By Chris Tresson

What up, Dawg! Sorry... That was a terrible way to open a review. It seems like forever since I read the first issue of Red Dog. I think it has genuinely been five or six months since I first opened it up and you know what? Although I read a lot of comics… like, a really stupid amount of comics per month (I’ve stopped counting how many), I can still remember what happened in the last issue of this like I only read it yesterday. That’s impressive. Either it was really good (it was) or I’m like some sort of comic book reading Rain Man (I’m not.) Anyways, this is my review of the second issue of Rob Cohen’s Red Dog from 451 Media. Let’s get this show on the road.

Firstly: if the writers decide to open the book on a splash page, you know the writers mean business. Spoiler/non-spoiler: he clearly does. This issue hits the ground running and I was immediately sucked back into the world of Red Dog. Once the serious fighty bit is out of the way, the book continues to impress and I found myself flying through it at a fine pace. It’s quite a fun read and I’m even more impressed that the story kept progressing instead of trying to hammer home information we’d already learned in the first issue. Great job by the writers. I usually have something to whinge about when it comes to second issues but I have no complaints here. 

I’ve sincerely enjoyed the writing of Rob Cohen and Andi Ewington on this series so far. The story has great pacing, I’m not being overwhelmed by all sorts of technobabble and like I’ve already stated, and most importantly of all, it is fun to read. I look forward to more of this story. 

The art from penciller Rob Atkins with inkers Brian Shearer, Ernest Jocson, and Mark Peruggia continues to impress and I think they’ve collaborated to create some really great art here. It fits the story perfectly and Colorist John Rauch does a fucking great job as per usual and brings the whole thing together for the art team. Good shit. I will say no more. Shout out to Taylor Esposito on the lettering job, it all pops where it needs to and looks great on the page.. the polar opposite of something else I put a review out for this week (always hire a decent letterer, people. It’s an aspect of comic creation that is often overlooked and it’s going to be key to your success.)

Another great issue from 451 Media and the team behind Red Dog. It really was a refreshing book and I think I needed it this week to balance me out. If you missed/didn’t pick up the first issue of Red Dog, hunt it down and read it. It’s been a great series up to this point and it’s really, really well done. I highly recommend adding it to your pull list.

Score: 5/5

Red Dog #2
Writers: Rob Cohen, Andi Ewington
Artist: Rob Atkins
Publisher: 451 Media