A 2022 strip from the webcomic dinos & comics, an exchange between two dinosaurs who, in other strips, profess their love for one another. (The creators of the comic have gone to some trouble not to gender these two dinosaurs; Blu is blue, Brn is reddish brown, but otherwise they’re identical in appearance.) Whatever their romantic status might be, they are certainly involved in a deep friendship with one another; in this strip, Brn reports one of the great satisfactions of deep friendship: in the company of your friend, you feel that you’re the best person you can be:
(#1) dinos & comics — on its website, described as “a comic about depressed dinosaurs who find hope in each other” — came to an end a little while back, and has been succeeded by a new series, dinosaur couch, in which the title makes clear the theme of therapy and counseling in the comics.
Still other themes: the search for human connection and for meaning in a meaningless world. All of this sounds earnest, and possibly helpful to your mental health, but it fails to capture the charm, wry insights, frequently self-mocking tone, and occasional downright silliness of these comics.
Meanwhile, the visual style is minimalist.
What I usually do after getting acquainted with a new comic strip is investigate the creator(s) of the comic and something of its history. In this case, the home page for dinos & comics leads to more strips but not much information.
But … the strips have been made into a series of books, published by HarperCollins and listed as being by James Stewart (author) and K Roméy (illustrator): Dinosaur Therapy (2021), Dinosaur Philosophy (2022), Dinosaur Friendship (2023). The covers of the books:
(#2)
(#3)
(#4)
About the creators, from the HarperCollins website:
James Stewart is a British citizen who has resided in Finland for the past seven years. Prior to becoming a full-time comic writer he worked in communications for various international NGOs including the UN. He has a BA in Politics and Philosophy, and a Masters in Political Theory. His hobbies include chess, listening to too many podcasts, and walking his dogs.
K Roméy is a Canadian artist from Ontario. Before becoming a full-time illustrator, K worked other creative jobs ranging from kitchen design to building 3D models for new construction projects. When they aren’t drawing or animating, K enjoys reading books, watching nature documentaries, and going on random road trips.
That’s really all I know about them.
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