Rip in Time
Encyclopedia
Rip in Time is a five-part comic book
limited series
written by Bruce Jones
and illustrated by Richard Corben
, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986. It tells the story of police officer Rip Scully and his adventures traveling back in time to the Jurassic
era, in pursuit of the man who kidnapped his fiancee.
Sharon Nelson enters a large laboratory full of personnel and equipment, demanding to speak with Dr. Philpot, the managing director of the facility. Philpot assures her everything is on schedule. They will have a test run of the project that evening at 11:30.
LAPD
officer Rip Scully and his fiancee Maggie are driving to a party when Maggie suggests they stop to pick up some liquor. Inside the store, as Rip pays for his purchase, Sid Resnick and his girlfriend Darlene enter, Sid brandishing a sawed-off shotgun
. During the holdup, (which Rip attempts to prevent) Sid escapes and, once outside, takes Maggie hostage with a switchblade. Coercing Rip's gun from him, Sid then forces Maggie to drive them both to safety.
Rip drags Darlene to Sid's getaway car, an old Dodge
and they give chase. Some miles ahead, Sid forces Maggie to go around a large truck on a blind curve and, cut off by oncoming traffic, they smash through the guardrail and down a steep mountain incline, crashing through a wall at the bottom. Inside a large room, they see there is an experimental aircraft similar to the Moller Skycar
hovering nearby. Sid drags Maggie to the empty vehicle and flies it down a large tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Colonel and Philpot are counting down to the 11:30 test. On their mark, a switch is thrown and a large portal opens with the lab, referred to as "The Hoop". Suddenly, Sid and Maggie crash through the lab in the stolen aircraft, destroying several banks of equipment before flying wildly through the mysterious doorway. Rip and Darlene appear in the Dodge moments later, following them. One of the technicians, Beacham, grabs a sub space
communication device and attempts to follow everyone, but the malfunctioning portal collapses upon him.
On the other side, Rip and Darlene escape from the Dodge, which has become mired in a tar pit
. Rip has found Sid's pistol in the glovebox and is looking around frantically for any sign of Maggie. Beacham materializes then, burned to death from the effects of the collapsed portal, making Darlene scream in horror. Rip picks up the communicator and hears Dr. Philpot's voice, telling him to stay exactly where he is. A pterodactyl swoops by, forcing Rip to ask Philpot just where that might be.
Maggie and Sid, having survived the crash, offer their wildly differing opinions of their situation. Maggie is certain Rip will come to rescue her and kill Sid, while Sid assures Maggie that Rip is no match for him and will be killed the moment he shows his face.
Back at the lab, Colonel Nelson declares the loss of the experimental aircraft, known as the X-54, to be the last straw with respect to Rip and company's interference with their project. She arranges for John Vincent Roper, a mercenary
, to be contacted and brought to the base.
At the edge of a clearing on their way to the X-54 crash, Rip and Darlene encounter a herd of grazing Triceratops
. Attempting to sneak past them, the animals stampede when, in the distance, a volcano erupts. Rip and Darlene are knocked to the ground but manage to recover and leap onto the back of one of the dinosaurs running past. As they approach a cliff, all of the animals charging straight off it to their deaths, Rip reaches up for a large tree branch, swinging both he and Darlene to safety.
Sid is lounging in the grass, demanding Maggie gather wood so they can start a fire from the flames of the X-54. Maggie does so and drops a pile of sticks at his feet when Sid sits up, deciding with a wild grin that she should be doing his bidding naked. He points his gun, demanding she undress, becoming more enraged the longer she refuses. Suddenly, the tremors of the volcano eruption reach them, startling what appears to be a turtle-like Ankylosaur from the bushes. Sid fires blindly behind him as he flees into the jungle. Some time later, as Maggie sits warming herself by the fire, she calls out to him: "You can come out now. It's gone."
At the crash site, Sid wakes up to the sound of Maggie bathing in a nearby pond. When he asks what she's doing, she says she smelled bad and Sid should take the hint. He does so and strips down, jumping in with her. They wrestle in the water, Sid trying to pull her under. When they surface near the bank, Sid attempting to force himself on her, Maggie fights him off. Frustrated, Sid backs off and Maggie looks around, confused: "What is it? You stopped?" Excited at the prospect of a woman who likes it rough, Sid proceeds to slap Maggie repeatedly to her cries of encouragement.
Back at the project, Philpot visits Colonel Nelson in her room, where she is taking doses of uppers to stay focued. He questions the wisdom of letting Roper into the lab, a man with whom Philpot claims to have had some experience. After a brief argument, Philpot decides he cannot and will not let Roper into the project. Colonel Nelson seems to relent when, behind Philpot, a video monitor comes on, displaying Roper's face as he stands outside. Philpot turns and sees this, when the Colonel shoves his head into the monitor, knocking him unconscious.
Finding the site of the demolished X-54, but no sign of Sid or Maggie, Rip and Darlene ponder their next move when Rip spies a coil of nylon rope in the bushes. He figures this was part of an emergency kit on the aircraft and might come in handy. Just then, Darlene points ahead of them, at the sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It chases them, until Rip manages to lose it near a pair of large trees. Tying the rope between the trees, he baits the creature when it circles back, forcing it to trip across the rope. Falling onto its belly, Rip rushes from cover and empties his pistol into its head. He and Darlene run off, believing the thing to be dead, though, once they're gone, its eyes open.
At the project facility, Colonel Nelson instructs Roper to find Rip and the others and kill them. She equips him with a weapon similar to an M79
grenade launcher, though with considerably more range and accuracy. She then tells him to hurry through the re-activated Hoop, as it will only stay open for a few seconds. Roper walks through the portal, finding himself in view of a Dilophosaurus
. He fires the launcher with a grin, exploding the creature. Unbeknownst to Roper as he walks away, a small, video equipped cylinder detaches from the weapon and floats high above, watching him.
, Darlene expressing sympathy for the creature as it's being devoured. Rip replies "At least they're eating," and sets about making a bow and arrow with his pocketknife. He successfully kills a nesting Archaeopteryx
and he and Darlene cook it around a small fire. Talk turns to how each of them got to their place in life, which turns argumentative to the point where Rip slaps Darlene. She retaliates with a kick to his stomach, which turns into a full on fight, ending when both relent and finally share another kiss. A few yards away, Roper is crouched in the jungle, watching.
At their new camp, Sid is torturing a Stegosaurus
with a crude spear, blinding it first, then jabbing the spear in its side. Maggie begs him to put it out of its misery but Sid ignores her. Pointing to the creature, Sid laughs at its cries of pain when suddenly, it explodes, similar to the Dilophosaurus at the end of the previous issue. Sid looks around and Roper appears from behind him, knocking him down. Roper then binds his hands and feet and strings him up by his ankles as Maggie looks on, incredulous. Asking who he is and what he is doing, Roper calmly explains that he is "a hunter" and is going to use Sid as bait to "summon the policeman".
At the facility, Philpot wakes up and finds the Colonel in the lab, watching Roper with Maggie, courtesy of the flying video drone launched from Roper's weapon. Philpot lectures the Colonel on the dangers of infecting the timeline when she reminds him that so long as everyone that goes through the Hoop stays through it, no damage can be done. She simply wants Roper to kill Rip and the others so the project's future excursions to that era won't be disrupted by any of them trying to get back home, presumably bringing any entropic fluctuations to the timeline with them. Philpot seems to agree with this logic when he suddenly assaults the Colonel, pushing her out of the lab and sealing the door.
Rip and Darlene find a set of bootprints in the mud, following them to a river. They construct a raft and float across, hearing a loud scream from the opposite shore. They attempt to paddle themselves faster, but are nearly capsized by an angry Plesiosaur
. As the creature seems about to the get the best of them, its head is burst by Roper's weapon and they're able to make it to shore. Following the footprints up a hill, they find the remains of Sid's legs dangling from a tree, which explains the screams they heard. Velociraptors in the area serve to explain their cause.
As Rip and Darlene turn away from the scene, they hear moans from nearby and push through the jungle after them. They find Maggie tied down within a web of ropes, each one connected to a sharpened stick that has been pulled back and staked in a circle around her. Roper appears, informing Rip that if he should untie the wrong rope, all of the sticks will plunge into Maggie's body. However, if Rip should agree to a contest of survival against him, Roper would be glad to free her.
