Xenozoic Tales - The New World!

As the saga of the Xenozoic Age unfolds the secrets of how the world came to be the way it is are somewhat revealed though always with a hint of more to come and sense that no one is able to really grasp it all. We are mere humans after all and the Earth is much larger than we can comprehend really. 

The misadventures of Hannah Dundee, the ambassador from the fishing nation of Wassoon and her reluctant ally Jack Tenrec, the Old World Mechanic who argues for and makes manifest his desire that the human race keep its perspective and understand its role in the world which is not to dominate it utterly. Whatever happened to the Earth it affected the Moons too since there are two of them now.

The gravitational effect of those Moons proves deadly in a weird and oddly natural way. Mark Schultz is dandy in telling stories in which menace is lurking but not necessarily intelligence. This is a dangerous world and though malicous people abound, living to confront them is a major and ongoing task. Resting easy is not allowed in the Xenozoic Age.

Mark Schultz's talents as an artist really bloom into full form as the series progresses. He is an artist clearly inspired by Frazetta and other grand painters and illustrators of that ilk and he brings his understanding and familiarity with Frazetta and his kin to the page not in a slavish fashion but with new vigor. He has synthesized that which makes them evocative . Also in the latter issues of the run there's more than a hint of the mysterious depths of Skull Island and I think Shultz might've even have treated us to a trip to infamous Spider Pit in one sequence. He's not above giving a shout out to classic images from time to time as the the call-back of the vintage Weird Fantasy cover above shows so beautifully.

As the series proceeds, the time it takes to produce is a problem and Schultz's popularity means he has less time to devote to this labor of love. Our entry into the Xenozoic Age becomes more and more precarious as Shultz has less time to guide us on our way.

Soon the saga which draws together its protagonists against their twin cultures of Wassoon and The City in the Sea becomes effectively an annual event.

Each issue is a gem, a beauty to behold but the story momentum slows and the saga begins to  grind to a halt.

I say to a halt and not to a conclusion for reasons that reading the saga will reveal. This is one of those great unfinished masterpieces to be experienced in the moment.

Don't hate it because it leaves you wanting more, that's really what they all are supposed to do. 

If you've never read these stories I heartily recommend them and as I've said the black and white works best for me and Shultz's art shines. The weakness in the two Dark Horse volumes I have is that they don't reproduce the covers in any way and that does make the experience feel a bit incomplete. But only a little. You don't get everything you want in this life and that's really the theme of Mark Shultz's Xenozoic Tales. It's not a parable for our modern times and woes, but it could be. 

Note: This post originally appeared at Rip Jagger's Other Dojo. 

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