Blastosaurus

Blastosaurus is a comic book series by New Zealand writer Richard Fairgray. Inspired by , it follows the adventures of Blastosaurus, a mutated dinosaur working as a policeman to keep Freak Out City safe.
The Blastosaurus series started in 2008 and is intended to capture the interest of children as well as adult comic book readers. Blastosaurus was originally drawn and written entirely by Richard Fairgray but now includes a writing credit to co-writer Terry Jones who wrote the teen fiction novel The Left Handed Gun. The titles of the story arcs are all references to film terms. Jeff Katz has announced in July 2009 that Blastosaurus will be picked up by his Top Cow Productions imprint American Original Press. In 2010 Blastosaurus was released at San Diego Comic Con. Blastosaurus has also begun to be released as a free, full colour webcomic.
The story so far
In the first story arc. Welcome To Freakout City, Blastosaurus is mutated in the past and follows some other mutated dinosaurs (the raptors), who have just killed his mother, through a time tunnel and into the future. He is thrown out of time further ahead than the 'raptors' that he follows and consequently they have had an impact on the place he arrives in. He meets three freedom fighters who give him a blaster and help him get back to the time when the raptors arrived so that he can stop them from wreaking havoc on Freak Out City. This was done just as the raptors attacked their hideout and killed all three.
In the 'present day' Blastosaurus meets a boy called Richard Greene who hides him in his attic and gives him some clothes. Blastosaurus has a fight with raptors which gets him thrown in jail by the police. Eventually this misunderstanding is cleared up. Blastosaurus is made a cop. Blasto starts living in Richard's house with his three friends - Emma, Alana and Sam. Meanwhile, an employee of a company called "Factory Corp" - later revealed to be Robin King - picks them up and takes them to a hideout.
The second story arc, "Voices Carry", involves Blastosaurus' attempts to track down the raptors and an adventure in a haunted house.
Tone and genre
Blastosaurus is an adventure/comedy series. It falls into the superhero genre but because of the way Blastosaurus uses his powers within the scope of the law he is less elevated than a superhero so it is more of a procedural. Gritty violence is contrasted with the banter of children, creating a strange blend of humour and brutality. This pushes the boundaries of main-stream comic entertainment.
Characters
Blastosaurus: A crime fighting mutant triceratops with a futuristic blaster and a love of candy. His mother was killed by the raptors in the past when they gained intelligence via the Factory Corp toxic waste - they opened her stomach with a tree trunk. He is a police officer working for the Freak Out City Police. He lives in Richard's grandfather's apartment as Richard's grandfather (Terry Greene) has been 'on holdiay' for a year. He also drives Terry's car.
Richard Greene: 12-year-old friend of Blastosaurus. Lets Blastosaurus live in his missing grandfather's flat. He appeared in the post-raptors future as a freedom fighter against the raptors, going by the name of Nightshadow. He was killed by the raptors after Blasto was transported to the future by their stolen time machine.
Alana: Richard's best friend who tries to convince Richard to go to school. She is one of the freedom fighters in the post-raptors future. She is well behaved, the kind of girl who doesn't like missing school. She also believes whales can breathe air.
Emma: Older sister of Sam.
Sam: Younger brother of Emma. Generally good with computer stuff. In the post-raptors future he was ripped apart by the raptors, and has a little remembrance shrine in the rebel's hideout in Platt's 247. He is an extremely proficient video-gamer and can beat Richard and Blastosaurus any day. He often refers to himself as "Destroyer of Worlds".
Josca: A creepy mechanic who lives (or probably just works) under Blastosaurus' apartment. Not much is known about him. He smokes heavily, and gives Blastosaurus a car.
The Raptors: a group of mutated velociraptors who work for Factory Corp. They gutted Blastosaurus' mother with a tree trunk in the past, and killed future versions of Alana, Emma, Richard and Sam. There are four of them; a large, heavily built one named Club, a midget named Max, a normal one named Claw who appears to be their leader, and Spikes - he has significant spikes jutting from his scalp in mohawk fashion. The Raptors got their names from the stitched names on the leather jackets they stole from a gang they beat up upon arriving in the present. They were all thrown off an underground cliff by Blastosaurus and buried under cement. They are currently presumed dead.
Naomi Fenton: Blastosaurus' partner on the Police Force. Naomi brings Blastosaurus on board as a cop in the first story arc and now works alongside him.
Captain Harris: The Police Captain for Freak Out City's Upper West Precinct. A decorated war hero, Harris moved to Freak Out City initially to assist with rebuilding the town after the war but also to get out of some trouble he had gotten into with an organisation called the List Forlorna. Harris has a disdain for dinosaurs in general.
I Fight Crime
I Fight Crime is the daily comic strip that the kids in Blastosaurus read. The strip exists within the Blastosaurus universe (it can be seen in the background at the comic convention in Slugs) and because of this only contains pop-culture from the Blastosaurus universe. The strip itself is about Rob and Ernest, who work in a comic store that seems to be infested with monsters, and documents the various things they do to amuse themselves at work. It is written by Richard Fairgray and Tara Black under the pseudonym of Mary-Ann Cotton (who is a character in the Blastosaurus universe) and drawn by Tara Black. It is posted on the Blastosaurus website on weekdays. Characters are Ernest, Rob, Terence and a bear, sometimes.

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