.
Back at the facility, the Colonel has summoned men to burn through the lab door with acetylene
torches. Philpot ignores her threats from outside and turns from repairing The Hoop to fixing the Z-29, an early protoype of the X-54. The Colonel mentions that if Philpot is trying to rescue Rip and company, he won't make it in time. Philpot replies that "time
is the operative word!"
Rip is separated from Darlene and Maggie in the flood. As he is swept away, Maggie and Darlene make their way to shore. They're confronted by Roper who kills Maggie, tying her to a tree. He then binds Darlene and waits for Rip to appear. When he does, he is promptly killed as well.
Philpot manages to repair the Z-29 and flies off through the activated Hoop, arriving several minutes prior to the events leading to Rip's death. Using the video drone as a guide he finds Rip, warning him just as Roper is about to fire. Seeing Philpot, Roper redirects his aim to him, crashing and nearly destroying the Z-29. Rip and Darlene run to it, Philpot telling them with his dying words that The Hoop is active due south of them. Rip and Darlene fly back to the portal, on the way crossing paths with the T Rex they'd tried to kill earlier.
Back in the present, the Colonel and her men rush through the lab door, guns at the ready. Suddenly, Rip and Darlene burst through on the Z-29, closely followed by the T Rex, who promptly begins to attack the Colonel and her men. As Darlene and Rip flee the lab, the time gate is destroyed once more. Outside, heading into the desert, Rip vows to return to the project and somehow use The Hoop to rescue Maggie.
:
Rip in Time is a five-part comic book
limited series
written by Bruce Jones
and illustrated by Richard Corben
, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986. It tells the story of police officer Rip Scully and his adventures traveling back in time to the Jurassic
era, in pursuit of the man who kidnapped his fiancee.
Sharon Nelson enters a large laboratory full of personnel and equipment, demanding to speak with Dr. Philpot, the managing director of the facility. Philpot assures her everything is on schedule. They will have a test run of the project that evening at 11:30.
LAPD
officer Rip Scully and his fiancee Maggie are driving to a party when Maggie suggests they stop to pick up some liquor. Inside the store, as Rip pays for his purchase, Sid Resnick and his girlfriend Darlene enter, Sid brandishing a sawed-off shotgun
. During the holdup, (which Rip attempts to prevent) Sid escapes and, once outside, takes Maggie hostage with a switchblade. Coercing Rip's gun from him, Sid then forces Maggie to drive them both to safety.
Rip drags Darlene to Sid's getaway car, an old Dodge
and they give chase. Some miles ahead, Sid forces Maggie to go around a large truck on a blind curve and, cut off by oncoming traffic, they smash through the guardrail and down a steep mountain incline, crashing through a wall at the bottom. Inside a large room, they see there is an experimental aircraft similar to the Moller Skycar
hovering nearby. Sid drags Maggie to the empty vehicle and flies it down a large tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Colonel and Philpot are counting down to the 11:30 test. On their mark, a switch is thrown and a large portal opens with the lab, referred to as "The Hoop". Suddenly, Sid and Maggie crash through the lab in the stolen aircraft, destroying several banks of equipment before flying wildly through the mysterious doorway. Rip and Darlene appear in the Dodge moments later, following them. One of the technicians, Beacham, grabs a sub space
communication device and attempts to follow everyone, but the malfunctioning portal collapses upon him.
On the other side, Rip and Darlene escape from the Dodge, which has become mired in a tar pit
. Rip has found Sid's pistol in the glovebox and is looking around frantically for any sign of Maggie. Beacham materializes then, burned to death from the effects of the collapsed portal, making Darlene scream in horror. Rip picks up the communicator and hears Dr. Philpot's voice, telling him to stay exactly where he is. A pterodactyl swoops by, forcing Rip to ask Philpot just where that might be.
Maggie and Sid, having survived the crash, offer their wildly differing opinions of their situation. Maggie is certain Rip will come to rescue her and kill Sid, while Sid assures Maggie that Rip is no match for him and will be killed the moment he shows his face.
Back at the lab, Colonel Nelson declares the loss of the experimental aircraft, known as the X-54, to be the last straw with respect to Rip and company's interference with their project. She arranges for John Vincent Roper, a mercenary
, to be contacted and brought to the base.
At the edge of a clearing on their way to the X-54 crash, Rip and Darlene encounter a herd of grazing Triceratops
. Attempting to sneak past them, the animals stampede when, in the distance, a volcano erupts. Rip and Darlene are knocked to the ground but manage to recover and leap onto the back of one of the dinosaurs running past. As they approach a cliff, all of the animals charging straight off it to their deaths, Rip reaches up for a large tree branch, swinging both he and Darlene to safety.
Sid is lounging in the grass, demanding Maggie gather wood so they can start a fire from the flames of the X-54. Maggie does so and drops a pile of sticks at his feet when Sid sits up, deciding with a wild grin that she should be doing his bidding naked. He points his gun, demanding she undress, becoming more enraged the longer she refuses. Suddenly, the tremors of the volcano eruption reach them, startling what appears to be a turtle-like Ankylosaur from the bushes. Sid fires blindly behind him as he flees into the jungle. Some time later, as Maggie sits warming herself by the fire, she calls out to him: "You can come out now. It's gone."
At the crash site, Sid wakes up to the sound of Maggie bathing in a nearby pond. When he asks what she's doing, she says she smelled bad and Sid should take the hint. He does so and strips down, jumping in with her. They wrestle in the water, Sid trying to pull her under. When they surface near the bank, Sid attempting to force himself on her, Maggie fights him off. Frustrated, Sid backs off and Maggie looks around, confused: "What is it? You stopped?" Excited at the prospect of a woman who likes it rough, Sid proceeds to slap Maggie repeatedly to her cries of encouragement.
Back at the project, Philpot visits Colonel Nelson in her room, where she is taking doses of uppers to stay focued. He questions the wisdom of letting Roper into the lab, a man with whom Philpot claims to have had some experience. After a brief argument, Philpot decides he cannot and will not let Roper into the project. Colonel Nelson seems to relent when, behind Philpot, a video monitor comes on, displaying Roper's face as he stands outside. Philpot turns and sees this, when the Colonel shoves his head into the monitor, knocking him unconscious.
Finding the site of the demolished X-54, but no sign of Sid or Maggie, Rip and Darlene ponder their next move when Rip spies a coil of nylon rope in the bushes. He figures this was part of an emergency kit on the aircraft and might come in handy. Just then, Darlene points ahead of them, at the sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It chases them, until Rip manages to lose it near a pair of large trees. Tying the rope between the trees, he baits the creature when it circles back, forcing it to trip across the rope. Falling onto its belly, Rip rushes from cover and empties his pistol into its head. He and Darlene run off, believing the thing to be dead, though, once they're gone, its eyes open.
At the project facility, Colonel Nelson instructs Roper to find Rip and the others and kill them. She equips him with a weapon similar to an M79
grenade launcher, though with considerably more range and accuracy. She then tells him to hurry through the re-activated Hoop, as it will only stay open for a few seconds. Roper walks through the portal, finding himself in view of a Dilophosaurus
. He fires the launcher with a grin, exploding the creature. Unbeknownst to Roper as he walks away, a small, video equipped cylinder detaches from the weapon and floats high above, watching him.
, Darlene expressing sympathy for the creature as it's being devoured. Rip replies "At least they're eating," and sets about making a bow and arrow with his pocketknife. He successfully kills a nesting Archaeopteryx
and he and Darlene cook it around a small fire. Talk turns to how each of them got to their place in life, which turns argumentative to the point where Rip slaps Darlene. She retaliates with a kick to his stomach, which turns into a full on fight, ending when both relent and finally share another kiss. A few yards away, Roper is crouched in the jungle, watching.
At their new camp, Sid is torturing a Stegosaurus
with a crude spear, blinding it first, then jabbing the spear in its side. Maggie begs him to put it out of its misery but Sid ignores her. Pointing to the creature, Sid laughs at its cries of pain when suddenly, it explodes, similar to the Dilophosaurus at the end of the previous issue. Sid looks around and Roper appears from behind him, knocking him down. Roper then binds his hands and feet and strings him up by his ankles as Maggie looks on, incredulous. Asking who he is and what he is doing, Roper calmly explains that he is "a hunter" and is going to use Sid as bait to "summon the policeman".
