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Review by C.J. Bunce

Sometimes the implementation of an idea goes well beyond the idea itself.  That’s what I found with the new Dynamite Comics series, Obey Me.  The catchy title and great covers drew me to this first, and I’m a sucker for a story that stars a hound dog.  I’m also a fan of the movie Crossroads, a 1986 film written by John Fusco that features an old man who sold his soul to the devil.  A kid comes along (played by Ralph Macchio) who bargains for his life, and the result is a true American classic, steeped in mythology and blues.  In Obey Me, a young woman bounty hunter is tasked with hunting down a mob boss who has broken his contract with the devil.  She is joined by a talking hellhound–a familiar of sorts–and must go through several bodyguards to get to her target.  Along the way through some mouthy dialogue and murderous camaraderie, the pair–the woman is Vanessa and the dog is Monty–create a goofy brand of chemistry.  The plot sounds a little strange, but the first issue arriving in comic book stores tomorrow provides a heckuva fun story.

Obey Me blends two of my all-time favorite off-the-wall comic book series:  It has the irreverent humor and unusual talking characters of Felipe Melo, Juan Cavia, and Santiago Villa’s The Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizzaboy, and the equally strange, irreverent, and unusual series God the Dyslexic Dog from Brian and Phil Phillipson and legendary artist (and this year a Will Eisner Hall of Fame nominee) Alex Niño.  Plus there’s the Talking Dog.  Obey Me writer Mario Mentasti provides a familiar foundation, but look forward to some amped-up action and dialogue that will be loads of fun for mature readers.  Artist Ben Herrera and colorist Emmanuel Ordaz Torres find the perfect balance of comic book situations and blood, fire, and damnation.  Best of all, the team of Vanessa and Monty is all badass, making the book a must for your comic store pull list.

I was surprised this story is a tie-in to a PC and console game called Obey Me from Error 404 Game Studios.  It’s better than your average video game tie-in comic.  The game is a one- or two-person “top-down 3D action brawler” coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC later this year.  Here is a preview of Issue #0 of Obey Me, courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment, and the trailer for the video game:

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