Barry Sonnenfeld's Dinosaurs vs Aliens: Review

Dinosaurs vs Aliens
writer- Grant Morrison
artist- Mukesh Singh

Dinosaurs vs Aliens is almost a laughable concept.  Sonnenfeld and Morrison must have opened up a toy box and decided to make a movie and comic book franchise of the first two toys they grabbed.  Shaking a plastic cowboy from the talon of a battery operated T-Rex, the two concocted the idea for this visual cinematic giant.  But what's really laughable about the concept of dinosaurs fighting aliens, is that it works.  Barry Sonnenfeld, director of Men in Black and Wild, Wild, West has created a vehicle for comics, toys, a huge special effects filled movie, and even action figures.  He, comics superstar Grant Morrison, and artist Mukesh Singh, get to be a part of history.
This history, or pre-history, is a little different than we've been told.  As shown in Mukesh Singh's gorgeous artwork, the dinosaurs are a more intelligent creature than we've been taught.  They wear armor and decorative tribal dress.  They bare ritualistic scarring and some primitive weaponry.  This is what makes them a force to be reckoned with.  Singh's work is beautiful and full of expressive action.  We feel the anger and need for survival behind the dinosaur's eyes, and when the aliens arrive to take over the dinosaur's planet, we empathize with the lizards and we want them to fight back.  As much as I'm a fan of Grant Morrison's writing, I feel that the story is mostly told through the art.  Aside from the alien scout's narrative, the tale is sold with its visuals and these are stunning.
Morrison's words do enhance the art, of course.  Whether it was his idea or Sonnenfeld's idea to make the giant lizards intelligent with a warring mentality, it's a very interesting choice.  I admit that I was a bit thrown at first, by the feathered head-dress and battle armor.  Now I just find it cool.  What's also cool is that aliens decide to invade Earth and the dinosaurs are more intelligent and more formidable than the aliens thought they'd be.  Suspension of disbelief is what fantasy is all about, isn't it?  Who'd believe a hobbit could steal from a thieving dragon, or that a special agency controls the world's knowledge of aliens, or that a man with a red “S” on his chest could fly?  This reader would; the same guy who believes that dinosaurs can break into tribes and go to war, painted and fortified for battle against things out of War of The Worlds.
Nowadays, dinos seem to be the in thing.  DC's GI Combat is currently running the “War That Time Forgot” storyline and it's also gorgeous and well written.  But let's thank Grant Morrison, Mukesh Singh, and Barry Sonnenfeld for bringing this story to a beautiful hard bound graphic novel worthy of a spot in any library.  You can also catch episodes of Dinosaurs vs Aliens on Youtube in well done motion comic series.