At the facility, Philpot wakes up and finds the Colonel in the lab, watching Roper with Maggie, courtesy of the flying video drone launched from Roper's weapon. Philpot lectures the Colonel on the dangers of infecting the timeline when she reminds him that so long as everyone that goes through the Hoop stays through it, no damage can be done. She simply wants Roper to kill Rip and the others so the project's future excursions to that era won't be disrupted by any of them trying to get back home, presumably bringing any entropic fluctuations to the timeline with them. Philpot seems to agree with this logic when he suddenly assaults the Colonel, pushing her out of the lab and sealing the door.
Rip and Darlene find a set of bootprints in the mud, following them to a river. They construct a raft and float across, hearing a loud scream from the opposite shore. They attempt to paddle themselves faster, but are nearly capsized by an angry Plesiosaur
. As the creature seems about to the get the best of them, its head is burst by Roper's weapon and they're able to make it to shore. Following the footprints up a hill, they find the remains of Sid's legs dangling from a tree, which explains the screams they heard. Velociraptors in the area serve to explain their cause.
As Rip and Darlene turn away from the scene, they hear moans from nearby and push through the jungle after them. They find Maggie tied down within a web of ropes, each one connected to a sharpened stick that has been pulled back and staked in a circle around her. Roper appears, informing Rip that if he should untie the wrong rope, all of the sticks will plunge into Maggie's body. However, if Rip should agree to a contest of survival against him, Roper would be glad to free her.
.
Back at the facility, the Colonel has summoned men to burn through the lab door with acetylene
torches. Philpot ignores her threats from outside and turns from repairing The Hoop to fixing the Z-29, an early protoype of the X-54. The Colonel mentions that if Philpot is trying to rescue Rip and company, he won't make it in time. Philpot replies that "time
is the operative word!"
Rip is separated from Darlene and Maggie in the flood. As he is swept away, Maggie and Darlene make their way to shore. They're confronted by Roper who kills Maggie, tying her to a tree. He then binds Darlene and waits for Rip to appear. When he does, he is promptly killed as well.
Philpot manages to repair the Z-29 and flies off through the activated Hoop, arriving several minutes prior to the events leading to Rip's death. Using the video drone as a guide he finds Rip, warning him just as Roper is about to fire. Seeing Philpot, Roper redirects his aim to him, crashing and nearly destroying the Z-29. Rip and Darlene run to it, Philpot telling them with his dying words that The Hoop is active due south of them. Rip and Darlene fly back to the portal, on the way crossing paths with the T Rex they'd tried to kill earlier.
Back in the present, the Colonel and her men rush through the lab door, guns at the ready. Suddenly, Rip and Darlene burst through on the Z-29, closely followed by the T Rex, who promptly begins to attack the Colonel and her men. As Darlene and Rip flee the lab, the time gate is destroyed once more. Outside, heading into the desert, Rip vows to return to the project and somehow use The Hoop to rescue Maggie.
:
Rip in Time is a five-part comic book
limited series
written by Bruce Jones
and illustrated by Richard Corben
, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986. It tells the story of police officer Rip Scully and his adventures traveling back in time to the Jurassic
era, in pursuit of the man who kidnapped his fiancee.
Sharon Nelson enters a large laboratory full of personnel and equipment, demanding to speak with Dr. Philpot, the managing director of the facility. Philpot assures her everything is on schedule. They will have a test run of the project that evening at 11:30.
LAPD
officer Rip Scully and his fiancee Maggie are driving to a party when Maggie suggests they stop to pick up some liquor. Inside the store, as Rip pays for his purchase, Sid Resnick and his girlfriend Darlene enter, Sid brandishing a sawed-off shotgun
. During the holdup, (which Rip attempts to prevent) Sid escapes and, once outside, takes Maggie hostage with a switchblade. Coercing Rip's gun from him, Sid then forces Maggie to drive them both to safety.
Rip drags Darlene to Sid's getaway car, an old Dodge
and they give chase. Some miles ahead, Sid forces Maggie to go around a large truck on a blind curve and, cut off by oncoming traffic, they smash through the guardrail and down a steep mountain incline, crashing through a wall at the bottom. Inside a large room, they see there is an experimental aircraft similar to the Moller Skycar
hovering nearby. Sid drags Maggie to the empty vehicle and flies it down a large tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Colonel and Philpot are counting down to the 11:30 test. On their mark, a switch is thrown and a large portal opens with the lab, referred to as "The Hoop". Suddenly, Sid and Maggie crash through the lab in the stolen aircraft, destroying several banks of equipment before flying wildly through the mysterious doorway. Rip and Darlene appear in the Dodge moments later, following them. One of the technicians, Beacham, grabs a sub space
communication device and attempts to follow everyone, but the malfunctioning portal collapses upon him.
On the other side, Rip and Darlene escape from the Dodge, which has become mired in a tar pit
. Rip has found Sid's pistol in the glovebox and is looking around frantically for any sign of Maggie. Beacham materializes then, burned to death from the effects of the collapsed portal, making Darlene scream in horror. Rip picks up the communicator and hears Dr. Philpot's voice, telling him to stay exactly where he is. A pterodactyl swoops by, forcing Rip to ask Philpot just where that might be.
Maggie and Sid, having survived the crash, offer their wildly differing opinions of their situation. Maggie is certain Rip will come to rescue her and kill Sid, while Sid assures Maggie that Rip is no match for him and will be killed the moment he shows his face.
Back at the lab, Colonel Nelson declares the loss of the experimental aircraft, known as the X-54, to be the last straw with respect to Rip and company's interference with their project. She arranges for John Vincent Roper, a mercenary
, to be contacted and brought to the base.
At the edge of a clearing on their way to the X-54 crash, Rip and Darlene encounter a herd of grazing Triceratops
. Attempting to sneak past them, the animals stampede when, in the distance, a volcano erupts. Rip and Darlene are knocked to the ground but manage to recover and leap onto the back of one of the dinosaurs running past. As they approach a cliff, all of the animals charging straight off it to their deaths, Rip reaches up for a large tree branch, swinging both he and Darlene to safety.
Sid is lounging in the grass, demanding Maggie gather wood so they can start a fire from the flames of the X-54. Maggie does so and drops a pile of sticks at his feet when Sid sits up, deciding with a wild grin that she should be doing his bidding naked. He points his gun, demanding she undress, becoming more enraged the longer she refuses. Suddenly, the tremors of the volcano eruption reach them, startling what appears to be a turtle-like Ankylosaur from the bushes. Sid fires blindly behind him as he flees into the jungle. Some time later, as Maggie sits warming herself by the fire, she calls out to him: "You can come out now. It's gone."
At the crash site, Sid wakes up to the sound of Maggie bathing in a nearby pond. When he asks what she's doing, she says she smelled bad and Sid should take the hint. He does so and strips down, jumping in with her. They wrestle in the water, Sid trying to pull her under. When they surface near the bank, Sid attempting to force himself on her, Maggie fights him off. Frustrated, Sid backs off and Maggie looks around, confused: "What is it? You stopped?" Excited at the prospect of a woman who likes it rough, Sid proceeds to slap Maggie repeatedly to her cries of encouragement.
Back at the project, Philpot visits Colonel Nelson in her room, where she is taking doses of uppers to stay focued. He questions the wisdom of letting Roper into the lab, a man with whom Philpot claims to have had some experience. After a brief argument, Philpot decides he cannot and will not let Roper into the project. Colonel Nelson seems to relent when, behind Philpot, a video monitor comes on, displaying Roper's face as he stands outside. Philpot turns and sees this, when the Colonel shoves his head into the monitor, knocking him unconscious.
Finding the site of the demolished X-54, but no sign of Sid or Maggie, Rip and Darlene ponder their next move when Rip spies a coil of nylon rope in the bushes. He figures this was part of an emergency kit on the aircraft and might come in handy. Just then, Darlene points ahead of them, at the sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It chases them, until Rip manages to lose it near a pair of large trees. Tying the rope between the trees, he baits the creature when it circles back, forcing it to trip across the rope. Falling onto its belly, Rip rushes from cover and empties his pistol into its head. He and Darlene run off, believing the thing to be dead, though, once they're gone, its eyes open.
