xenozoic tales

Kitchen Sink February 1987 – October 1996
Xenozoic Tales is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future. Originally published by Kitchen Sink Press, the series began in 1986 with the story “Xenozoic!” which was included in the horror comics anthology Death Rattle #8. This was shortly followed by Xenozoic Tales #1 in February 1987. Kitchen Sink published 14 issues between 1987 and 1996 and it has since been reprinted by several publishers, including Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Flesk Publications.

In 1994, Topps Comics began running their own continuation of Xenozoic Tales, also under the title Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. The series only ran for one year, in which they released nine issues. The stories were designed to complement the original series, taking place between in the midpoint of the story “Lords of the Earth” in Xenozoic Tales #10, right after Wilhelmina Scharnhorst is elected governor, but before Jack has been driven into exile. In the original story, that moment lasts for only a few minutes, but Topps Comics sought the permission of Mark Schultz to turn it into a “moment that stretches”.[8] While Mark Schultz did not write or draw any of the comics released by Topps, he was consulted on some of the story arcs to make sure they were kept as true to his vision as possible.

The series ran three main story arcs over the course of nine issues before “going on hiatus” right before the release of Xenozoic Tales issue #13.[9] A fourth storyline titled “Hammer of the Gods” was in the works, being drawn by David Roach, but was never released.

The series was well-received and in the early 1990s it won four Harvey Awards and three Eisner Awards. Despite this, issues started to be released further apart, eventually ceasing mid-story arc in issue #14.

In the storyline, Earth has been ravaged by pollution and natural disasters of all sorts in the 1990s. To escape this, humanity built vast underground cities in which they lived for approximately 500 years. Upon emerging, the humans found that the world had been reclaimed by previously extinct lifeforms (most spectacularly, dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals).[10] In the new ‘Xenozoic’ era, technology is extremely limited and those with mechanical skills command a great deal of respect and influence.

The two main characters of the series are mechanic Jack Tenrec and scientist/love interest, Hannah Dundee. Tenrec operates a garage in which he restores cars, particularly Cadillacs. Given that the post-apocalyptic world no longer possesses the ability to refine oil, Tenrec modifies his cars to run on dinosaur guano. These cars, of course, are frequently chased by rampaging dinosaurs in pulp style action-adventure stories.

Other characters include various criminals, politicians, scientists, and inventors who populate the dystopian world of tomorrow. There is also a race of reptilian humanoids called the Grith who cannot speak in a human language but instead communicate by spelling words with Scrabble tiles. These creatures have befriended Tenrec, and apparently have the ability to communicate telepathically with the dinosaurs. Added into the mix is Hermes, a half-tamed Allosaurus Jack raised, and who basically acts as the most threatening guard dog one could ask for.