Red Dog #2 Advance Review
Written by Rob Cohen
Adapted by Andi Ewington
Pencilled by Rob Atkins
Inked by Brian Shearer, Ernest Jocson and Marc Peruggia
Coloured by
Reviewed by Lorna Maltman (maltmanlorna@gmail.com)
Minor Spoilers
Just because you predict or know how something will end it does not make the ride any less enjoyable. For instance, throughout the years, I had the whole of Game of Thrones spoilt for me by my brother telling me everything that happened. So, when I eventually decided I would watch the show, even though I knew everything that would happen, I enjoyed it, nonetheless. In Red Dog first issue, I guessed how the cliff-hanger of Kyle being in the firing line would resolve, and I guessed correctly – the robot dog Q saves Kyle. However, the story of the only kid on the mining colony and his dog is still fun to read in this issue.
In the first part of the issue, an impressive action scene unfolds which demonstrates Cohen’s action chops, but also that Cohen has truly thought about this world and made imaginative decisions to make an interesting, cohesive world. The best part of the issue, though, is Kyle’s Uncle giving him his birthday present, a pack of five new robotic dogs. Cohen, especially, in Kyle’s reaction captures brilliantly the voice of young kid and that, paired with Q and his pack, are the standout of this issue.
In addition, the weird creations and the clean appealing art style provide a great coming of age story for Kyle, who is the only person on this colony that still needs to come of age. There are still flaws to this issue, such as the slight predictability of some of the first half and just a personal gripe is that his robot dog Q just looks a bit odd. Overall though, this issue has a lot of bright points and I look forward to the rest of the mini-series.
Verdict:
Give it a shot. This is a great sci fi coming of age comic that has both great action and emotion in its pages. This comic is worth checking out even in the flooded sci-fi comic market today.