At the project facility, Colonel Nelson instructs Roper to find Rip and the others and kill them. She equips him with a weapon similar to an M79
grenade launcher, though with considerably more range and accuracy. She then tells him to hurry through the re-activated Hoop, as it will only stay open for a few seconds. Roper walks through the portal, finding himself in view of a Dilophosaurus
. He fires the launcher with a grin, exploding the creature. Unbeknownst to Roper as he walks away, a small, video equipped cylinder detaches from the weapon and floats high above, watching him.
, Darlene expressing sympathy for the creature as it's being devoured. Rip replies "At least they're eating," and sets about making a bow and arrow with his pocketknife. He successfully kills a nesting Archaeopteryx
and he and Darlene cook it around a small fire. Talk turns to how each of them got to their place in life, which turns argumentative to the point where Rip slaps Darlene. She retaliates with a kick to his stomach, which turns into a full on fight, ending when both relent and finally share another kiss. A few yards away, Roper is crouched in the jungle, watching.
At their new camp, Sid is torturing a Stegosaurus
with a crude spear, blinding it first, then jabbing the spear in its side. Maggie begs him to put it out of its misery but Sid ignores her. Pointing to the creature, Sid laughs at its cries of pain when suddenly, it explodes, similar to the Dilophosaurus at the end of the previous issue. Sid looks around and Roper appears from behind him, knocking him down. Roper then binds his hands and feet and strings him up by his ankles as Maggie looks on, incredulous. Asking who he is and what he is doing, Roper calmly explains that he is "a hunter" and is going to use Sid as bait to "summon the policeman".
At the facility, Philpot wakes up and finds the Colonel in the lab, watching Roper with Maggie, courtesy of the flying video drone launched from Roper's weapon. Philpot lectures the Colonel on the dangers of infecting the timeline when she reminds him that so long as everyone that goes through the Hoop stays through it, no damage can be done. She simply wants Roper to kill Rip and the others so the project's future excursions to that era won't be disrupted by any of them trying to get back home, presumably bringing any entropic fluctuations to the timeline with them. Philpot seems to agree with this logic when he suddenly assaults the Colonel, pushing her out of the lab and sealing the door.
Rip and Darlene find a set of bootprints in the mud, following them to a river. They construct a raft and float across, hearing a loud scream from the opposite shore. They attempt to paddle themselves faster, but are nearly capsized by an angry Plesiosaur
. As the creature seems about to the get the best of them, its head is burst by Roper's weapon and they're able to make it to shore. Following the footprints up a hill, they find the remains of Sid's legs dangling from a tree, which explains the screams they heard. Velociraptors in the area serve to explain their cause.
As Rip and Darlene turn away from the scene, they hear moans from nearby and push through the jungle after them. They find Maggie tied down within a web of ropes, each one connected to a sharpened stick that has been pulled back and staked in a circle around her. Roper appears, informing Rip that if he should untie the wrong rope, all of the sticks will plunge into Maggie's body. However, if Rip should agree to a contest of survival against him, Roper would be glad to free her.
.
Back at the facility, the Colonel has summoned men to burn through the lab door with acetylene
torches. Philpot ignores her threats from outside and turns from repairing The Hoop to fixing the Z-29, an early protoype of the X-54. The Colonel mentions that if Philpot is trying to rescue Rip and company, he won't make it in time. Philpot replies that "time
is the operative word!"
Rip is separated from Darlene and Maggie in the flood. As he is swept away, Maggie and Darlene make their way to shore. They're confronted by Roper who kills Maggie, tying her to a tree. He then binds Darlene and waits for Rip to appear. When he does, he is promptly killed as well.
Philpot manages to repair the Z-29 and flies off through the activated Hoop, arriving several minutes prior to the events leading to Rip's death. Using the video drone as a guide he finds Rip, warning him just as Roper is about to fire. Seeing Philpot, Roper redirects his aim to him, crashing and nearly destroying the Z-29. Rip and Darlene run to it, Philpot telling them with his dying words that The Hoop is active due south of them. Rip and Darlene fly back to the portal, on the way crossing paths with the T Rex they'd tried to kill earlier.
Back in the present, the Colonel and her men rush through the lab door, guns at the ready. Suddenly, Rip and Darlene burst through on the Z-29, closely followed by the T Rex, who promptly begins to attack the Colonel and her men. As Darlene and Rip flee the lab, the time gate is destroyed once more. Outside, heading into the desert, Rip vows to return to the project and somehow use The Hoop to rescue Maggie.
:
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
and illustrated by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986. It tells the story of police officer Rip Scully and his adventures traveling back in time to the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
era, in pursuit of the man who kidnapped his fiancee.
Issue #1
ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Sharon Nelson enters a large laboratory full of personnel and equipment, demanding to speak with Dr. Philpot, the managing director of the facility. Philpot assures her everything is on schedule. They will have a test run of the project that evening at 11:30.
LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officer Rip Scully and his fiancee Maggie are driving to a party when Maggie suggests they stop to pick up some liquor. Inside the store, as Rip pays for his purchase, Sid Resnick and his girlfriend Darlene enter, Sid brandishing a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
. During the holdup, (which Rip attempts to prevent) Sid escapes and, once outside, takes Maggie hostage with a switchblade. Coercing Rip's gun from him, Sid then forces Maggie to drive them both to safety.
Rip drags Darlene to Sid's getaway car, an old Dodge
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
and they give chase. Some miles ahead, Sid forces Maggie to go around a large truck on a blind curve and, cut off by oncoming traffic, they smash through the guardrail and down a steep mountain incline, crashing through a wall at the bottom. Inside a large room, they see there is an experimental aircraft similar to the Moller Skycar
Moller Skycar
-Criticism:The only flight demonstrations have been hover tests performed in 2003 by a Skycar prototype that for insurance reasons was tethered to a crane...
hovering nearby. Sid drags Maggie to the empty vehicle and flies it down a large tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Colonel and Philpot are counting down to the 11:30 test. On their mark, a switch is thrown and a large portal opens with the lab, referred to as "The Hoop". Suddenly, Sid and Maggie crash through the lab in the stolen aircraft, destroying several banks of equipment before flying wildly through the mysterious doorway. Rip and Darlene appear in the Dodge moments later, following them. One of the technicians, Beacham, grabs a sub space
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
communication device and attempts to follow everyone, but the malfunctioning portal collapses upon him.
On the other side, Rip and Darlene escape from the Dodge, which has become mired in a tar pit
Tar pit
A tar pit, or more accurately known as an asphalt pit or asphalt lake, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large area of natural asphalt.-Known tar pits:...
. Rip has found Sid's pistol in the glovebox and is looking around frantically for any sign of Maggie. Beacham materializes then, burned to death from the effects of the collapsed portal, making Darlene scream in horror. Rip picks up the communicator and hears Dr. Philpot's voice, telling him to stay exactly where he is. A pterodactyl swoops by, forcing Rip to ask Philpot just where that might be.
Issue #2
The pterodactyl swoops down on Darlene, grabbing her and flying away. Rip fires at it with Sid's .45 and runs to help Darlene where she's fallen, but she sucker punches him and tries to get away. Rip subdues and cuffs her and, seeing smoke in the distance, assumes it's the wreckage of the stolen aircraft. He and Darlene head in that direction against Philpot's demands that they stay put until The Hoop can be repaired.Maggie and Sid, having survived the crash, offer their wildly differing opinions of their situation. Maggie is certain Rip will come to rescue her and kill Sid, while Sid assures Maggie that Rip is no match for him and will be killed the moment he shows his face.
Back at the lab, Colonel Nelson declares the loss of the experimental aircraft, known as the X-54, to be the last straw with respect to Rip and company's interference with their project. She arranges for John Vincent Roper, a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, to be contacted and brought to the base.
At the edge of a clearing on their way to the X-54 crash, Rip and Darlene encounter a herd of grazing Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
. Attempting to sneak past them, the animals stampede when, in the distance, a volcano erupts. Rip and Darlene are knocked to the ground but manage to recover and leap onto the back of one of the dinosaurs running past. As they approach a cliff, all of the animals charging straight off it to their deaths, Rip reaches up for a large tree branch, swinging both he and Darlene to safety.
