3 crampons out of 5

Well, this series is hampered by a major problem.  As of August 2012… WHERE THE HELL IS THE REST OF IT?

Joe Kelly has shown himself to be an interesting writer… flexing around a sort of jokey, mixed intellectual/toilet humor voice, capable of coming up with massive storylines when pressed… and capable of churning out regular comic chum when needed.  And then whipping out the odd bastard child that probably had a good heart (Bang! Tango…) but not much else to give it merit.  When Kelly suddenly reappeared around 2009 or 10 or 11 or whatever, he spat out several books in a row – Four Eyes, I Kill Giants, some Spider-Man work… and Bad Dog.  Though there were the mentioned ups and downs based on which book you were reading, it was good to see his name again, as Kelly is like a more friendly Grant Morrison, which was especially shown with Morrison’s Joe the Barbarian coming out around the same time as Giants, and both having similar themes.

Kelly finished I Kill Giants.  The art was a bit confusing at times, but most agreed it was a notable book.  And then Four Eyes, and then Bad Dog.  Both really promising titles with striking art styles and unique voices that… have stalled… after a few issues.

Bad Dog is about a werewolf who doesn’t want to turn back in to a human.  He works alongside a Bible-thumping tattooed pervert as a bounty hunter.  There appears to be a severed head in his fridge with which he has discussions regarding his life choices.  Each issue gives Kelly a nice splash page to get his poetic narratives out of the way, and Wendell gives him an outlet for the gross humor and the whole atmosphere works as an adultier version of his Deadpool antics, weighed down by having an agenda more developed than one perhaps allowed at a major publisher.  Diego Greco’s art is an excellent balance of sweeping comic pencils and large characters that give Lou (our werewolf) a definite presence.  Lou himself is an interesting mix of honorable intentions and mixed-up wanderings… all of these details working together for a strange, funny book that’s hard to judge without knowing where it was going.  It could’ve all fallen apart.  It could’ve built to something meaningful.  As it is, it’s hard to rate it anything outside of average, but if another issue comes out… I’ll be reading.