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Age of Reptiles #4
Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians
One of the most beloved and respected comic book series returns as Ricardo Delgado's Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians series marks a bold, new direction in wordless storytelling. The steaming swamps of Cretaceous Africa teem with prehistoric life and primordial danger in a tale filled with villains, victims, and one of the most dangerous and unpredictable protagonists ever created. Watch the lone, lonely anti-hero Spinosaurus Aegypticus as he faces a swamp full of dangerous, double-crossing dinosaurs in a plot-twisting parable that will remind you of the classic spaghetti western and the noble samurai tales of yore.
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 30, 2015
As much as I like dinosaurs this graphic novel just didn't work completely for me.
I did like the art, the story just never really got to me that much. I felt detached from it. There were some moments when the story moved me, like the one in the pic below and some sad "Survival of the fittest" moments when some poor dinosaur got killed.
Like this poor chap.
But all and all, not a favorite graphic novel of mine. Thankfully the art was good, but I kept on forgetting to read this story so it took my way longer than usual to finish it and that's just not a good sign for a good book. In the end, I just had to sit down and finish it so that I could move on to something else to read.
Thanks to Dark Horse Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I did like the art, the story just never really got to me that much. I felt detached from it. There were some moments when the story moved me, like the one in the pic below and some sad "Survival of the fittest" moments when some poor dinosaur got killed.
Like this poor chap.
But all and all, not a favorite graphic novel of mine. Thankfully the art was good, but I kept on forgetting to read this story so it took my way longer than usual to finish it and that's just not a good sign for a good book. In the end, I just had to sit down and finish it so that I could move on to something else to read.
Thanks to Dark Horse Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
August 20, 2021
To do a fine job with silent comics, you have to have a lot of training. Their odds are stacked against them. Being restricted from using exactly half of the linguistic vocabulary means that the artist must only use images to convey his or her message. To make their intentions, motivations, and desires known, characters must rely on visual clues when they are unable to reveal their own objectives to the reader. It's not as tough as it sounds, but these figures demand a lot of the artist. Besides being able to draw characters that can be recognized and tell stories from panel to panel, the artist must also be able to communicate all the weight that a writer of words often carries. Personality. Interaction. Interrogative. Exclamation. Reaction to a thought, an emotion, or a feeling In order to be successful in these duties, you need the help of a master.
He is back at it again, this time presenting a fascinating narrative of dinosaur drama in prehistoric northern Egypt, which was much different from what we know it to be in the modern world. We have a gigantic Spinosaurus as our primary character, whose riverine adventures and travails elicit a remarkable amount of drama and passion from a cast that has no language and just limited facial expressions. Age of Reptiles Omnibus, Vol. 1 is a masterpiece of epic narrative, but this is a masterclass of intimate storytelling, far away from human experience, yet universal in its struggles and conclusion. The only problem with this one is that eventually, it had to end.
It's not surprising that a wildlife story has a high amount of brutality. To live, the huge reptiles consume and kill, sometimes violently. Although there is some blood, gore, and offal, the amounts are neither excessive nor ostentatious. However, even with the anthropomorphism, this is still very much a nature narrative. If you're a dinosaur enthusiast or have been in the past, you'll love this book. As an outstanding example of a picture being worth 1,000 words, Delgado's work is a valuable addition to any graphic novel library.
September 24, 2018
Good, but not as good as the original books. I was really looking forward to Delgado doing his own colors again, but sadly they lacked the pop and impact of the original series. The art seemed a little rushed this time around as well.
March 26, 2017
2.5
قصة صامتة عن الصراع ما بين الانواع المختلفة ل ديناصورات دون وجود للبشر
صراع الطبيعية في صورته الخام
قصة صامتة عن الصراع ما بين الانواع المختلفة ل ديناصورات دون وجود للبشر
صراع الطبيعية في صورته الخام
August 24, 2017
Slightly not as good as the first volume. Violent, so parents check before giving to your children. Still pretty good dinosaur fiction.
