Yahoo! has released the first episode of the Dinosaurs Vs Aliens motion comic, based on the ambitious comic and forthcoming feature film from comic book writer extraordinaire Grant Morrison and Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld.
Developed by the duo simultaneously as a graphic novel and a screenplay, both written by Morrison, the graphic novel was released recently via Dynamite. Illustrated by Mukesh Singh, who previously worked with Morrison on the 18 Days hardcover, it deals with the idea of aliens invading Earth during the reign of the dinosaurs, who must defend their planet by any means necessary.
This first episode covers the first eight pages of the hardcover graphic novel, from the chapter entitled “Dominion”. This motion comic, from Liquid Comics, stands apart from the comic and what will eventually be the film, bringing the illusion of movement to what is effectively a flat series of panels. The visuals are quite strong, as they are literally transcribed from Mukesh Singh’s original artwork. Hampering this epic opening to the world is a somewhat flat narration, almost sounding as thought this was the first read-through.
Yet what this does give us is a taste of how the film might work. Until the later pages, the book is largely told through narration, which is always a worry when your main characters are inhuman. However, with the right vocal tracks and state of the art special effects, this is shaping up to be a fascinating union between comics, film and electronic media. Fellow geeks: they have this one covered.
