Dinosaurs for Hire is an American comic book series created by Tom Mason in 1988.[1] It was first published by Eternity Comics and ran nine issues until 1990 when it was cancelled. The title returned to publication in 1993 by Malibu Comics, which had purchased Eternity as an imprint.
Dinosaurs for Hire
The cover for Dinosaurs For Hire. Art by Scott Bieser, Bryon Carson, and Scott Hanna.
Dinosaurs For Hire, along with Ex-Mutants, was merged with the Protectors universe during Malibu's Genesis crossover before being cancelled a second time. Malibu was purchased by Marvel Comics in 1993, and though no subsequent Dinosaurs for Hire comics were published,[2] its reality is designated as Earth-88469 within the Marvel Comics multiverse.[3][4]
Dinosaurs for Hire originated as a black-and-white comic by Mason titled Elvis Undercover, featuring Elvis Presley as a crime-fighter. The comic was never produced, out of concerns that Presley's estate would sue. Mason eventually divided Presley's fictional personality among three dinosaur characters, resulting in Dinosaurs for Hire.[5][6] To represent the dinosaur characters, Mason chose Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus, based on their popularity among the general public.[5]
Dinosaurs for Hire is a satirical comic that is heavy on parody and humor. The primary characters are a tyrannosaurus named Archie who dresses like the Terminator, a triceratops named Lorenzo who wears a Hawaiian shirt, a one-eyed stegosaurus named Reese who wields heavy weapons, and a pterodactyl named Cyrano. In the comics, the Dinosaurs are actually intelligent aliens who resemble smaller versions of Earth dinosaurs presumably due to a convergent evolution (aside from their extraterrestrial nature, their backstory was only hinted at but never confirmed). After their spacecraft malfunctions in Earth's atmosphere and crashes into the ocean, they are stranded on Earth and become mercenaries for hire.
A Dinosaurs for Hire video game by Sega was released in 1993, for the Sega Genesis. It is a shoot 'em up game featuring Archie, Lorenzo and Reese as playable characters, while Cyrano occasionally shows up to give mission briefings.[7]
Cancelled animated seriesedit
An animated television series had been planned for the Fox Network in the early 1990s, with Mason as a consultant.[5][7] The project was stagnant for two years, until Fox took notice of the upcoming dinosaur film Jurassic Park (1993). According to Mason, there was suddenly "a tremendous rush to get a dinosaur show on the air". Comic book writer Len Wein was hired to work on the series bible and pilot episode script.[5]
Mason was not fond of Fox's planned direction for the series. He said the network wanted a series similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with "lots of slapstick hijinks". According to Mason, Fox sought to "dumb down" the Dinosaurs for Hire concept and make it "kid-friendly for TV".[6] The network also wanted the series to reveal the dinosaurs' origins, an idea that Mason disliked, believing it would take away "a certain amount of mystery and charm". He had devised his own origin story years earlier but did not wish to reveal it, stating only that it was much different to what Fox had planned. He said Fox's origin story would not be acknowledged in his comics.[5] The show never made it out of development.[8]
Referencesedit
^Markstein, Don. "Dinosaurs for Hire". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
^"The Return Of Tom Mason's Dinosaurs For Hire?". Bleeding Cool. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
^The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
^ abcdeHoward Johnson, Kim (August 1993). "Giant Lizards with Big Guns". Starlog. No. 193. United States. pp. 38–41, 72.
^ abVaughn, J.C. . Scoop. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021.
