PANELED: DINOSAUR COMICS

Author | Ryan North
Genre | Stand-Alone Comedy
Updates | Mon-Fri
Home | dinosaurcomics.com

In this post-modern world, any punk with a liberal arts degree will tell you that creativity is all about breaking rules. Or, better yet, not even acknowledging the fact that rules ever existed. But who cares what they think? Those jerks are wrong, and Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics is a top-notch webcomic precisely because he has to think inside the box(es).

North uses the same six clip-art panels in every comic, only changing the dialogue. But Dinosaur Comics doesn’t get old because his witty, eccentric humor keeps the pace dynamic. The star of the show, T-Rex, converses with his pals Dromiceiomimus, Utahraptor, God, the Devil and occasionally Shakespeare about literature, video games, alternate universes or whatever naive, nerdy, dirty thought crosses his mind.

I could carry on about what makes this all so great, but I’ll let the comics and North speak for themselves.

Why dinosaurs?

Mainly it’s because they’re awesome. I could’ve done “Creepy Spiders Living Under Your Bed And Crawling Into Your Mouth While You Sleep Comics”, but that’s a harder sell, you know?

Who lives in the log cabin and who is that poor lady?

Poor lady? She’s the most competent character in the entire comic! Every day her house and very self are threatened by T-Rex, and every day she makes a ninja-like escape between panels 4 and 5. She’s kinda amazing.

Rumor has it you longboard. Is this true? Are you a downhill daredevil?

Yep, I longboard! Longboarding’s great for a few reasons, one of which is that EVERYBODY looks awesome on a longboard. You never see a longboarder and think “Wow, that person would be awesome if only they weren’t on a sweet deck.” Instead you think, “Wow, I need to reevaluate my life choices because I’m not on a longboard right now.”

You’ve been to Boston before. What’s your best story from the Hub?

One time a bunch of us went to the Google offices after hours and accidentally spilled M+Ms on the floor? That’s not the best story though. Ooh! Another time I had really bad allergies. Wait, I can do this. Okay, one time during ROFLCon (ROFLCon II, if I recall correctly) we stayed up late in our hotel room telling each other secrets.

Listen I’ll have to get back to you on this one.

What would you do if the entire internet disappeared tomorrow?

This is a ridiculous question because I have taken the precaution of printing out the internet in my spare room. It is on microfiche. If you want, I can fax you a few pages, or we can just chat about it on teletype!

Best Chinese restaurant name punning on the word “wok” you can think of / make up?

There are SO MANY of these in Toronto, and tons more riffing on “Thai” (“Thai One On”, “Bag and Thai”, “Wok In And Thai”, etc). Anyway mine would be called “Wokking on the Sun” and we would play Smashmouth 24/7 and also have heaters going full blast. It would be an experience restaurant, and it also doubles as a good example of why I am not in the restaurant business.

Final thoughts?

Only that everyone should be reading comics because, like caramel sauce, they make life better. Also, like the sauce, you can make them in your own home pretty easily. But if you’re just starting out, the ones done by professionals are usually better. But then eventually your caramel sauces or comics are amazing!

What I’m saying is comics: let’s all eat them?

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