Xenozoic Views
Fourteen issues later, Xenozoic Tales seems to have stalled. A television series and an arcade video game have done little to increase the appreciation of a master story-teller and brilliant artist at the top of his craft. And so I offer to you a synopsis of what has come to pass in the world of Cadillac Jack Tenrec.
(A postscript! This past September, I had the honor of meeting and spending a good deal of time with Mark Schultz at the first ever Trinoc*con. Mark is an incredibly friendly guy, and he enjoyed the nickel tour I gave him of the Research Triangle. During the course of the weekend, we talked about our mutual interests, his inspirations, and, eventually, Xenozoic Tales. He assured me he still has a story to tell, and it is burning him to get it out, but he fears the comic book market cannot sustain the kind of story-telling he wants to do. So, he is evaluating other ways to go on telling his tales, about which I will say very little except that he seems to be dedicated to doing it right. There was also discussion of his illustrations for an upcoming volume of Robert Howard's Conan and giant praying mantises.)
Xenozoic Tales is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future.[1] Publication began in 1986 with the story Xenozoic! included in the comic anthology Death Rattle. This was shortly followed by Xenozoic Tales #1 in February 1987. The comic series ran for 14 issues, and has been reprinted by several publishers, including Kitchen Sink Press, Marvel, and Dark Horse.
In the storyline, the Earth has been ravaged by pollution and natural disasters of all sorts. To escape this, humanity built vast underground cities in which they lived for approximately 600 years. Upon emerging, the humans found that the world had been reclaimed by previously extinct lifeforms (most spectacularly, dinosaurs).[3] In the new 'Xenozoic' era, technology is extremely limited and those with mechanical skills command a great deal of respect and influence.
Xenozoic Images
