On to pages 5, 6, and 7.
Page 5 we have an establishing shot with Morgan and Tara deep in the jungle. Ignoring the (very) pink lizard, I like how panel 1 swaps the green and yellow from the original which brings the focus on them in the distance.
More great acting with the down shot in panel 2 shows Morgan’s frustration over his ridiculous story. Panels 3 and 6 show Tara and Morgan doubting what the other is saying.
Different from the original panels 3 and 4 swap flesh tone for light blue between the two panels. Again, more light blue highlights on Morgan’s hair. The final panel shows them enjoying themselves and the beginning of their relationship.
Page 6 features Barney the purple dinosaur and that is all I will say.
Small coloring difference in panel 1 with the water and background jungle the same light blue vs. the original with a light green background highlights the water.
Panel 2 has a weird shadow on Tara’s shoulder that the original doesn’t have. It doesn’t work for me because I imagine them under a dense jungle canopy that would not allow the sun to shine through and cast a shadow.
Panel 3 seems to me as inferior to the original. Gone are both the realistic coloring of Tara and Morgan and the tree offering contrast to the jungle in the distance. I would think with digital coloring it would be easier to do more detail compared the 1970s version of cutting colored films for each individual section.
Page 7 shows Barney leaving with lunch and Morgan’s frustration showing in his body language. The main panel shows the downtrodden slaves as shown through their faces, body language, and the child clinging to her mother. More comments below on the other versions.
Original
Page 7 of the original I prefer the two black horses on the left and on brown horse on the right. The fine detail is missing on the halter and reins so the newly colored brown horse so it just looks like a blob of brown. In the final panel I like Morgan and Tara with realistic coloring rather than the digital (bright) red.
Savage Empire
My favorite version for these three pages is the Savage Empire version. One nit is Tara’s belt on page 5 last panel is not yellow.
I love the T-Rex and it stays consistent as does the Sable vs, both the other versions. I like the final page with all natural colors. I think the ability to zoom in is spoiling the digital version. I still wonder why the other versions of page 7 seem to have more and cleaner color detail. I almost suspect the original comic was scanned and the colors touched up and changed. See the marked up versions below.
Showcase
I don’t have anything to say on the Showcase version other than it is beautiful.
Marked Up Color Examples
If you zoom in on the digital version you will notice the Moire pattern on the horses legs. You will also notice many different colors on the edge of the bottom of the panel. There are weird gray spots on the captives that seem to be bad coloring or printing.
No Moire on the horse’s legs and better coloring on the black horse. More detail and the rider’s leg is lighter helping to define it more. Different colors along the bottom of the panel like the digital version. Both the digital and original have part of the one child’s foot colored green and the boundary of the grass by all there feet have the two colors meeting somewhat sloppily.
The Savage Empire version has no Moire, more detail on the second horse, the foot is not half green, and the grass boundary is cleaner. Truly the best of the bunch.
Please tell me if my old eyes are seeing things or you see these subtle differences also.
Final comments:
Mike draws a mean T-Rex, but it is before the bird evolution theory so his stands up straighter.
Tara and Morgan bag what appears to be an African Sable that T-Rex steals.
Mike’s next creation would be Jon Sable. Note the logo and the Sable. The man knows what he likes.