The Fellowship was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of KENNEL
BLOCK BLUES #1 from BOOM! Studios. Ryan Ferrier writes, Daniel Bayliss draws, Adam
Metcalfe colors, and Colin Bell letters.
Oliver is not having a good day. When he’s nervous, he
sings. And this is not going over well in his new home, the Jackson State
Kennel. Happy dogs are really not welcome in prison, but he quickly makes
friends with a big dog named Cosmo and Cosmo’s cellmate, Charlie. But when the
cats make the alpha dog “disappear,” all hell breaks loose and Oliver is caught
in the middle.
This book is a page-flipping contradiction – part happy,
almost silly, fun with bipedal pets and over-the-top characters, and part
hard-bitten (sorry) prison drama. And not only are both done well, they mesh
beautifully together somehow. The characters are likeable (except the cat gang,
of course) and there’s plenty left unanswered (notably Chester and how Oliver
got here). The art really helps to build that contrast, too, with realistic
animal-people and the trippy combat/singing scenes.
Fighting with the cats. Playing ball in the yard. Terrible
food. Yes, it’s a dog’s life in the state kennel, and Oliver is totally out of
his element. You’ll want to pick this one up.
KENNEL BLOCK BLUES #1 is available now at your FLCS or at boom-studios.com.
~Mike ( @MikeyGeek )