Sid is lounging in the grass, demanding Maggie gather wood so they can start a fire from the flames of the X-54. Maggie does so and drops a pile of sticks at his feet when Sid sits up, deciding with a wild grin that she should be doing his bidding naked. He points his gun, demanding she undress, becoming more enraged the longer she refuses. Suddenly, the tremors of the volcano eruption reach them, startling what appears to be a turtle-like Ankylosaur from the bushes. Sid fires blindly behind him as he flees into the jungle. Some time later, as Maggie sits warming herself by the fire, she calls out to him: "You can come out now. It's gone."
Issue #3
The next morning, Rip and Darlene awaken in the tree in which they spent the night. Once on the ground, Darlene thanks Rip for saving her life, giving him a kiss. Rip pushes her away and Darlene insults him, telling Rip it's obvious, given her profession, he doesn't think she's good enough for him. She storms off, declaring that if Rip is so "goddamn anxious to get himself killed" then they might as well continue their search for Sid and Maggie.At the crash site, Sid wakes up to the sound of Maggie bathing in a nearby pond. When he asks what she's doing, she says she smelled bad and Sid should take the hint. He does so and strips down, jumping in with her. They wrestle in the water, Sid trying to pull her under. When they surface near the bank, Sid attempting to force himself on her, Maggie fights him off. Frustrated, Sid backs off and Maggie looks around, confused: "What is it? You stopped?" Excited at the prospect of a woman who likes it rough, Sid proceeds to slap Maggie repeatedly to her cries of encouragement.
Back at the project, Philpot visits Colonel Nelson in her room, where she is taking doses of uppers to stay focued. He questions the wisdom of letting Roper into the lab, a man with whom Philpot claims to have had some experience. After a brief argument, Philpot decides he cannot and will not let Roper into the project. Colonel Nelson seems to relent when, behind Philpot, a video monitor comes on, displaying Roper's face as he stands outside. Philpot turns and sees this, when the Colonel shoves his head into the monitor, knocking him unconscious.
Finding the site of the demolished X-54, but no sign of Sid or Maggie, Rip and Darlene ponder their next move when Rip spies a coil of nylon rope in the bushes. He figures this was part of an emergency kit on the aircraft and might come in handy. Just then, Darlene points ahead of them, at the sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It chases them, until Rip manages to lose it near a pair of large trees. Tying the rope between the trees, he baits the creature when it circles back, forcing it to trip across the rope. Falling onto its belly, Rip rushes from cover and empties his pistol into its head. He and Darlene run off, believing the thing to be dead, though, once they're gone, its eyes open.
At the project facility, Colonel Nelson instructs Roper to find Rip and the others and kill them. She equips him with a weapon similar to an M79
M79
M79 or M-79 may refer to:* Messier 79, a globular cluster in the constellation Lepus* M79 grenade launcher, an American grenade launcher* M79 rocket launcher, a Yugoslavian rocket laucher* M-79 , a state highway in Michigan...
grenade launcher, though with considerably more range and accuracy. She then tells him to hurry through the re-activated Hoop, as it will only stay open for a few seconds. Roper walks through the portal, finding himself in view of a Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name...
. He fires the launcher with a grin, exploding the creature. Unbeknownst to Roper as he walks away, a small, video equipped cylinder detaches from the weapon and floats high above, watching him.
Issue #4
Rip and Darlene watch a group of Velociraptors attacking an ApatosaurusApatosaurus
Apatosaurus , also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period . It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of and a...
, Darlene expressing sympathy for the creature as it's being devoured. Rip replies "At least they're eating," and sets about making a bow and arrow with his pocketknife. He successfully kills a nesting Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx , sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is a genus of theropod dinosaur that is closely related to birds. The name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning "ancient", and , meaning "feather" or "wing"...
and he and Darlene cook it around a small fire. Talk turns to how each of them got to their place in life, which turns argumentative to the point where Rip slaps Darlene. She retaliates with a kick to his stomach, which turns into a full on fight, ending when both relent and finally share another kiss. A few yards away, Roper is crouched in the jungle, watching.
At their new camp, Sid is torturing a Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
with a crude spear, blinding it first, then jabbing the spear in its side. Maggie begs him to put it out of its misery but Sid ignores her. Pointing to the creature, Sid laughs at its cries of pain when suddenly, it explodes, similar to the Dilophosaurus at the end of the previous issue. Sid looks around and Roper appears from behind him, knocking him down. Roper then binds his hands and feet and strings him up by his ankles as Maggie looks on, incredulous. Asking who he is and what he is doing, Roper calmly explains that he is "a hunter" and is going to use Sid as bait to "summon the policeman".
At the facility, Philpot wakes up and finds the Colonel in the lab, watching Roper with Maggie, courtesy of the flying video drone launched from Roper's weapon. Philpot lectures the Colonel on the dangers of infecting the timeline when she reminds him that so long as everyone that goes through the Hoop stays through it, no damage can be done. She simply wants Roper to kill Rip and the others so the project's future excursions to that era won't be disrupted by any of them trying to get back home, presumably bringing any entropic fluctuations to the timeline with them. Philpot seems to agree with this logic when he suddenly assaults the Colonel, pushing her out of the lab and sealing the door.
Rip and Darlene find a set of bootprints in the mud, following them to a river. They construct a raft and float across, hearing a loud scream from the opposite shore. They attempt to paddle themselves faster, but are nearly capsized by an angry Plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
. As the creature seems about to the get the best of them, its head is burst by Roper's weapon and they're able to make it to shore. Following the footprints up a hill, they find the remains of Sid's legs dangling from a tree, which explains the screams they heard. Velociraptors in the area serve to explain their cause.
As Rip and Darlene turn away from the scene, they hear moans from nearby and push through the jungle after them. They find Maggie tied down within a web of ropes, each one connected to a sharpened stick that has been pulled back and staked in a circle around her. Roper appears, informing Rip that if he should untie the wrong rope, all of the sticks will plunge into Maggie's body. However, if Rip should agree to a contest of survival against him, Roper would be glad to free her.
Issue #5
As Roper watches, Rip kneels down by Maggie and examines the structure of the rope web. He chooses correctly and saves Maggie but before he can confront his adversary, Roper flees into the jungle. Rip decides the safest course is for all of them - he, Maggie and Darlene - to track Roper together, the better to know where he's at until they can reach the Hoop entry site. However, as they stand arguing the merits of such a decision it begins to rain, the storm escalating quickly into a flash floodFlash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
.
Back at the facility, the Colonel has summoned men to burn through the lab door with acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
torches. Philpot ignores her threats from outside and turns from repairing The Hoop to fixing the Z-29, an early protoype of the X-54. The Colonel mentions that if Philpot is trying to rescue Rip and company, he won't make it in time. Philpot replies that "time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
is the operative word!"
Rip is separated from Darlene and Maggie in the flood. As he is swept away, Maggie and Darlene make their way to shore. They're confronted by Roper who kills Maggie, tying her to a tree. He then binds Darlene and waits for Rip to appear. When he does, he is promptly killed as well.
Philpot manages to repair the Z-29 and flies off through the activated Hoop, arriving several minutes prior to the events leading to Rip's death. Using the video drone as a guide he finds Rip, warning him just as Roper is about to fire. Seeing Philpot, Roper redirects his aim to him, crashing and nearly destroying the Z-29. Rip and Darlene run to it, Philpot telling them with his dying words that The Hoop is active due south of them. Rip and Darlene fly back to the portal, on the way crossing paths with the T Rex they'd tried to kill earlier.
Back in the present, the Colonel and her men rush through the lab door, guns at the ready. Suddenly, Rip and Darlene burst through on the Z-29, closely followed by the T Rex, who promptly begins to attack the Colonel and her men. As Darlene and Rip flee the lab, the time gate is destroyed once more. Outside, heading into the desert, Rip vows to return to the project and somehow use The Hoop to rescue Maggie.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Rip in Time Collected (collects Rip in Time #1-5, Fantagor Press, August 1990. ISBN 0-9623841-1-9)
See also
- DenDen (comics)Den is the name of two identical planetary romance fictional characters created by Richard Corben. The first appeared in the 1968 animated short film Neverwhere. The second has been appearing in the medium of comics since 1973, and in short stories that have been collected for the most part in...
