The pitch was probably pretty easy. It’s the X-files, but with dogs! The strange mysteries of a strange town will hounded out by, well, by hounds. And the dogs will have personalities! Noble dogs, grumpy dogs, loyal dogs! And a cat! Yes, think of the dynamics a cat will add. A cat! And Jill Thompson, a genius of comic fantasy will draw it, and that’ll draw in all those comic fantasy people who appreciate the genius of comic fantasy, dog-based comic fantasy that is. That’s a pitch I’d buy, well, to be more grammatically honest, it’s a pitch I bought after flipping through this rather prettily painted work of canine fiction. We3 meets that cat-perspective issue of Sandman; bring on the bark! Unfortunately, that’s why we play the games, or read the issues as it were. Putting down the comic, I had to ask myself that eternal question we all at times must contemplate, did I just accidentally pay money for a Hardy Boys’ spin-off book? Instead of eerie spook of the X-Files, the book provokes the tame pep of that unread elementary-school library last copy of Boy’s Life. This was so mild, I honestly thought I was five again, digging through my dad’s stash of late 50s Comic Code Dictated comics; I’m sure I must’ve read a few “swells” and at least one “I like Ike” reference. It was as boring as this sentence. And really, who wants to read that? Hey, don’t get me wrong, it was very competently put together, and let me say for the record, I do indeed like Ike, it’s just not what I was expecting, and it’s certainly not something original or even that fun. That said, if you’re looking for a nice comic to give your baby sister, and if it’s 1959, this is the title for you. If not, I might pass.