Dinosaurs roar into World War II in Operation Dragon OGN

Operation Dragon
(Image credit: Randy Gaul (Dark Horse Comics))

Japan lost World War II, but that may be because they didn't have a dinosaur army - but they do in the upcoming OGN Operation Dragon. Writers Bill Groshelle and Brendan Cahill are working with artists German Peralta and Kristian Rossi for this alt-history action-adventure OGN.

"Set in the Pacific during World War II, three American soldiers—a disgraced ex-cop, a mobster trying to escape his past, and an intelligence officer with mysterious motives— come together for a mission of a lifetime," reads Dark Horse Comics's description. "Their lives are turned upside down when they uncover Japan's top-secret superweapon: a deadly force of trained dinosaurs. Feast on a mash-up of wisecracking noir and butt-kicking action in this sci-fi pulp adventure as soldiers take on the Jurassic giants!"

(Image credit: Randy Gaul (Dark Horse Comics))

Described as "maximal escapism," Operation Dragon didn't fully come to life until the art started coming in according to Cahill.

"While we were writing it, I thought we'd gotten that balance right, but it wasn't until Germán and Kristian started turning in pages that I really knew it would work," Cahill says in the announcement. "Their stuff makes the explosions and dinosaurs leap off the page, and lets you sink into those quiet moments where that human story breathes."

"I love action movies, and so we made this book a real thrill ride," Groshelle adds. "We also wanted to set a mythic tone, so we created characters that do really bad things but learn from their sins. They might keep on doing bad things, but they might also do something selfless and courageous. Darkness can be redeemed sometimes."

The Operation Dragon OGN goes on sale on July 25 in comic book stores and digitally, then on August 10 in bookstores.

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Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)