- BloodstarBloodstarBloodstar is possibly the first graphic novel to call itself a “graphic novel” in print . Based on a short story by Robert E...
- A Boy and His DogA Boy and His DogA Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...
- Heavy Metal MagazineHeavy Metal (magazine)Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
Rip in Time is a five-part comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
and illustrated by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986. It tells the story of police officer Rip Scully and his adventures traveling back in time to the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
era, in pursuit of the man who kidnapped his fiancee.
Issue #1
ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Sharon Nelson enters a large laboratory full of personnel and equipment, demanding to speak with Dr. Philpot, the managing director of the facility. Philpot assures her everything is on schedule. They will have a test run of the project that evening at 11:30.
LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officer Rip Scully and his fiancee Maggie are driving to a party when Maggie suggests they stop to pick up some liquor. Inside the store, as Rip pays for his purchase, Sid Resnick and his girlfriend Darlene enter, Sid brandishing a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
. During the holdup, (which Rip attempts to prevent) Sid escapes and, once outside, takes Maggie hostage with a switchblade. Coercing Rip's gun from him, Sid then forces Maggie to drive them both to safety.
Rip drags Darlene to Sid's getaway car, an old Dodge
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
and they give chase. Some miles ahead, Sid forces Maggie to go around a large truck on a blind curve and, cut off by oncoming traffic, they smash through the guardrail and down a steep mountain incline, crashing through a wall at the bottom. Inside a large room, they see there is an experimental aircraft similar to the Moller Skycar
Moller Skycar
-Criticism:The only flight demonstrations have been hover tests performed in 2003 by a Skycar prototype that for insurance reasons was tethered to a crane...
hovering nearby. Sid drags Maggie to the empty vehicle and flies it down a large tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Colonel and Philpot are counting down to the 11:30 test. On their mark, a switch is thrown and a large portal opens with the lab, referred to as "The Hoop". Suddenly, Sid and Maggie crash through the lab in the stolen aircraft, destroying several banks of equipment before flying wildly through the mysterious doorway. Rip and Darlene appear in the Dodge moments later, following them. One of the technicians, Beacham, grabs a sub space
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
communication device and attempts to follow everyone, but the malfunctioning portal collapses upon him.
On the other side, Rip and Darlene escape from the Dodge, which has become mired in a tar pit
Tar pit
A tar pit, or more accurately known as an asphalt pit or asphalt lake, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large area of natural asphalt.-Known tar pits:...
. Rip has found Sid's pistol in the glovebox and is looking around frantically for any sign of Maggie. Beacham materializes then, burned to death from the effects of the collapsed portal, making Darlene scream in horror. Rip picks up the communicator and hears Dr. Philpot's voice, telling him to stay exactly where he is. A pterodactyl swoops by, forcing Rip to ask Philpot just where that might be.
Issue #2
The pterodactyl swoops down on Darlene, grabbing her and flying away. Rip fires at it with Sid's .45 and runs to help Darlene where she's fallen, but she sucker punches him and tries to get away. Rip subdues and cuffs her and, seeing smoke in the distance, assumes it's the wreckage of the stolen aircraft. He and Darlene head in that direction against Philpot's demands that they stay put until The Hoop can be repaired.Maggie and Sid, having survived the crash, offer their wildly differing opinions of their situation. Maggie is certain Rip will come to rescue her and kill Sid, while Sid assures Maggie that Rip is no match for him and will be killed the moment he shows his face.
Back at the lab, Colonel Nelson declares the loss of the experimental aircraft, known as the X-54, to be the last straw with respect to Rip and company's interference with their project. She arranges for John Vincent Roper, a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, to be contacted and brought to the base.
At the edge of a clearing on their way to the X-54 crash, Rip and Darlene encounter a herd of grazing Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
. Attempting to sneak past them, the animals stampede when, in the distance, a volcano erupts. Rip and Darlene are knocked to the ground but manage to recover and leap onto the back of one of the dinosaurs running past. As they approach a cliff, all of the animals charging straight off it to their deaths, Rip reaches up for a large tree branch, swinging both he and Darlene to safety.
Sid is lounging in the grass, demanding Maggie gather wood so they can start a fire from the flames of the X-54. Maggie does so and drops a pile of sticks at his feet when Sid sits up, deciding with a wild grin that she should be doing his bidding naked. He points his gun, demanding she undress, becoming more enraged the longer she refuses. Suddenly, the tremors of the volcano eruption reach them, startling what appears to be a turtle-like Ankylosaur from the bushes. Sid fires blindly behind him as he flees into the jungle. Some time later, as Maggie sits warming herself by the fire, she calls out to him: "You can come out now. It's gone."
Issue #3
The next morning, Rip and Darlene awaken in the tree in which they spent the night. Once on the ground, Darlene thanks Rip for saving her life, giving him a kiss. Rip pushes her away and Darlene insults him, telling Rip it's obvious, given her profession, he doesn't think she's good enough for him. She storms off, declaring that if Rip is so "goddamn anxious to get himself killed" then they might as well continue their search for Sid and Maggie.At the crash site, Sid wakes up to the sound of Maggie bathing in a nearby pond. When he asks what she's doing, she says she smelled bad and Sid should take the hint. He does so and strips down, jumping in with her. They wrestle in the water, Sid trying to pull her under. When they surface near the bank, Sid attempting to force himself on her, Maggie fights him off. Frustrated, Sid backs off and Maggie looks around, confused: "What is it? You stopped?" Excited at the prospect of a woman who likes it rough, Sid proceeds to slap Maggie repeatedly to her cries of encouragement.
Back at the project, Philpot visits Colonel Nelson in her room, where she is taking doses of uppers to stay focued. He questions the wisdom of letting Roper into the lab, a man with whom Philpot claims to have had some experience. After a brief argument, Philpot decides he cannot and will not let Roper into the project. Colonel Nelson seems to relent when, behind Philpot, a video monitor comes on, displaying Roper's face as he stands outside. Philpot turns and sees this, when the Colonel shoves his head into the monitor, knocking him unconscious.
Finding the site of the demolished X-54, but no sign of Sid or Maggie, Rip and Darlene ponder their next move when Rip spies a coil of nylon rope in the bushes. He figures this was part of an emergency kit on the aircraft and might come in handy. Just then, Darlene points ahead of them, at the sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It chases them, until Rip manages to lose it near a pair of large trees. Tying the rope between the trees, he baits the creature when it circles back, forcing it to trip across the rope. Falling onto its belly, Rip rushes from cover and empties his pistol into its head. He and Darlene run off, believing the thing to be dead, though, once they're gone, its eyes open.
At the project facility, Colonel Nelson instructs Roper to find Rip and the others and kill them. She equips him with a weapon similar to an M79
M79
M79 or M-79 may refer to:* Messier 79, a globular cluster in the constellation Lepus* M79 grenade launcher, an American grenade launcher* M79 rocket launcher, a Yugoslavian rocket laucher* M-79 , a state highway in Michigan...
grenade launcher, though with considerably more range and accuracy. She then tells him to hurry through the re-activated Hoop, as it will only stay open for a few seconds. Roper walks through the portal, finding himself in view of a Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name...
. He fires the launcher with a grin, exploding the creature. Unbeknownst to Roper as he walks away, a small, video equipped cylinder detaches from the weapon and floats high above, watching him.
Issue #4
Rip and Darlene watch a group of Velociraptors attacking an ApatosaurusApatosaurus
Apatosaurus , also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period . It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of and a...
, Darlene expressing sympathy for the creature as it's being devoured. Rip replies "At least they're eating," and sets about making a bow and arrow with his pocketknife. He successfully kills a nesting Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx , sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is a genus of theropod dinosaur that is closely related to birds. The name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning "ancient", and , meaning "feather" or "wing"...
and he and Darlene cook it around a small fire. Talk turns to how each of them got to their place in life, which turns argumentative to the point where Rip slaps Darlene. She retaliates with a kick to his stomach, which turns into a full on fight, ending when both relent and finally share another kiss. A few yards away, Roper is crouched in the jungle, watching.
