about the book
Jess is a lonely fourteen-year-old girl living at the Cosmos Labs, a government-funded think tank. Her mother is long gone and her genius scientist dad, who is in charge of a top secret time continuum project, is just too busy to pay any attention to her. Feeling out of place all the time, the spunky teen has a real knack for getting into trouble.
One day when she’s in her dad’s lab, one of his temporal displacement generators used in a time dilation project tears a hole through time and space, drawing a T-Rex into our present world! The terrifying—and bewildered—beast is huge and powerful, and it spots Jess first, but instead of attacking, the dino surprisingly imprints on her. Not only does he not hurt her, he becomes extremely protective of her!
Maybe she is just desperate for a friend. Maybe she sees a little of herself in this out-of place T-Rex. In any case, the two are soon best buddies. She names her new oversized pet Wrex, because he wrecks everything around him. Having that much tonnage rampaging around the labs is bad enough, but Wrex acts much like a puppy, rambunctious and mischievous!
Within a short time, another huge problem crops up. Residual temporal energy that is clinging to Wrex is sucking other creatures through the wormhole. These deadly and bizarre creatures are hideously mutated and, unlike Wrex, they are not friendly, wreaking havoc wherever ever they go. Since Wrex is the one drawing them, the government quickly marks the pet dino for death.
For Jess, this is not acceptable, so they run away pursued by not only by combat troops with big guns, but also by mutant dinosaurs totally bent on their destruction. But fortunately, Wrex is one tough dinosaur-fightin’ dinosaur, because only Jess and Wrex stand between these monsters and the rest of the world.
about the author
Doing research on Cullen Bunn unearths all sorts of interesting things. He was the World’s Youngest Hypnotist, a part of his dad’s act when Cullen was three. He fought a cougar named Eight Ball. He has also been credited with writing over 514 comic books!
Following in his father’s footsteps, Cullen has been telling stories since he was a kid. His dad was a natural born storyteller and Cullen wanted to be as much like him as possible. But without the gift of gab, Cullen focused on writing and drawing instead.
In kindergarten, he wrote War of the Monsters, featuring King Kong, Mothra, Godzilla, and a bunch of other monsters. He still has the issue he drew in which he created superhero Matter Man, but he lost several of the issues about X-Lazer Knights, which he had shared with his fifth-grade friends. He and a friend started Hero Comics when he was a little older, creating and publishing mini-comics that they sold at comi-cons. His goal has always been working in comics.
Cullen didn’t make it big until he and Brian Hurtt created The Damn, a horror-meets-gangsters series, and he’s been working on comics ever since. Some are self published, others are for the big names Oni, Marvel, DC, Dynamite, IDW, Vertigo, and Boom! He also tackles short stories and novels and is especially known for his horror stories.
The inspiration for Terrible Lizard came way back in his childhood, just about the time he got his first bag full of little plastic dinosaurs. Dinosaurs have remained his passion and he finds them everywhere. Cullen is especially proud that Terrible Lizard is an all-ages story. He plans on doing lots more in the future.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Comic Book Resources
Author interview: Panel Patter
about the author/illustrator
Drew Moss, an illustrator from Hampton, Virginia, also works under the pen name Drewerd. His art has been featured in the comics Zombies vs. Robots, Outlaw Territory, The Colonized, The Crow: Pestilence, and Creepy Magazine. He has also worked as a penciller and an inker.
Drew and Cullen Bunn did a comic based on Cullen’s children’s horror novel, Crooked Hills. Cullen loved Drew’s monsters, so when he started working on the all-ages graphic novel Terrible Lizard, there was no question who would be doing the illustrations. They talked on a daily basis and, after drawing thrumbnail sketches and concept sketches, Drew just went for it.
He was allowed to go crazy creating the monsters that tumbled out of the wormhole. Both Cullen and Drew especially like the giant gorilla with the lobster claw arm. And for Wrex’s almost puppyish expressions and mannerism, Drew turned to his own dog, a Shar pei named Mowgi, for inspiration. The real challenge in the project came from the sheer size of the creatures. Working within the confines of a ten-inch book, Drew had to make the readers feel the immense weight and size of Wrex and the other monsters.
Drew’s favorite dinosaur? The Stegosaurus, of course!. Who wouldn’t love the giant back spines and the kick-ass spiky tail! Drew is also a fan of cold Coca Cola, lead pencil holders, Winsor & Newton brushes, and his wonderful wife and kids!
Sources:
Author interview: Panel Patter
Illustrator biography: Once Upon a Time Machine (Google Books)
Illustrator demo: Splitcoast Stampers
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