I always wondered which characters or stories would pull my own kids into the world of Marvel Comics. The animated Spidey, Miles and Ghost-Spider show got the ball rolling, but it was really the first time my son saw Devil Dinosaur in Marvel Snap! that suddenly the floodgates opened. Not surprising because guess what: Kids love dinosaurs.
In recent years, after decades of obscurity, Devil Dinosaur has had a renaissance, paired with Lunella Lafayette aka Moon Girl for one of Marvel’s most young-readers friendly comics, alongside the likes of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl or The Unstoppable Wasp. Nonetheless, only one of these books has a giant red T-Rex, so naturally there can be only one winner.
Now, the history of Devil Dinosaur is far from all ages, as you’ll see below in a relatively tight guide to the history of their comics.
Below you’ll find a complete guide to the comics of Devil Dinosaur, Moon Girl, and their companions. Enjoy the comics, and RAWR!
The Origins of Devil Dinosaur
Devil Dinosaur by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection
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Collects: Devil Dinosaur 1-9
For Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, you really have two distinct eras. The first is from the creation of Devil Dinosaur (and Moon Boy) by Jack Kirby, aka the King of Comics, all the way through the early 2000s. The second is the 2015 re-imagining as Moon Girl and Devil. Given the success of the re-imagining, and the animated series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is the modern context most fans will be familiar with. If you really want the history of Devil and Moon Boy, though, that’s what you’ll find in this first era.
Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur came in 1979, during the King’s late 70s (short-lived) return to Marvel that also saw his creation of the Eternals and Machine Man. Kirby’s always been a creator seeking inspiration from primordial mythology, and those motivations merge here with an interest in evolutionary hominids and drawing tons and tons of dinosaurs. It’s far from Kirby’s most essential, but it’s fun as heck, and always visually engaging.
Collects: Godzilla #21 – #22
Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four use Doctor Doom’s time platform to send Godzilla to the age of Dinosaurs, including our pal Devil. These Marvel Godzilla issues are hard to come by since Marvel no longer has the license, but don’t worry, they aren’t too essential.
Collects: Fallen Angels (1987) #1 To #8
Fallen Angels is one of the most chaotic limited series of 1980s Marvel Comics, with a real absurdist collection of characters and happenings from writer Jo Duffy. This includes extremely prominent lobsters named Bill and Don. More relevant to our purposes, it includes the most significant use of Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy since Kirby debuted the characters nearly a decade prior.
Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy: 1990s Through Early 2010s
Collects: Devil Dinosaur – Spring Fling (1997)
The only real question here is why Marvel didn’t commit to a Spring Fling with Devil every year since 1997. In this issue, Devil gets caught up in a prehistoric battle between the Skrulls and Shi’ar (including Gladiator which raises a lot of questions)
Collects: Pet Avengers #2
Unfortunately, Devil Dinosaur does not actually join Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, but they do battle him at one point. Regardless, Pet Avengers is an extremely fun idea and series for all ages.
Collects: Nextwave #12
It is highly questionable to include Nextwave in a Devil Dinosaur reading order, as the character is, well, completely out of character and used as a punchline in the very final issue of this influential comedy series. You won’t need to read this if you actually like Devil Dinosaur, but it’s certainly a memorable appearance.
Collects: Heroes For Hire (2006-2007) #9 To #11
Few things capture the directionless fate of Moon Boy and Devil quite like Heroes for Hire’s post-Civil War comics focusing on getting them to… register as superpowered beings. Marvel really had no clue what to do with Devil Dinosaur for 35 years!
Collects: Avenging Spider-Man #14 To #15
If you like Spider-Man and dinosaurs, boy do we have some comics for you.
Origins of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 1: BFF
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 1-6
It’s truly incredible how effectively and dramatically Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, Natacha Bustos and the creative team transformed Kirby’s concept with 2015’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. The absolutely aimless characters suddenly became some of the most interesting and kid-friendly in all of Marvel Comics, with the brilliant Lunella Lafayette and her Inhuman ability to communicate with Devil Dinosaur. Simply put, if you’re here for Moon Girl and Devil, this is the run of comics you want to read every issue of. The series goes from 2015 to 2019, and reaches 47 issues.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 2: Cosmic Cooties
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 7-12
Collects: Extraordinary X-Men Annual #1 (2016)
Because Lunella’s new to the Marvel Universe, you get a lot of early days interactions with the heroes of the verse, including the X-Men. This annual is quite fun because you Lunella’s intro the mutants, but at a time when Inhumans and mutants are really struggling to share the planet.
Please note if you’re newer to the Marvel Universe, that you generally won’t need to read all of Lunella’s appearances outside of her own comic series in order to understand that core narrative. I list them all here for completion and because sometimes they’re fun!
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 3: The Smartest There Is
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 13-18
Collects: The Unstoppable Wasp #2 To #3
2017’s introduction of Nadia Van Dyne as the Unstoppable Wasp is another strong Marvel re-imagining from the era, and Lunella fits right in with Nadia.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 4: Girl-Moon
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 19-24
Secret Warriors Vol. 1: Secret Empire
Collects: Secret Warriors (2017) #1-5
One of the oddities of Moon Girl’s comics is that (much like Kamala Khan) she’s made Inhuman because of Marvel’s push for the franchise at the time (thinking they only had the rights to the Inhumans for the MCU, and not the X-Men which they acquired later). As a result, you get this post Secret Empire fallout book of all Inhumans, including Lunella and Devil! Only necessary for the most obsessed fans, but the second volume does include some wild Mister Sinister comics, which are always on my recommended read list.
Secret Warriors Vol. 2: If Trouble Must Come
Collects: Secret Warriors (2017) #6-12
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 5: Fantastic Three
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 25-30
Moon Girl’s dynamic with the Fantastic Four is a shockingly good fit, particularly her butting heads with the world’s purported biggest genius, Reed Richards!
Collects: Venom (2016) #152 To #153
Land before Crime is a very good story name for a Venom and Devil Dinosaur crossover.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 6: Save Our School
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 32-36
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 7
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur 37-41
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 8: Yancy Street Legends
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #42-47
Other Ways to Collect Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
So the series listed above are all trade paperbacks that typically include 5-6 issues of the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comic book series. There are also larger collections that collect up to 12 issues at a time. You do not need both copies for the story – it’s simply another means of collecting and reading, depending on your preferences and availability.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beginning
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #1-12
Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur: Full Moon
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur (2015) #13-24
Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur: Bad Buzz
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur (2016) #25-36
Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur: Place In The World
Collects: Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #37-47
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Since 2020
Collects: Free Comic Book Day 2022: Marvel’s Voices (2022) #1
The first story is a fun Lunella and Devil short.
Collects: Marvel’s Voices: Legacy (2022) #1
Victor LaValle writes a story where Lunella meets and talks to a lost dino of the Savage Land.
Collects: Miles Morales & Moon Girl #1, Avengers & Moon Girl #1 And X-Men & Moon Girl #1
Learn how Havok and Moon Girl became best friends!
Marvel’s Voices (Infinity Comic)
Collects: Marvel’s Voices Unlimited #38, #39
A very fun Stephanie Williams written story.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Menace on Wheels
Collects: Moon Girl (2022) #1 To #5
Hot on the heels of ‘Endangered Species’, creators Jordan Ifueko and Alba Glez take over a new 5 issue miniseries on Moon Girl and Devil.
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