March 17, 2016
Age Of Reptiles is an occasional comic series telling dinosaur tales about survival in a harsh environment amongst the apex creatures of the period. Each series covers a handful of issues, before being collected into books such as this one, and reads like a wildlife documentary with the barest of anthropomorphic suggestions to behaviour and posture to get across emotional responses. It’s crowning triumph is Ricardo Delgado’s rich and textured artwork that depicts a lost world in fascinating detail, from flora and fauna to landscapes and waterways, and his gift as a visual storyteller to project drama, tragedy and triumph across these animals from the Mesozoic.
This collection focuses on Cretaceous Africa, long before the might of Ancient Egypt, where we follow a lone Spinosaurus carving out a living in a richly populated swamp. Not only must he find food to sustain himself, but there are direct threats to himself from other hungry predators and giant herbivores too. You can almost imagine the David Attenborough narration overlaid on the daily rhythms of survival as herbivores cross paths with carnivores who in turn cross paths with other carnivores who in turn cross paths with other herbivores, all straining to make it through another day, find food and rear their young. The drama comes from the perceived thought processes and responses demonstrated by the dinosaurs reactions to one another, all done without words or captions, drawing you in deeper as you project motives and reasons onto the protagonists, as if they’re street gangs in some run-down urban environment.
Anyone who enjoys a wildlife documentary will get something beneficial from this, but anyone who likes dinosaurs can only feel elation at such a beautifully crafted and well executed work.
This collection focuses on Cretaceous Africa, long before the might of Ancient Egypt, where we follow a lone Spinosaurus carving out a living in a richly populated swamp. Not only must he find food to sustain himself, but there are direct threats to himself from other hungry predators and giant herbivores too. You can almost imagine the David Attenborough narration overlaid on the daily rhythms of survival as herbivores cross paths with carnivores who in turn cross paths with other carnivores who in turn cross paths with other herbivores, all straining to make it through another day, find food and rear their young. The drama comes from the perceived thought processes and responses demonstrated by the dinosaurs reactions to one another, all done without words or captions, drawing you in deeper as you project motives and reasons onto the protagonists, as if they’re street gangs in some run-down urban environment.
Anyone who enjoys a wildlife documentary will get something beneficial from this, but anyone who likes dinosaurs can only feel elation at such a beautifully crafted and well executed work.
January 6, 2016
This month Dark Horse Comics is releasing the Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians trade paperback, which collects the four-part comic book series published last summer by artist Ricardo Delgado with Ryan Hill as the color artist. This is the fourth installment of the Age of Reptiles series that commenced with Age of Reptiles: Tribal Warfare (1993) and was followed up by the Eisner Award-winning Age of Reptiles: The Hunt (1997) and Age of Reptiles: The Journey (2003). In this installment, a spinosaurus, one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs to have lived, is the featured protagonist.
Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians takes place during the Cenomanian Age, when the pyramids and pharaohs were not yet a glimmer on the horizon of the Bahariya Oasis that would eventually become part of Egypt. Delgado creates a.....
Please take a read of my entire review at: http://www.fanboycomics.net/index.php...
Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians takes place during the Cenomanian Age, when the pyramids and pharaohs were not yet a glimmer on the horizon of the Bahariya Oasis that would eventually become part of Egypt. Delgado creates a.....
Please take a read of my entire review at: http://www.fanboycomics.net/index.php...
July 2, 2016
Very, very cool little comic. This is one of those ones with no words in it which I personally really tend to like.
The art in here was really old fashioned and reminded me very much of Japanese wood block prints. (Later, after finishing this book and seeing the creator's essays, he does say that he is hugely inspired by Japanese art).
But I thought the whole idea of a never ending cycle of life and death was cool especially since it contained dinosaurs.
The panels were set up really cool and I loved the double page scene of the dinosaurs at night. So cool!
The art in here was really old fashioned and reminded me very much of Japanese wood block prints. (Later, after finishing this book and seeing the creator's essays, he does say that he is hugely inspired by Japanese art).
