurassic Park comics were released between Jurassic Park III and the relaunch of the film series with Jurassic World in 2015. Like many comic book adaptations of movies and books, the comics have a ho-hum result.
The story for the comic book has an odd flow. It introduces all of these characters with subplots and storylines as if the comic were a novel, but it also doesn’t feel like the story will continue after this volume. While the drama adds depth to the characters, you turn to a Jurassic Park comic (or movie) to have dinosaurs.
Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert #4
The comic focuses on the pterodactyls (which I never did understand why they thought they’d stay on the island). This seemed to be an issue in Jurassic Park III, but the most recent entry in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom acts like the idea of dinosaurs escaping the island is inconceivable. I loved pterodactyls growing up and the pterodactyl sequence in Jurassic Park III is great, but I also wish there were more dinosaurs…but the story doesn’t lend itself to it.
John Byrne is one of the big pulls to this collection. He was “my Fantastic Four artist” when I started reading comics so I have a soft spot for his art though it all starts to look the same (especially after reading chunks of Next Men). He never was the greatest scripter and his dinosaur designs aren’t as interesting as his superhero artwork.
Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert isn’t that interesting. It just feels like something to read. Even as a lukewarm fan of the movies, the comic book doesn’t bring enough to the table for me to be that interested in it. I feel that the attempts at realism with the story maybe in line with the films, but a more over-the-top adventure that lends itself to the comic book format might have worked better. Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert was followed by Jurassic Park: Dangerous Games.
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