Title: 2 Dumb Dinos
Author: Nathan Hamill and Eric Filipkowski
Publication date: 29 October 2024
Publisher: Titan Comics
Genre: Graphic Novel
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy from Titan books and left an honest review voluntarily and am in no way influenced by sarcastic talking lizards.
Amazon buying link: Here
Synopsis:
2 Dumb Dinos is an irreverent, but affectionate, take on the long tradition of the classic newspaper funny page strips. Influenced by likes of Peanuts, Clavin & Hobbs and The Far Side, as well as Matt Groening’s ‘Life is Hell’.
THEY’RE DUMB. THEY’RE DINOS. THERE’S TWO OF THEM!
Welcome to the irreverently silly world of two Dinos with their hooves and claws on the pulse of all things pop-cultury. Referencing everything from BK Joes, to Chinese spy balloons, to missing Top Secret White House documents to the latest Hollywood blockbuster! This collection of the cult digital comic strips, available for the first time ever in book form, is a celebration of the glorious tradition of the American newspaper Funnies immortalized by the likes of Peanuts, The Far Side, Pearls Before Swine and Wizard of Id but skewered by the humor of South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants and Drunk Histories.
It’s an affectionate and downright silly slice of American pie with a side order of Dino guano thrown in for free!
Review
2 Dumb Dinos is exactly what it says on the tin. Its two prehistoric pests in profile pontificating on popular culture. (see what I did there. I love alliteration)
The synopsis and blurb sent to me indicated that the comedy styling was in the vein of great comic strips like Peanuts and Far Side. Being part of the actual physical newspaper generation I remember Hagar the Horrible, Andy Capp and Fred Basset read by my dad. I remember chuckling even though I wasn’t completely sure what I was laughing about.
Then came Garfield, Peanuts, Far Side and Dilbert with their Millenial dark humour and I finally understood and could laugh along at their subtle dig at the modern world and the bleak insight into pop-culture. I adore Nemi and the Love Is… comic strips and moved onto XKCD and Cyanide and Happiness when online comics became more in vogue and easier to access.
My humour style is dark, slightly abstract and maybe even a little dirty which is why I had high hopes for 2 Dumb Dinos.
Yet, I honestly think I might be aged out by this duo.
While the elegantly simplistic format, the irreverent discussion and the banter hark back to the golden age of comic strips. I think that 2 Dumb Dinos is too Gen Z for me to enjoy.
Gen Z humour is absurdist, surrealism that goes from zero to WTF in three panels: which pretty much encapsulates 2 Dumb Dinos. There is no real punch-line other than the frankly psychotic twist that takes you from the set-up to the left-field ending. Every panel makes me feel like this:
This particular one is a good example. I must have read and reread it at least five times and genuinely didn’t understand what was supposed to be funny.
I wondered if it was me, was I so out of touch? I wanted to enjoy the comic but it wasn’t for me and I think that’s ok.
I didn’t understand the Boomer “I hate my wife” humour, I don’t get the extremely random nihilistic Gen Z humour and Generation Alpha’s Sigma, Skibidi, Ohio leaves me totally blank.
But I do hate Mondays and love lasagne so I’ll stick with that.
Thanks to Titan books and the author for my review copy.
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