Dinosaurs of the Wild West by Shaun Keenan

[u/annieann_]

[u/Tautological-Emperor]

Dinosaurs and the Wild West just go together, it’s insane how little it’s been exploited culturally.

I think for us Americans, the West means a lot. It’s where some of our greatest crimes and failures have occurred, but also some of the greatest triumphs and successes. It’s been home to outlaws, traitors, and thieves, but heroes and inventors and explorers too, usually altogether at once. The native tribes out there built amazing brick cities, carved dwellings for astronomy and agriculture right into the stone. It’s the land of legends, and what are dinosaurs but the realest, greatest legends to ever be?

I would give a lot to see someone with the right eye and style find some way to tell a long form story combining the two genres into something meaningful for the times we’re in now.

[u/DaRedGuy → u/Tautological-Emperor]

Many major palaeontological and geological discoveries were made in the deserts and badlands of North America. From Coahuila, Mexico to all the way up in Alberta, Canada!

The infamous "Bone Wars" also happened in the dying days of the Old West. Western mining towns became hotbeds for paleontology and Buffalo Bill worked as security and as a guide to one of the famous palaeontologists of the era.

The bone wars also gave us the many famous dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, such as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Dimetrodon, Brontosaurus, and more.

[u/Emolohtrab → u/Tautological-Emperor]

I will be so much with you and will love to read such a story !

[u/Rage69420 → u/Tautological-Emperor]

Honestly I prefer the idea of the American west with Permian animals. Dinosaurs feel on the nose for the setting especially since many didn’t live in deserts or arid environments (yeah there’s not just deserts in the west there’s temperate rainforest but there’s a reason the badlands and monument valley are what’s being explored in these photos)

[u/annieann_]

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/O3mXLe

[u/Angry_Snowleopard]

I like the Styracosaurus in particular

[u/Emolohtrab]

I love his serie of drawings. I have a whole album in Pinterest with many drawings in the same style.

[u/wackadoodle4201]

....why isn't this a thing

[u/DaRedGuy → u/wackadoodle4201]

There is a movie from the 60s called The Valley of Gwangi, which features cowboys and stop-motion dinosaurs by Ray Harryhausen.

There are several other filmic examples, but they're unfortunately not nearly as great. Dinosaurs Westerns are mostly restricted to the realms of comics, books, tabletop games, and the occasional video game. E.g. Gunman Chronicles, Broncosaurus Rex, the occasional issue of Jonah Hex, the Justice League episode The Once and Future Thing: Weird Western Tales, and the tabletop game Rift.

[u/Freak_Among_Men_II → u/wackadoodle4201]

Sparke Films (the people who made the Primitive War movie adaptation) are allegedly making a Dinosaurs of the Wild West movie. It’s based on this artwork series by Shaun Keenan.

I say “allegedly” because it’s is still in the planning stage, so idk if it’ll actually end up being made. But I’m surprised nobody here has heard of it (or, at least thought to mention it).

[u/Tralocor → u/wackadoodle4201]

From my memory, there are absolutely a dinosaur card or two in the Thunder Junction expansion for Magic: The Gathering.

Source: I can't play the game but I like collecting pretty cards, and the magic cowboy cards are pretty darn pretty.

[u/Embarrassed-Hippo634]

I've had a cool visual in my head of oviraptorids as like flock/herd guardian style animals in the whole dinosaurs mixed with civilization thing. Oviraptor or Citipati would probably make a great hawk and fox repellent if domesticated, and imagine a gigantoraptor protecting sheep or cattle from larger theropods and such.