Dinosaurs for Hire
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. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Eternity Comics / Malibu Comics (currently owned by Marvel Comics) |
| Schedule | bimonthly |
| Publication date | March 1988–Jan. 1990 Feb. 1993–Feb. 1994 |
| No. of issues | 9 (1988–1990) 12 (1993–1994) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Tom Mason |
| Written by | Tom 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. When Malibu was purchased by Marvel Comics in 1993, the rights to Dinosaurs for Hire were included in the sale.
Synopsis
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.
In other media
Video games
Dinosaurs for Hire is a run and gun game published by Sega and developed by Malibu Interactive for the Sega Genesis. The game features Archie, Lorenzo and Reese as the main playable characters while Cyrano shows up from time to time to give mission briefings but is not playable (although preliminary screen shots showed Cyrano initially being available as a playable character). They must use their skills and expertise to perform risky missions for the people that hired them. The game features similar humor to the comic, such as the initial 'psych-out' opening for the game and the preponderance of ninjas as enemies. The game plays similar to Contra made by Konami.
Cancelled Animated Series
In an interview with Wackoid, Tom Mason claimed Fox optioned for a Dinosaurs for Hire animated series, but the show never made it out of development.[2]
References
- Markstein, Don. "Dinosaurs for Hire". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- "How Tom Mason's Dinosaurs for Hire Became a Video Game". Wackoid. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-20.