Graphic Novel Review Banquet

On the menu today is: Cult Of (The) Lamb with a side of Science Dog.

Sound good? Well then, let's partake of a somewhat kosher dinner of allegory. Notice that these works have firm connections to other media. As is only right, we'll open with the appetizer.

Science Dog

The creative team of Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker (Invincible) brought this work earlier on, with a hero who fully embodies his designation. With no superpowers (unless you want to count their massive intellect) and no mutation (he just happens to look like a dog), he's his government's own secret weapon. For him, invention is just a day at the office. The demand for him on this version of Earth is huge, with regular visitors from other dimensions and a dense forest of supervillains. There's only one dog for the job - Science Dog (Image Comics, published in 2011).

Both writing and art style resonate with Invincible, making the work easy to recommend (if you like this, you'll probably like that) though the vibe leans more heavily toward less-than-mainstream offerings. Dare I say, "underground"? The stories carry that more irreverent feel. Even with that, an Invincible crossover would not be seen as out of the question. Yes, I mean more than the "Seance Dog" punchline that the animated series offers. There's also a strong harkening to other books like The Adventure Zone and The Boys, so there's no reason that Science Dog shouldn't have greater attention.

Cult Of The Lamb

"A ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have." --Jesus Christ (Luke 24:39)

For Easter this year, perhaps it's important to be reminded of things that should probably stay un-resurrected. Surely among these exists the garden-variety heretic, Lamb, executed as a scapegoat (er... scape-sheep?) for continuous heresy, then brought back to the mortal coil by a Babylonian type of god to establish a cult in the god's name. Everyone involved, including Lamb, has their own plans for the world, in the graphic novel Cult of the Lamb, Vol. 1: The First Verse, published in 2024 by Oni Press.

This is about as direct an adaptation of the indie strategy/combat video game from Massive Monster as you can get. Alex Paknadel (Astonishing X-Men Infinity, Detective Comics) and Troy Little (Chiaroscuro, Rick And Morty vs Cthulhu) fashioned something that's fully faithful to the game's lore, adding only expected set pieces and humorous dramatization to the storyline. Plenty of design tidbits seen in this kind of graphic fantasy appear here, beyond the Happy Tree Friends look and tone embraced by the "Fox-esque" Mashed animation, from lack of eyeballs to hue-changing speech balloons. Even more, those who have experience playing the game will find lots of supplemental goodies here that couldn't be engaged in that format, including windows on what rival cults were up to, as well as Lamb's less-than-supportive boss. As rounded an experience that the game offers, the four issues in the graphic novel give up more so. It's a must for game veterans, and a very good prospect for general gaming veterans and devotees to titles like Overlord or Preacher.