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briface's review
3.0
Interesting as a first work, fun to see how writing/storytelling and artistic style has changed and developed.
djotaku's review
3.0
This originally appeared at http://www.comicpow.com/2016/03/09/lost-dogs-are-all-around-us/ - images there.
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The world can be a pretty tough place and in Lost Dogs we see the worst of it. We know there are bad people out there, but we want to believe in the good of folks or that perhaps bad things won’t happen to us because we’re good people. Lost Dogs shatters all those illusions. Jeff Lemire’s first published comic book is a very fast read, but a very impactful read.
We’re introduced to a simple farmer, his wife, and daughter. He’s a gigantic man of few words – so few that, other than “uh-uh” a couple pages before the major event of the book, he doesn’t speak the entire time, even as his daughter is peppering him with questions. His wife ends up answering nearly all of the questions before he can say anything. The farmer takes his family to the city to go see a puppet show and the boats in the docks. There his family is attacked and he says his first words “Stay away…from my family!”
The darkness and helplessness comes from the fact that he cannot protect his family, despite his enormous size. There are too many against him and they have knives while he only has his bare hands. As the gang takes his wife away to rape and his daughter to kill, he’s tossed into the water to die. I don’t know if I’m alone or rare in this, but even before reading this I have often wondered what I would do if my family or just my wife ended up in a bad situation. On the one hand, we tend not to frequent bars, clubs, and other places where people get rowdy. On the other hand, we do go to Baltimore and Washington DC and there are pretty bad elements there. I’m often at a loss for anything I could do. Someone who’s already in the mindset to mess you up is probably experienced or at least cares not about his own life and safety. Having grown up in a non-chaotic society, I doubt I’d have the instincts necessary to overcome the overthinking in such a situation that could potentially save us.
Continuing the theme of the worst in folks, the sailors that fish him out of the sea agree to sell him to an old man for just 50 pence each. Then, the man who bought him forces him to fight in a bare knuckle boxing match for him in order to learn where his wife is – for she is alive following the ordeal. Although he doesn’t want to fight, he is forced to win the fight in order to find out where she is. He knocks out his opponent in one hit. Although he’s able to find his wife, she is dying from the beatings. As if to underscore the futility of life, the man whose boxer lost murders him in a cell.
Lost Dogs is so hard to read because it goes against what we want to believe – that only the bad are penalized. It’s why we treat the poor so badly – we assume they must have done something to deserve being poor – even if that something is just being lazy. But Lemire reminds us with this gruesome tale that even the purest of heart can have everything go horribly wrong for no reason at all.
Questions? Comments? I love discussion – feel free to comment wherever you read this.
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The world can be a pretty tough place and in Lost Dogs we see the worst of it. We know there are bad people out there, but we want to believe in the good of folks or that perhaps bad things won’t happen to us because we’re good people. Lost Dogs shatters all those illusions. Jeff Lemire’s first published comic book is a very fast read, but a very impactful read.
We’re introduced to a simple farmer, his wife, and daughter. He’s a gigantic man of few words – so few that, other than “uh-uh” a couple pages before the major event of the book, he doesn’t speak the entire time, even as his daughter is peppering him with questions. His wife ends up answering nearly all of the questions before he can say anything. The farmer takes his family to the city to go see a puppet show and the boats in the docks. There his family is attacked and he says his first words “Stay away…from my family!”
The darkness and helplessness comes from the fact that he cannot protect his family, despite his enormous size. There are too many against him and they have knives while he only has his bare hands. As the gang takes his wife away to rape and his daughter to kill, he’s tossed into the water to die. I don’t know if I’m alone or rare in this, but even before reading this I have often wondered what I would do if my family or just my wife ended up in a bad situation. On the one hand, we tend not to frequent bars, clubs, and other places where people get rowdy. On the other hand, we do go to Baltimore and Washington DC and there are pretty bad elements there. I’m often at a loss for anything I could do. Someone who’s already in the mindset to mess you up is probably experienced or at least cares not about his own life and safety. Having grown up in a non-chaotic society, I doubt I’d have the instincts necessary to overcome the overthinking in such a situation that could potentially save us.
Continuing the theme of the worst in folks, the sailors that fish him out of the sea agree to sell him to an old man for just 50 pence each. Then, the man who bought him forces him to fight in a bare knuckle boxing match for him in order to learn where his wife is – for she is alive following the ordeal. Although he doesn’t want to fight, he is forced to win the fight in order to find out where she is. He knocks out his opponent in one hit. Although he’s able to find his wife, she is dying from the beatings. As if to underscore the futility of life, the man whose boxer lost murders him in a cell.
Lost Dogs is so hard to read because it goes against what we want to believe – that only the bad are penalized. It’s why we treat the poor so badly – we assume they must have done something to deserve being poor – even if that something is just being lazy. But Lemire reminds us with this gruesome tale that even the purest of heart can have everything go horribly wrong for no reason at all.
Questions? Comments? I love discussion – feel free to comment wherever you read this.
crowyhead's review
3.0
The story and storytelling here are not entirely fantastic; it's definitely clear that Lemire was just starting out (indeed, this was his first published graphic novel). The artwork, though, is kind of amazing. It's much rougher than his later work, but there's this incredible *life* to it -- it feels like it's going to spill off the page in all its tangled, chaotic glory. It literally looks as though it was painted directly onto the page with a brush or perhaps his fingers, with very little in the way of penciling. Super beautiful, powerful art.
potatodel's review against another edition
3.0
This first graphic novel by Jeff Lemire gives the reader a good look at his style, but I would not recommend it as a first read if you are not familiar with Lemire. The story is less complex than his other books and fans might find it lacks a little depth. On the other hand, we can already feel what will become his way of telling tragic stories, in which the characters face a world too violent for them, where bad luck is simply a fatality you have to deal with.
joelipsett's review
2.0
I can overlook the crude, slightly unpolished art, but this fatalist tale of a man who loses everything is a little too obvious and depressing. Perhaps it's just the fact that it seems too familiar, but it's not my favourite piece of Lemire's
piranhapudel's review
4.0
"Lost Dogs" ist Jeff Lemires erstes veröffentlichtes Werk, das in dieser Neuauflage wieder zu lesen ist. Sein Zeichenstil konnte mich schon bei "Sweet Tooth" begeistern und in dieser kurzen Graphic Novel sieht man durchaus, dass sein Stil so in etwa schon immer da war und sich seitdem stetig entwickelt und verfeinert hat. Im Vergleich zu seinen neueren Werken wirken die Zeichnungen in "Lost Dogs" wesentlich kruder und roher, doch genau das hat diese für mich besonders wirkungsvoll erscheinen lassen. Jeff Lemire nutzt in dieser Geschichte nur Grautöne und verschiedene Rotstufen, für das Shirt des Protagonisten und für Blut. Passend zur Thematik wirkt das Rot viel eindringlicher, denn die Geschichte selbst geht unglaublich ans Herz, so hoffnungslos ist sie. Sie kommt mal mit mehr, mal mit weniger Worten aus, durch die Zeichnungen fließt die Trostlosigkeit aus jedem Pinselstrich.
booksofbelwood's review
3.0
Solid 3.5. Was cool seeing Lemire's early work (first published work, I believe?). Very raw and a hit to the stomach.
I'm sure I'll revisit it in the future as it's a short and contained story. Definitely worth a read if you can find it.
I'm sure I'll revisit it in the future as it's a short and contained story. Definitely worth a read if you can find it.
foreverfoxes's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Rape, Kidnapping, and Confinement