^ abSczepaniak, John (25 June 2014). "Dinosaurs for Hire". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^"How Tom Mason's Dinosaurs for Hire Became a Video Game". Wackoid. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
January 01, 1970
dinosaurs, hire, american, comic, book, series, created, mason, 1988, first, published, eternity, comics, nine, issues, until, 1990, when, cancelled, title, returned, publication, 1993, malibu, comics, which, purchased, eternity, imprint, cover, dinosaurs, hir. Dinosaurs for Hire is an American comic book series created by Tom Mason in 1988 1 It was first published by Eternity Comics and ran nine issues until 1990 when it was cancelled The title returned to publication in 1993 by Malibu Comics which had purchased Eternity as an imprint Dinosaurs for HireThe cover for Dinosaurs For Hire Art by Scott Bieser Bryon Carson and Scott Hanna Publication informationPublisherMarvel ComicsSchedulebimonthlyGenreScience fiction comedyPublication dateMarch 1988 Jan 1990Feb 1993 Feb 1994No of issues9 1988 1990 12 1993 1994 Main character s Dinosaurs for HireCreative teamCreated byTom MasonWritten byTom Mason Dinosaurs For Hire along with Ex Mutants was merged with the Protectors universe during Malibu s Genesis crossover before being cancelled a second time Malibu was purchased by Marvel Comics in 1993 and though no subsequent Dinosaurs for Hire comics were published 2 its reality is designated as Earth 88469 within the Marvel Comics multiverse 3 4 Dinosaurs for Hire originated as a black and white comic by Mason titled Elvis Undercover featuring Elvis Presley as a crime fighter The comic was never produced out of concerns that Presley s estate would sue Mason eventually divided Presley s fictional personality among three dinosaur characters resulting in Dinosaurs for Hire 5 6 To represent the dinosaur characters Mason chose Tyrannosaurus Triceratops and Stegosaurus based on their popularity among the general public 5 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 In other media 2 1 Video game 2 2 Cancelled animated series 3 ReferencesSynopsis editDinosaurs for Hire is a satirical comic that is heavy on parody and humor The primary characters are a tyrannosaurus named Archie who dresses like the Terminator a triceratops named Lorenzo who wears a Hawaiian shirt a one eyed stegosaurus named Reese who wields heavy weapons and a pterodactyl named Cyrano In the comics the Dinosaurs are actually intelligent aliens who resemble smaller versions of Earth dinosaurs presumably due to a convergent evolution aside from their extraterrestrial nature their backstory was only hinted at but never confirmed After their spacecraft malfunctions in Earth s atmosphere and crashes into the ocean they are stranded on Earth and become mercenaries for hire In other media editVideo game edit Main article Dinosaurs for Hire video game A Dinosaurs for Hire video game by Sega was released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis It is a shoot em up game featuring Archie Lorenzo and Reese as playable characters while Cyrano occasionally shows up to give mission briefings 7 Cancelled animated series edit An animated television series had been planned for the Fox Network in the early 1990s with Mason as a consultant 5 7 The project was stagnant for two years until Fox took notice of the upcoming dinosaur film Jurassic Park 1993 According to Mason there was suddenly a tremendous rush to get a dinosaur show on the air Comic book writer Len Wein was hired to work on the series bible and pilot episode script 5 Mason was not fond of Fox s planned direction for the series He said the network wanted a series similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with lots of slapstick hijinks According to Mason Fox sought to dumb down the Dinosaurs for Hire concept and make it kid friendly for TV 6 The network also wanted the series to reveal the dinosaurs origins an idea that Mason disliked believing it would take away a certain amount of mystery and charm He had devised his own origin story years earlier but did not wish to reveal it stating only that it was much different to what Fox had planned He said Fox s origin story would not be acknowledged in his comics 5 The show never made it out of development 8 References edit Markstein Don Dinosaurs for Hire Don Markstein s Toonopedia Retrieved 2 April 2020 The Return Of Tom Mason s Dinosaurs For Hire Bleeding Cool 2014 09 24 Retrieved 2021 03 11 The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe https www cbr com jurassic league info a b c d e Howard Johnson Kim August 1993 Giant Lizards with Big Guns Starlog No 193 United States pp 38 41 72 a b Vaughn J C Dinosaurs For Hire Scoop Archived from the original on 11 February 2021 a b Sczepaniak John 25 June 2014 Dinosaurs for Hire Hardcore Gaming 101 Retrieved 7 September 2022 How Tom Mason s Dinosaurs for Hire Became a Video Game Wackoid 2020 10 16 Retrieved 2020 10 20 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dinosaurs for Hire amp oldid 1223394020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