But I thought the whole idea of a never ending cycle of life and death was cool especially since it contained dinosaurs.
The panels were set up really cool and I loved the double page scene of the dinosaurs at night. So cool!
February 5, 2018
My latest comic book read is Ricardo Delgado’s Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians, part of Delgado’s Age of Reptiles series, in which the artist creates stories about (slightly) anthropomorphized dinosaurs in their natural setting and time period. This specific comic follows a season in the life of a Spinosaurus, one of the largest known carnivorous dinosaurs, in it’s natural habitat - what has become modern day Egypt.
I don’t really have much to say about this comic. The artwork was incredibly beautiful, detailed, and full of life, but the story was… sort of lacking. While some of the dinosaurs have anthropomorphized features, Delgado tries to paint dinosaur life as naturally and organically as if we were watching a wildlife documentary… one without commentary. There is no text in Age of Reptiles, and why would there be? It’s a comic book depicting Cretaceous life, as such the story is driven wholly by plot… and I found that a little boring. It did take me a while to get through this comic, I just wasn’t particularly drawn to the “characters” or the plot.
But where this comic excels is in the art, as it should. Delgado truly transports you to an ancient world filled with dinosaurs and wildlife that is now-extinct, and provides a colourful snapshot of ancient reptilian life.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
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I don’t really have much to say about this comic. The artwork was incredibly beautiful, detailed, and full of life, but the story was… sort of lacking. While some of the dinosaurs have anthropomorphized features, Delgado tries to paint dinosaur life as naturally and organically as if we were watching a wildlife documentary… one without commentary. There is no text in Age of Reptiles, and why would there be? It’s a comic book depicting Cretaceous life, as such the story is driven wholly by plot… and I found that a little boring. It did take me a while to get through this comic, I just wasn’t particularly drawn to the “characters” or the plot.
But where this comic excels is in the art, as it should. Delgado truly transports you to an ancient world filled with dinosaurs and wildlife that is now-extinct, and provides a colourful snapshot of ancient reptilian life.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnh...
May 30, 2022
My dinosaur mania is in full swing thanks to PREHISTORIC PLANET. I finally tracked down a used copy of Ricardo Delgado 's AGE OF REPTILES: ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. I've loved the other AOR books for years, but had somehow never gotten ahold of this volume. This morning I cozied up between a couple dogs while the kids played Zelda and dug in.
I'm pleased to report that it's a visual feast of wordless storytelling. I loved every line of the intricate, layered artwork. It's packed with ideas from nature that I've never seen applied to dinosaurs. Fearsome Sauropods stomping a predator to death. A ballet of bloodstained life surrounding an enormous dinosaur corpse acting as a terrestrial whale fall and becoming an environment unto itself. It's beautiful and brutal and complex.
But what I didn't expect is that it also contains three short essays that moved me to the brink of tears. One on the relationship between Samurai films and Westerns, racism and art, and the magic of inspiration crossing cultural lines and bringing people closer. One on Delgado's incredible career and life. And one, of course, about THE VALLEY OF GWANGI and a kid's complicated relationship with a Catholic church. Any wonder I love this so much?
Highest possible recommendation, well worth hunting down a copy. Wish I had done it sooner.
I'm pleased to report that it's a visual feast of wordless storytelling. I loved every line of the intricate, layered artwork. It's packed with ideas from nature that I've never seen applied to dinosaurs. Fearsome Sauropods stomping a predator to death. A ballet of bloodstained life surrounding an enormous dinosaur corpse acting as a terrestrial whale fall and becoming an environment unto itself. It's beautiful and brutal and complex.
But what I didn't expect is that it also contains three short essays that moved me to the brink of tears. One on the relationship between Samurai films and Westerns, racism and art, and the magic of inspiration crossing cultural lines and bringing people closer. One on Delgado's incredible career and life. And one, of course, about THE VALLEY OF GWANGI and a kid's complicated relationship with a Catholic church. Any wonder I love this so much?
Highest possible recommendation, well worth hunting down a copy. Wish I had done it sooner.