At their new camp, Sid is torturing a Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
with a crude spear, blinding it first, then jabbing the spear in its side. Maggie begs him to put it out of its misery but Sid ignores her. Pointing to the creature, Sid laughs at its cries of pain when suddenly, it explodes, similar to the Dilophosaurus at the end of the previous issue. Sid looks around and Roper appears from behind him, knocking him down. Roper then binds his hands and feet and strings him up by his ankles as Maggie looks on, incredulous. Asking who he is and what he is doing, Roper calmly explains that he is "a hunter" and is going to use Sid as bait to "summon the policeman".
At the facility, Philpot wakes up and finds the Colonel in the lab, watching Roper with Maggie, courtesy of the flying video drone launched from Roper's weapon. Philpot lectures the Colonel on the dangers of infecting the timeline when she reminds him that so long as everyone that goes through the Hoop stays through it, no damage can be done. She simply wants Roper to kill Rip and the others so the project's future excursions to that era won't be disrupted by any of them trying to get back home, presumably bringing any entropic fluctuations to the timeline with them. Philpot seems to agree with this logic when he suddenly assaults the Colonel, pushing her out of the lab and sealing the door.
Rip and Darlene find a set of bootprints in the mud, following them to a river. They construct a raft and float across, hearing a loud scream from the opposite shore. They attempt to paddle themselves faster, but are nearly capsized by an angry Plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
. As the creature seems about to the get the best of them, its head is burst by Roper's weapon and they're able to make it to shore. Following the footprints up a hill, they find the remains of Sid's legs dangling from a tree, which explains the screams they heard. Velociraptors in the area serve to explain their cause.
As Rip and Darlene turn away from the scene, they hear moans from nearby and push through the jungle after them. They find Maggie tied down within a web of ropes, each one connected to a sharpened stick that has been pulled back and staked in a circle around her. Roper appears, informing Rip that if he should untie the wrong rope, all of the sticks will plunge into Maggie's body. However, if Rip should agree to a contest of survival against him, Roper would be glad to free her.
Issue #5
As Roper watches, Rip kneels down by Maggie and examines the structure of the rope web. He chooses correctly and saves Maggie but before he can confront his adversary, Roper flees into the jungle. Rip decides the safest course is for all of them - he, Maggie and Darlene - to track Roper together, the better to know where he's at until they can reach the Hoop entry site. However, as they stand arguing the merits of such a decision it begins to rain, the storm escalating quickly into a flash floodFlash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
.
Back at the facility, the Colonel has summoned men to burn through the lab door with acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
torches. Philpot ignores her threats from outside and turns from repairing The Hoop to fixing the Z-29, an early protoype of the X-54. The Colonel mentions that if Philpot is trying to rescue Rip and company, he won't make it in time. Philpot replies that "time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
is the operative word!"
Rip is separated from Darlene and Maggie in the flood. As he is swept away, Maggie and Darlene make their way to shore. They're confronted by Roper who kills Maggie, tying her to a tree. He then binds Darlene and waits for Rip to appear. When he does, he is promptly killed as well.
Philpot manages to repair the Z-29 and flies off through the activated Hoop, arriving several minutes prior to the events leading to Rip's death. Using the video drone as a guide he finds Rip, warning him just as Roper is about to fire. Seeing Philpot, Roper redirects his aim to him, crashing and nearly destroying the Z-29. Rip and Darlene run to it, Philpot telling them with his dying words that The Hoop is active due south of them. Rip and Darlene fly back to the portal, on the way crossing paths with the T Rex they'd tried to kill earlier.
Back in the present, the Colonel and her men rush through the lab door, guns at the ready. Suddenly, Rip and Darlene burst through on the Z-29, closely followed by the T Rex, who promptly begins to attack the Colonel and her men. As Darlene and Rip flee the lab, the time gate is destroyed once more. Outside, heading into the desert, Rip vows to return to the project and somehow use The Hoop to rescue Maggie.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Rip in Time Collected (collects Rip in Time #1-5, Fantagor Press, August 1990. ISBN 0-9623841-1-9)
See also
- DenDen (comics)Den is the name of two identical planetary romance fictional characters created by Richard Corben. The first appeared in the 1968 animated short film Neverwhere. The second has been appearing in the medium of comics since 1973, and in short stories that have been collected for the most part in...
- BloodstarBloodstarBloodstar is possibly the first graphic novel to call itself a “graphic novel” in print . Based on a short story by Robert E...
- A Boy and His DogA Boy and His DogA Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...
- Heavy Metal MagazineHeavy Metal (magazine)Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
Rip in Time is a five-part comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
and illustrated by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986. It tells the story of police officer Rip Scully and his adventures traveling back in time to the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
era, in pursuit of the man who kidnapped his fiancee.
Issue #1
ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Sharon Nelson enters a large laboratory full of personnel and equipment, demanding to speak with Dr. Philpot, the managing director of the facility. Philpot assures her everything is on schedule. They will have a test run of the project that evening at 11:30.
LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officer Rip Scully and his fiancee Maggie are driving to a party when Maggie suggests they stop to pick up some liquor. Inside the store, as Rip pays for his purchase, Sid Resnick and his girlfriend Darlene enter, Sid brandishing a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
. During the holdup, (which Rip attempts to prevent) Sid escapes and, once outside, takes Maggie hostage with a switchblade. Coercing Rip's gun from him, Sid then forces Maggie to drive them both to safety.
Rip drags Darlene to Sid's getaway car, an old Dodge
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
and they give chase. Some miles ahead, Sid forces Maggie to go around a large truck on a blind curve and, cut off by oncoming traffic, they smash through the guardrail and down a steep mountain incline, crashing through a wall at the bottom. Inside a large room, they see there is an experimental aircraft similar to the Moller Skycar
Moller Skycar
-Criticism:The only flight demonstrations have been hover tests performed in 2003 by a Skycar prototype that for insurance reasons was tethered to a crane...
hovering nearby. Sid drags Maggie to the empty vehicle and flies it down a large tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Colonel and Philpot are counting down to the 11:30 test. On their mark, a switch is thrown and a large portal opens with the lab, referred to as "The Hoop". Suddenly, Sid and Maggie crash through the lab in the stolen aircraft, destroying several banks of equipment before flying wildly through the mysterious doorway. Rip and Darlene appear in the Dodge moments later, following them. One of the technicians, Beacham, grabs a sub space
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
communication device and attempts to follow everyone, but the malfunctioning portal collapses upon him.
On the other side, Rip and Darlene escape from the Dodge, which has become mired in a tar pit
Tar pit
A tar pit, or more accurately known as an asphalt pit or asphalt lake, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large area of natural asphalt.-Known tar pits:...
. Rip has found Sid's pistol in the glovebox and is looking around frantically for any sign of Maggie. Beacham materializes then, burned to death from the effects of the collapsed portal, making Darlene scream in horror. Rip picks up the communicator and hears Dr. Philpot's voice, telling him to stay exactly where he is. A pterodactyl swoops by, forcing Rip to ask Philpot just where that might be.
Issue #2
The pterodactyl swoops down on Darlene, grabbing her and flying away. Rip fires at it with Sid's .45 and runs to help Darlene where she's fallen, but she sucker punches him and tries to get away. Rip subdues and cuffs her and, seeing smoke in the distance, assumes it's the wreckage of the stolen aircraft. He and Darlene head in that direction against Philpot's demands that they stay put until The Hoop can be repaired.Maggie and Sid, having survived the crash, offer their wildly differing opinions of their situation. Maggie is certain Rip will come to rescue her and kill Sid, while Sid assures Maggie that Rip is no match for him and will be killed the moment he shows his face.
Back at the lab, Colonel Nelson declares the loss of the experimental aircraft, known as the X-54, to be the last straw with respect to Rip and company's interference with their project. She arranges for John Vincent Roper, a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, to be contacted and brought to the base.
At the edge of a clearing on their way to the X-54 crash, Rip and Darlene encounter a herd of grazing Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
. Attempting to sneak past them, the animals stampede when, in the distance, a volcano erupts. Rip and Darlene are knocked to the ground but manage to recover and leap onto the back of one of the dinosaurs running past. As they approach a cliff, all of the animals charging straight off it to their deaths, Rip reaches up for a large tree branch, swinging both he and Darlene to safety.
