Tyrannosaurus Beth #1

Written by Matthew Petz
Illustrated by Matthew Petz
Self-Published

If sugar is near, evil-doers better fear! Beth is a relatively normal teenage girl who has an interesting experience at the dentist, and the next thing you know, she's got the ability to change into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. What better to do with this strange power than to fight crime? After all, chasing robbers and robots is an awful lot of fun!

This is one of those comics that's just plain fun to read. Beth is an engaging character who clearly loves what she does, without having a lot of angst or baggage. The comic itself doesn't think too hard about its premise, either, which is a nice change of pace. Too many creators seem ready to explain everything and a lot of times, that sucks some of the fun and life from the idea. Not Matthew Petz, who happily described this one to me as his attempt to come with his own version of the Incredible Hulk.

That sense of fun from his voice definitely carries into the comic. There's quite a bit of story packed into a limited number of pages, as we see Beth's origin story, a fight, and even a rogue's gallery. The artwork is clear and crisp, looking just a bit sketchy but in a practiced manner. Best of all, Beth is a positive female character who is, unless I read things wrong, of Latina origin. It's nice to see a creator going that direction for a change.

My only problem with Tyrannosaurus Beth is that there's apparently only one issue. I'd love to see more of this young heroine from Petz if he gets a chance to work on her story again.

I got my copy of Tyrannosaurus Beth at a show. You can order one from Mr. Petz here.