April 30, 2021
Ricardo Delgado is at it again, this time telling a dazzling story of dinosaur drama in the prehistoric location of northern Egypt, which is a fair bit different than how we know it today. Our main character is a huge Spinosaurus, whose riverine travels and travails evoke a stunning amount of drama and emotion from a cast that has no dialogue and limited facial expressions. But just like the epic perfection that we see in Age of Reptiles Omnibus, Vol. 1, what we see here is a master class in storytelling that is both sweeping in scope yet intimate in detail, far removed from human experience, yet universal in its conflicts and resolution. The only problem with this one is that eventually, it had to end.
Disclaimer: I know Ricardo Delgado personally, and took part in the publication of his novel, Warhead. I was not asked to write this review, and received no compensation for it in any form.
Disclaimer: I know Ricardo Delgado personally, and took part in the publication of his novel, Warhead. I was not asked to write this review, and received no compensation for it in any form.
January 15, 2020
Beautiful illustrations bring to the page the imagined world and life of the dinosaurs. I love the detail in the images, from the wide sweeping vistas to the fine detail on the close-ups of the dinosaurs teeth and scales. Not every panel is so detailed, but the overall impression is one of tremendous life and vitality. As far as story, things get a bit repetitive here. It’s always about Hunter versus hunted, kill or be killed. Usually this involves larger dinosaurs going after another’s young, and the parents seeking revenge or trying to rescue them. The author admit that this is based off of a spaghetti western. If you can imagine a giant Spinosaurus as the wandering cowboy. That does make it more interesting, but all of the tangental stories with other species are less so. The existence is pretty bleak and brutal, so this isn’t a book I would recommend for younger kids.
June 12, 2021
I liked the earlier Age of Reptiles series more than this one. In this volume, the art seems even more detailed, but unfortunately that just served to make it overly complex and muddied. I realize detailed and muddied seem to indicate two totally different things, but in this case that's just what happened. I notice in the earlier series he kept the backgrounds a little simpler during the action sequences, but here the backgrounds were complex and it just seemed to all run together to me. And it seemed to never end, as it was just page after page of complex artwork that served to give me a slight headache. This could just be me, but I read this right after I read the omnibus and the difference in the art just jumped out at me. Overall this wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as the earlier volumes in my opinion.
October 7, 2023
A lone Spinosaurus faces off against a horde of fellow dangerous dinosaurs. The title for this volume is a clever play on how the Spinosaurus represents one of the original denizens of Egypt. The story is meant to take the form of a silent spaghetti western, though the lack of words do make the narrative a little unclear at times.
Delgado's artwork is at its sharpest with this volume, with his panel layouts getting a bit more creative and the colors are more textured. But with the increasing use of smaller panels some of the artwork becomes a bit more of a challenge with respect to backing out the narrative flow, and so I had a tougher time connecting with this story compared to some of the previous entries. It's still solid wordless comic storytelling, but it isn't all that substantial with respect to the story.
Delgado's artwork is at its sharpest with this volume, with his panel layouts getting a bit more creative and the colors are more textured. But with the increasing use of smaller panels some of the artwork becomes a bit more of a challenge with respect to backing out the narrative flow, and so I had a tougher time connecting with this story compared to some of the previous entries. It's still solid wordless comic storytelling, but it isn't all that substantial with respect to the story.
May 14, 2020
The AoR books have a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf. And the latest entry, Ancient Egyptians, is a unique, brutal, consummately glorious story. Make no mistake, the tale is populated exclusively with an anti-hero and accompanying “villains.” But that truly adds to its strength given the cold calculus swimming beneath the surface of all natural beauty. The amalgam of art and wordless storytelling is so consummately rich that you could pore over the details in a single panel for minutes at a time and still find new features and narrative nuances every time you reread. I’ve passed the AoR love on to my daughter - lately, she requests that we read Ancient Egyptians several times each week, for which I am immensely grateful.
