Dead Dog's Bite #3

Dead Dog’s Bite #3

Dark Horse Comics 2021

By Tyler Boss

After a fire, Joe tries to find answers at her local library. Stop by yours today. The penultimate issue arrives.

This issue is something else altogether and it really boggles the mind, imagination as it engages the reader in some really marvellous ways. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m all for this weird aspect of the storytelling and I’m totally into Joe and what she’s trying to do but there are times my eyes widen and my head feels like its going to explode. This of course is utterly wonderful because when I cannot even begin to guess what the heck is going on or what’s going to happen next just means that Tyler has and is creating something incredibly unique and ambitious that is working on every single level possible.

This Rod Serling style opening is among my favourites that I have had the pleasure to see in comics. This dude is amazing in how he just starts talking and makes the reader aware, in as vague a way as possible just what it is that is going on within these pages. There really is something about the way he speaks to the reader that is kind of hypnotising in this weird kind of way and kudos to Tyler for his creation.

I am one of the biggest fans of the way that t his is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exquisitely well. Just the way it feels so natural for what Joe is doing is amazing to me and it is something that the reader gets behind and finds themselves rooting her on to find what she’s looking for. The character development is amazing and how we see the dialogue as well as character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter helps flesh them out. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way it draws us further and further in.

I like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, strengthen and emerge as we turn the pages. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is perfectly achieved.

The interiors here are phenomenal! I’m utterly impressed with how we see the linework with the varying weights being utilised to create the detail work that we see. The way that backgrounds are utilised is fantastic and how we see depth perception, that sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is sensational. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the composition with in the panels as well as the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is fabulous and how the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a marvellous eye for colour. The creativity and imagination in how we see everything presented and the overall utilisation of the panels is so eye catching and pulls the reader in even further.

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Joe is a far cry from Nancy Drew but she’s doing everything that she can do as far as the detective work is concerned to find out what happened to her missing friend. That the folks in this town and the dark secrets that they possess is something she’s coming to discover are as maddening and dangerous as attending the Mad Hatter’s tea party. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading this yet then I urge you to find out what all the fuss i’m making about this is all about. This is just intelligently written and innovatively illustrated as it takes you on this fantastic and bizarre journey through a small towns darkest secrets and lies.