Good Dog by Graham Chaffee
My rating: 5/5 cats
awww, connor bought me a present!!
and it is a present that came with a sidecar present for early-orderers!
and connor doesn’t even like dogs!
so, first, there is bad dog. which is just a free little mini-comic about a very mischievous bulldog who spends a day getting into trouble.
BAD DOG!
i love bulldogs, and especially this one. dogs that go out and get into trouble, especially when they have sweet flappy-jowls—well, they are the best kinds of dogs by far.
and then there is good dog. which is a much deeper and more serious story. good dog is about a stray dog, plagued by nightmares of inferiority. he just wants to have a purpose, a job. he tries to do good doggie deeds, but they are either misinterpreted, or do not leave him feeling fulfilled, and he is always alone.
he thinks that if he just had a master, it would give his life some direction. but he sees the way his friend (the bulldog from bad dog) is treated by his master, and has second thoughts.
from there, he joins up with a pack of feral dogs, and their camaraderie and loyalty gives him his much-needed sense of community and belonging.
but even within the pack, there are problems with pecking order, jealousy, and unease. but he stays with them for a time, having barking adventures and behaving the way unleashed dogs behave, until a situation occurs which leaves good dog conflicted, and back to his doggie malaise.
i really loved this story, and i loved the artwork as well. and i love how almost all the dogs are reasonably realistically drawn except for bad dog, who looks sweet and cartoony. it might just be that bulldogs kind of always look cartoony, but i still like the contrast between lean and tough feral canines and sloppy, slobbery bad dog, with his dumb-dog abandon.
and even though i am naturally drawn more to the bad dog and his exploits, good dog is a much more resonant story, and you all should definitely check it out, even though i think it is too late to get your freebie bad dog.
oh, actually, no it’s not!
http://www.fantagraphics.com/browse-s…
go get it, puppies!
oh, and did i mention the author is also a tattoo artist??
aahhhhh!!
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