#Xenozoic Tales

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Hannah Dundee from Xenozoic Tales / Cadillacs & Dinosaurs by Mark Schultz

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Cadillacs and Dinosaurs by Mark Schultz

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Xenozoic Tales - art by Mark Schultz (1994)

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Mark Schultz

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From "Xenozoic!" by Mark Schultz. Featured in Death Rattle no. 8 (December, 1986)

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"Cadillacs & Dinosaurs" by Mark Schultz

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Just another day in the Xenozoic, by Mark Schultz.

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By Mark Schultz 

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Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (1990) Issue #1 Cover Linework

Mark Schultz

Source

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Xenozoic Tales Vol. 1

by Mark Schultz

After the Cataclysm, the Earth has reawakened and the dinosaurs walk the world again. But man still has some artifacts of old civilization - ruined cities, firearms, and mechanical marvels that power the cities and can move him around this new world. But there are still dangers around every corner, and you need a man like Jack Tenrec to keep you safe.

Quite the phenomenon in the late 1980's and early 1990s, this book reprints issues one through six and includes the very first Xenozoic story from Death Rattle #8. The first issues featured two stories each and served to really set up this world. In fact, this entire volume is Schultz world-building and establishing his characters. The world is a different place and much technology has been lost in the 500 years since the Cataclysm. Some people retain the ability to work with machines, but others have degenerated to a hunter/gatherer state. While people still huddle in cities, the interior of the land is very wild and dangerous and hides many unique secrets.

While there are still scientists hoping to bring mankind back to a greater form of civilization, there are also criminals and politicians that only look out for themselves. The more things change, the more they stay the same! The complexities of this new world only offer more issues and more conflict.

Jack Tenrec is a mechanic and a de facto leader in the tribe of the City by the Sea. While he chooses not to be an official member of the government, others look up to him and respect him for his ideals. He warns that people should live in concert with the world, not try to change it for their benefit, but those in power don't often listen until it's too late. Jack's affinity for machines has him living and working in a garage separated from the rest of the city, where he works on his archaic vehicles and converts them to guano power from whatever those ancients used. Cleaner energy for sure!

Jack is introduced to Hannah Dundee, an ambassador and something of a scientist from the distant land of Wasson. She seeks to initiate trade and knowledge exchange between the tribes. She is insatiably curious and headstrong. Just like any woman should be in the post-Cataclysmic world.

There's a lot of commentary in the undertones of the book, and some that's not exactly undertones as well. This book forms a cautionary tale about ecological and political disaster that we can still take to heart almost 35 years later. And all of it is draped in a lot of pulp action and gorgeous line art.

Schultz is in the same category of the Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer), Al Williamson (Flash Gordon), and Milton Cannif (Terry and the Pirates). His art style is gorgeous with detailed lines and a style that borders on the cheesecake. You won't find any ugly women in this series! He takes special care in rendering the animals and dinosaurs as well, and his backgrounds are full of detail and shadow that just draws you into this world. From complex machinery that has a real Jack Kirby feel to the expanses of the Xenozoic world, each panel is a joy to explore. This book is worth your time even if you don't want to read the story. Just page through it and absorb the artwork.

Filled with monsters, machines, and mysteries, Xenozoic Tales is certainly worth a read. Escape the current world for an afternoon and disappear into Mark Schultz's creation. You won't regret it.

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Xenozoic Tales (Cadillacs and Dinosaurs) by Mark Schultz

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Happy birthday to Mark Schultz!

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Hannah Dundee by Sanford Greene

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Mark Schultz

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From "Xenozoic!" by Mark Schultz. Featured in Death Rattle no. 8 (December, 1986)