Sid is lounging in the grass, demanding Maggie gather wood so they can start a fire from the flames of the X-54. Maggie does so and drops a pile of sticks at his feet when Sid sits up, deciding with a wild grin that she should be doing his bidding naked. He points his gun, demanding she undress, becoming more enraged the longer she refuses. Suddenly, the tremors of the volcano eruption reach them, startling what appears to be a turtle-like Ankylosaur from the bushes. Sid fires blindly behind him as he flees into the jungle. Some time later, as Maggie sits warming herself by the fire, she calls out to him: "You can come out now. It's gone."
Issue #3
The next morning, Rip and Darlene awaken in the tree in which they spent the night. Once on the ground, Darlene thanks Rip for saving her life, giving him a kiss. Rip pushes her away and Darlene insults him, telling Rip it's obvious, given her profession, he doesn't think she's good enough for him. She storms off, declaring that if Rip is so "goddamn anxious to get himself killed" then they might as well continue their search for Sid and Maggie.At the crash site, Sid wakes up to the sound of Maggie bathing in a nearby pond. When he asks what she's doing, she says she smelled bad and Sid should take the hint. He does so and strips down, jumping in with her. They wrestle in the water, Sid trying to pull her under. When they surface near the bank, Sid attempting to force himself on her, Maggie fights him off. Frustrated, Sid backs off and Maggie looks around, confused: "What is it? You stopped?" Excited at the prospect of a woman who likes it rough, Sid proceeds to slap Maggie repeatedly to her cries of encouragement.
Back at the project, Philpot visits Colonel Nelson in her room, where she is taking doses of uppers to stay focued. He questions the wisdom of letting Roper into the lab, a man with whom Philpot claims to have had some experience. After a brief argument, Philpot decides he cannot and will not let Roper into the project. Colonel Nelson seems to relent when, behind Philpot, a video monitor comes on, displaying Roper's face as he stands outside. Philpot turns and sees this, when the Colonel shoves his head into the monitor, knocking him unconscious.
Finding the site of the demolished X-54, but no sign of Sid or Maggie, Rip and Darlene ponder their next move when Rip spies a coil of nylon rope in the bushes. He figures this was part of an emergency kit on the aircraft and might come in handy. Just then, Darlene points ahead of them, at the sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It chases them, until Rip manages to lose it near a pair of large trees. Tying the rope between the trees, he baits the creature when it circles back, forcing it to trip across the rope. Falling onto its belly, Rip rushes from cover and empties his pistol into its head. He and Darlene run off, believing the thing to be dead, though, once they're gone, its eyes open.
At the project facility, Colonel Nelson instructs Roper to find Rip and the others and kill them. She equips him with a weapon similar to an M79
M79
M79 or M-79 may refer to:* Messier 79, a globular cluster in the constellation Lepus* M79 grenade launcher, an American grenade launcher* M79 rocket launcher, a Yugoslavian rocket laucher* M-79 , a state highway in Michigan...
grenade launcher, though with considerably more range and accuracy. She then tells him to hurry through the re-activated Hoop, as it will only stay open for a few seconds. Roper walks through the portal, finding himself in view of a Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name...
. He fires the launcher with a grin, exploding the creature. Unbeknownst to Roper as he walks away, a small, video equipped cylinder detaches from the weapon and floats high above, watching him.
Issue #4
Rip and Darlene watch a group of Velociraptors attacking an ApatosaurusApatosaurus
Apatosaurus , also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period . It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of and a...
, Darlene expressing sympathy for the creature as it's being devoured. Rip replies "At least they're eating," and sets about making a bow and arrow with his pocketknife. He successfully kills a nesting Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx , sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is a genus of theropod dinosaur that is closely related to birds. The name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning "ancient", and , meaning "feather" or "wing"...
and he and Darlene cook it around a small fire. Talk turns to how each of them got to their place in life, which turns argumentative to the point where Rip slaps Darlene. She retaliates with a kick to his stomach, which turns into a full on fight, ending when both relent and finally share another kiss. A few yards away, Roper is crouched in the jungle, watching.
At their new camp, Sid is torturing a Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
with a crude spear, blinding it first, then jabbing the spear in its side. Maggie begs him to put it out of its misery but Sid ignores her. Pointing to the creature, Sid laughs at its cries of pain when suddenly, it explodes, similar to the Dilophosaurus at the end of the previous issue. Sid looks around and Roper appears from behind him, knocking him down. Roper then binds his hands and feet and strings him up by his ankles as Maggie looks on, incredulous. Asking who he is and what he is doing, Roper calmly explains that he is "a hunter" and is going to use Sid as bait to "summon the policeman".
At the facility, Philpot wakes up and finds the Colonel in the lab, watching Roper with Maggie, courtesy of the flying video drone launched from Roper's weapon. Philpot lectures the Colonel on the dangers of infecting the timeline when she reminds him that so long as everyone that goes through the Hoop stays through it, no damage can be done. She simply wants Roper to kill Rip and the others so the project's future excursions to that era won't be disrupted by any of them trying to get back home, presumably bringing any entropic fluctuations to the timeline with them. Philpot seems to agree with this logic when he suddenly assaults the Colonel, pushing her out of the lab and sealing the door.
Rip and Darlene find a set of bootprints in the mud, following them to a river. They construct a raft and float across, hearing a loud scream from the opposite shore. They attempt to paddle themselves faster, but are nearly capsized by an angry Plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
. As the creature seems about to the get the best of them, its head is burst by Roper's weapon and they're able to make it to shore. Following the footprints up a hill, they find the remains of Sid's legs dangling from a tree, which explains the screams they heard. Velociraptors in the area serve to explain their cause.
As Rip and Darlene turn away from the scene, they hear moans from nearby and push through the jungle after them. They find Maggie tied down within a web of ropes, each one connected to a sharpened stick that has been pulled back and staked in a circle around her. Roper appears, informing Rip that if he should untie the wrong rope, all of the sticks will plunge into Maggie's body. However, if Rip should agree to a contest of survival against him, Roper would be glad to free her.
Issue #5
As Roper watches, Rip kneels down by Maggie and examines the structure of the rope web. He chooses correctly and saves Maggie but before he can confront his adversary, Roper flees into the jungle. Rip decides the safest course is for all of them - he, Maggie and Darlene - to track Roper together, the better to know where he's at until they can reach the Hoop entry site. However, as they stand arguing the merits of such a decision it begins to rain, the storm escalating quickly into a flash floodFlash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
.
Back at the facility, the Colonel has summoned men to burn through the lab door with acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
torches. Philpot ignores her threats from outside and turns from repairing The Hoop to fixing the Z-29, an early protoype of the X-54. The Colonel mentions that if Philpot is trying to rescue Rip and company, he won't make it in time. Philpot replies that "time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
is the operative word!"
Rip is separated from Darlene and Maggie in the flood. As he is swept away, Maggie and Darlene make their way to shore. They're confronted by Roper who kills Maggie, tying her to a tree. He then binds Darlene and waits for Rip to appear. When he does, he is promptly killed as well.
Philpot manages to repair the Z-29 and flies off through the activated Hoop, arriving several minutes prior to the events leading to Rip's death. Using the video drone as a guide he finds Rip, warning him just as Roper is about to fire. Seeing Philpot, Roper redirects his aim to him, crashing and nearly destroying the Z-29. Rip and Darlene run to it, Philpot telling them with his dying words that The Hoop is active due south of them. Rip and Darlene fly back to the portal, on the way crossing paths with the T Rex they'd tried to kill earlier.
Back in the present, the Colonel and her men rush through the lab door, guns at the ready. Suddenly, Rip and Darlene burst through on the Z-29, closely followed by the T Rex, who promptly begins to attack the Colonel and her men. As Darlene and Rip flee the lab, the time gate is destroyed once more. Outside, heading into the desert, Rip vows to return to the project and somehow use The Hoop to rescue Maggie.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Rip in Time Collected (collects Rip in Time #1-5, Fantagor Press, August 1990. ISBN 0-9623841-1-9)
See also
- DenDen (comics)Den is the name of two identical planetary romance fictional characters created by Richard Corben. The first appeared in the 1968 animated short film Neverwhere. The second has been appearing in the medium of comics since 1973, and in short stories that have been collected for the most part in...
- BloodstarBloodstarBloodstar is possibly the first graphic novel to call itself a “graphic novel” in print . Based on a short story by Robert E...
- A Boy and His DogA Boy and His DogA Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...
- Heavy Metal MagazineHeavy Metal (magazine)Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...