Review by C.J. Bunce

It’s marketed as “Lady and the Tramp meets Silence of the Lambs,” which is pretty unsettling to begin with.  It certainly looks like Disney’s 101 Dalmations.  The first issue of the new five-part monthly comic, Stray Dogs, offers a touching introduction about a little dog named Sophie who is rescued into a house of a dozen dogs.  She’s taken under the care of a dog named Rusty, but soon remembers the circumstances of leaving her past home–the new human in charge might be a murderer.  It’s the stuff of high drama carefully revealed and beautifully illustrated.  And damned creepy.  One more thing:  Paramount Animation has already apparently bought the film rights.

Check out a preview of the first issue of Stray Dogs below.

The first issue is bittersweet, as we meet a frightened little dog nervous to be introduced to a new home.  No writer would turn this into something bad, right?  Right?!?  Writer-artist Tony Fleecs (Star Wars) and artist Trish Forstner (My Little Pony) aren’t going to take readers on the sweet journey you might expect.  Nope, this is a suspense thriller, and a well-drawn, smartly paced one at that.  It’s like the cute renderings of cats and dogs with the chilling shadows waiting around the corner we’ve seen in stories by Jill Thompson.

   

The series will offer some (damned creepy–did we say “damned creepy”?) variant covers with homages to horror movies, including Silence of the Lambs and Pet Sematary.

Here is a look inside the first issue, followed by a chilling book trailer that sets the tone:

A unique cute dog story that doubles as a creepy suspense thriller awaits in Stray Dogs, scheduled to debut in comic shops February 17, 2021.  Add this to your comic store pull list at Elite Comics or your own local store–if you dare.