STRAY DOGS: Don’t Mess With The Dogs (Series review – possible spoilers)

If Norman Bates was in a Pixar movie, would you go and see it? Me personally I absolutely would. I love horror movies and Buzz Lightyear, however, that combination may throw some folks off from it. I mean let’s face it Norman Bates and Pixar should not work but Tony Fleecs and Trish Forstner have developed a recipe unlike none other. Murder, mystery, loss, love, and dogs. Stray Dogs is a glaring example of why you don’t need capes and superpowers to make a great comic. The only thing you need is passion and they have an abundance of it. 

When I first saw Stray Dogs in Previews I added it to my “I need to check this out” list. What I didn’t know was that I was going to be reading a story that I would be preaching from the pulpit on how great this book was. My wife, my friends (both comic and non-comic readers) folks at my LCS, everyone was going to know about Stray Dogs because they needed to know about Stray Dogs. There are many great things that make this series great. One that I love and appreciate is the fact that it doesn’t pretend to be something that it’s not. There is zero gratuitous content in this series, the writing fits the art, the art fits the writing, and everything aligns like comic book magic.

So let’s talk about Stray Dogs. Sophie, who is new to the house is welcomed by the other dogs who appear to be happy and content. They seem like a normal everyday pooch. Issue by issue we slowly peel back the layers of the horrible events that brought them all here. Faint memories come and go as Sophie picks up the scent of what is really going on. A dark and horrible secret is discovered and brings an unfortunate truth about the dogs’ owners and their new owner. Throughout the issues you slowly get a glimpse of the Master and his devilish scheme. The series culminates with the Master getting bit in the ass by karma and Imogene. Then ending while sad, the tears start to mix together when you see the dogs and their happy future. This was the perfect ending to a story that was masterfully penned and thought out. It’s stories like this that make comics so much fun. It’s stories like this that stick with you for years and easily become that instant selection when someone asks: do you have any comic book recommendations? 

The word complete comes to mind with Stray Dogs. By that I mean the art, writing, colors, lettering, make it a complete package. The characters, although dogs are absolutely easy to get behind and sink your teeth into (pun intended). Trish Forstner’s art is what this book needed. Her lighthearted-cartoon approach fits like a new leash and collar (once again, pun intended) perfectly balancing everyday human emotions and giving them to dogs. Also when the blood and violence came to the panels, it was still Forstner’s art. Now I would be completely out of line if I didn’t mention the at time creepy tones used by Brad Simpson and Tone Rodriguez, Chris Burnham, and Lauren Perry. The colors and layouts of Stray Dogs were top-notch. Seeing the transition from happy dogs to scared dogs, to the room that was off-limits, the shed, and we can’t forget the ending especially with Imogene, all of the panels were just beautiful.