November 19, 2021
Lots of lovely dinosaurs
Like the previous book, this has page after page of terrific palaeoart with dinosaurs of every shape and colour. The setting and anatomy are both accurate and stunning : there are some amazing "everything and the kitchen sink" dinoramas of bloodied, sprawling beasts.
Unfortunately the "narrative "is meandering, confusing and unresolved (like life huh?) I struggled to figure out what was happening at times: was that a dream sequence our Spinosaurus protagonist had of eating his yet unborn offspring? Differentiating between the various gangs was at times difficult.
That said, the pics are never less than beautiful and the author's afterword shows him to be a bloody nice chap. Anyone who loves "Valley Of The Gwangi" is alright in my book.
Like the previous book, this has page after page of terrific palaeoart with dinosaurs of every shape and colour. The setting and anatomy are both accurate and stunning : there are some amazing "everything and the kitchen sink" dinoramas of bloodied, sprawling beasts.
Unfortunately the "narrative "is meandering, confusing and unresolved (like life huh?) I struggled to figure out what was happening at times: was that a dream sequence our Spinosaurus protagonist had of eating his yet unborn offspring? Differentiating between the various gangs was at times difficult.
That said, the pics are never less than beautiful and the author's afterword shows him to be a bloody nice chap. Anyone who loves "Valley Of The Gwangi" is alright in my book.
May 5, 2018
Another solid book. The art continues to be gorgeous and the world is well-populated (almost to the point of disbelief, you can't take a step without tripping on a dinosaur here). There's some gore - a couple panels are pretty graphic - but nothing in the book is 'worse' than what you'd see in a nature documentary. I appreciated the eye for detail, capturing every moment of the dinosaurs' lives from eating to mating to sleeping to defecating. They feel real.
I do wish for a bit more - it feels like we only get small snippets of related groups of dinosaurs.
I do wish for a bit more - it feels like we only get small snippets of related groups of dinosaurs.
June 5, 2023
Boh, senza lode né infamia. Belle le illustrazioni un po' stile primal ma questa cosa di mettere scuti e spuntoni sui teropodi DEVE FINIRE. Che cavolo, non sono dei coccodrilli!
Il problema principale però è che non c'è una storia vera e propria. Cosa desidera il protagonista? Chi è il protagonista? Qual è la minaccia che deve affrontare? Boh.
Io ho visto dei dinosauri che si scazzottavano e si mangiavano a vicenda fine. In un fumetto si vorrebbe almeno una storia con un inizio, uno svolgimento e una conclusione, sennò guardavo un documentario.
Il problema principale però è che non c'è una storia vera e propria. Cosa desidera il protagonista? Chi è il protagonista? Qual è la minaccia che deve affrontare? Boh.
Io ho visto dei dinosauri che si scazzottavano e si mangiavano a vicenda fine. In un fumetto si vorrebbe almeno una storia con un inizio, uno svolgimento e una conclusione, sennò guardavo un documentario.
July 26, 2017
There is so much life in the illustrations that it took me as long to read this wordless graphic novel as if it had had text in it. The drawings aren't just beautiful, they construct scenes that force contemplation. So what's it about?: A loner dinosaur surviving in a savage battle royal world. Every dinosaur in the book is negotiating circumstances of life and death, over and over again. We see how they win and how they lose, how they die with one wrong move. Tense, beautiful fiction.
January 2, 2020
If you’ve read and loved Age of Reptiles, you’ve got more of the same here. Spellbindingly gorgeous artwork, Ricardo Delgados Dinosaurs, and more of the text-less visual story telling. This one’s a very short read that you could devour this is 15 minutes. But always yearns to be read more than once and be totally worth it.
May 4, 2020
Комикс, в котором все герои - динозавры. Казалось бы, этого достаточно, но Ancient Egyptians - ещё и отличный пример исключительно визуального повествования. Ни единого пузырька с текстом, но все понятно.
Удивительно атмосферный то ли вестерн, то ли самурайский фильм с гигантским спинозавром вместо Клинта Иствуда.
Идеально, хочу экранизацию.
