Teen Dog TP
Writer/Artist: Jake Lawrence
BOOM! Box
from BOOM! Studios
In Stores: December 23, 2015
What’s not to Love: Teen Dog is John Hughes movies meets ’90s Nickelodeon cartoons, two of our absolute favorite things. It’s a totally awesome adventure that stars the canine that spun out of Jake Lawrence’s web comic Time Cowboy and kick-flipped his way into our hearts.
I love Teen Dog. have all the issues of this miniseries and follow Jake Lawrence on Twitter. Teen Dog is the coolest dude with the best attitude that you’d ever meet. He’s like Spiccoli without being baked. Plus, he’s a dog.
Teen Dog is all about fun, friendship and food – the main worries of anyone in their teen years who didn’t have to grow up way too fast. Lawrence’s writing puts the saga of Teen Dog and his friends into vignettes of teen life – that guy who doesn’t like you no matter what, the girl who WAS your friend but now ISN’T your friend, the teacher with no sense of humor, trying to find a job, prom, family, and growing up – all handled with the perfect light touch.
Kids could read this book and enjoy the smart silliness of it, with parents understanding the references. The art is simple but clear – you know who everyone is and what they’re doing, even as Mari regularly changes her hair (as teen girls do) and Teen Dog might go from a leather jacket to a denim vest. The colors are bright and cheeful – who doesn’t remember their school days in a rainbow haze? – and even the nights are blues and purples without any inky blackness.
This is a wonderful all-ages book. Read it now, read it to your kids, then read it again in 10 years. It’ll still be awesome.