Удивительно атмосферный то ли вестерн, то ли самурайский фильм с гигантским спинозавром вместо Клинта Иствуда.
Идеально, хочу экранизацию.
October 5, 2023
I had never heard of a silent comic before picking this up.
I was waiting for the dialogue to set in before I remembered that dinosaurs don't speak. The art was fantastic and very strong. At times it even seemed that the artist was trying to tie human facial expression into the dinosaurs which I thought weird but understandable.
Overall not a very memorable read but okay.
I was waiting for the dialogue to set in before I remembered that dinosaurs don't speak. The art was fantastic and very strong. At times it even seemed that the artist was trying to tie human facial expression into the dinosaurs which I thought weird but understandable.
Overall not a very memorable read but okay.
March 12, 2023
Recommend for all dinosaur lovers
This book is full of drawings of the prehistoric animals of Africa during the Cretaceous era. In this book you will get to see Spinosaurus, Carchardontasaurus, Rugops, Paralititan and various prehistoric crocodilians battle it out with each other.
This book is full of drawings of the prehistoric animals of Africa during the Cretaceous era. In this book you will get to see Spinosaurus, Carchardontasaurus, Rugops, Paralititan and various prehistoric crocodilians battle it out with each other.
December 2, 2016
A great bit of art. I like coming across comic books like these; no words or thoughts are used just pictures. I leaves a lot to the readers interpretation.
March 11, 2018
3.5 stars
January 7, 2021
I wanted to like this as much as Delgado's original omnibus. Alas the color-blind panel test with hidden detail and contrived ronin storyline made this nearly indigestible for me
January 14, 2024
Brutal, this one.
November 22, 2018
I have read all of Delgado’s Age of Reptiles series. This story acts as a stand-alone tale. In some ways this story acts as a wordless picture book. The tale of the life of a male Spinosaurus living in Cretaceous North Africa was intriguing. The added details of other species made the world feel full of life and color, which helped to bring life to a world we can only otherwise read about in dry dinosaur books or imagine while looking at fossils. Delgado is able to imbue his dinosaurs with great character, despite never having them speak. They instead speak with their actions, like dinosaurs most likely would have. These creatures are driven to eat, to mate, to survive in an unforgiving draconian world. This book is great for anyone who wants to try and see into the world dinosaurs lived in.
June 5, 2016
“Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians” is the fourth book in Ricardo Delgado’s ongoing dinosaur series. It’s a self-contained story that, finally collected, shows not only the breadth of Delgado’s artistic talent, but also the skill in his plotting and storytelling as he delivers some Mesozoic mayhem.
By day, Ricardo Delgado works as an animator and storyboard artist for places like Disney and Nickelodeon, and that sense of rhythm, pacing, and storytelling come out clearly in his latest miniseries, “Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians.” Just like previous entries in this series, it’s delivered wordlessly (without even sounds effects or onomatopoeia!) and it’s entirely captivating.
Read the rest of my review at MULTIVERSITY COMICS!
By day, Ricardo Delgado works as an animator and storyboard artist for places like Disney and Nickelodeon, and that sense of rhythm, pacing, and storytelling come out clearly in his latest miniseries, “Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians.” Just like previous entries in this series, it’s delivered wordlessly (without even sounds effects or onomatopoeia!) and it’s entirely captivating.
Read the rest of my review at MULTIVERSITY COMICS!
May 2, 2016
Richard Delgado does it again in this amazing continuation of his beautiful silent comic series. This time he focuses on the life of a solitary young Spinosaurus. It isn't quite as strong as the first series, but it is still pretty amazing. Fair warning though, this one is much more brutal and violent than the previous entries. But it works to tell a story far different from those that precede it. You can definitely feel the Kurosawa influence in this story (which is explained deeper in the book's afterword). The only issue I found with it, was some of the color work. I felt use of textured brushes didn't always blend well with the more simple inking style. And a few panels felt really flat, making somethings harder to read. But that is about as deep as complaints can go when discussing Delgado's amazing panels. Well worth a read if you enjoyed the previous entries in the series.
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