Dog Days is a comic written by Travis Gibb with art by Riccardo Faccini and colors by Claudia Giuliani. When a famous moose is murdered and skinned a seasoned detective and an energetic rookie are put on the case. This is a gritty crime drama with heavy gore and gruesomeness, layered mysteries, noir vibes, and a cast of anthropomorphic animals. The leading character here is Detective Helina Wolfe, they are a top detective who is gruff, easily angered, and they have no time for rookies. They have a wife named Sheela who has a litter of pups on the way. The rookie detective with senator connections is Barnaby Sampson, he is a boisterous and giddy animal with an unserious air about them. There are a number of other prominent characters like the police chief, other officers, and a famous singer named Hippoletta(they are a hippo). This story begins outside of a restaurant where a worker is being confronted by his superior for stealing food. A near-fight is broken up when a hooded animal violently intervenes. The scene then changes to a penthouse where an animal named Vanilla Sky and the singer Hippoletta are about to engage in adult activities. This takes place in a world where all the animals are anthropomorphic but still maintain some of their inherent traits. The action is brutal with many gruesome and gory moments as well as a slasher film amount of blood. Pacing here is steady overall with a mix of slow and fast sections. Some scenes feel too long, short, or just out of place; this can lead to confusion when combined with the shifting tones. This feels like a gritty crime drama starring cops that sometimes color outside of the lines. There are many violently and dramatically intense moments with frequent blending of the two. The dialogue is conversational and aggressive with many angry back-and-forths common to the gritty cop genre. There are at least a couple word-heavy pages and a significant amount of thick text bubbles/blocks. This is an intriguing and entertaining comic with strong personalities, gratuitous violence, and a riveting mystery.

            The art here is drawn in a detailed modern style that is reminiscent of older comics from the 70’s/80’s. The color palette is realistic(when possible) with an overall darker tone and a focus on lighting and shading. There is the rare potted plant and tree but outside of a few pages there is barely any natural scenery. The primary location here is the police station starting in the interrogation room and eventually visiting the briefing room, squad room, and offices. Some of the places seen include: multiple restaurants, the hospital, high-rises, and the city streets. The backgrounds usually show the actual surroundings like objects and structures but during action sequences it might just be a gradient color. The expression level here is very high as there are constant and strong reactions to what goes on. Emotions are mostly aggressive with a lot of anger and rage though there are some somber and happier looks shown. Even though they are anthropomorphic these characters’ heads maintain their real life look/shape; so while the clarity of expression is high overall on occasion it can be a tad bit difficult to decipher. Weapons used here include knives, firearms, and fists. There are many gruesome attacks and actions that lead to very bloody moments and heavy gore. The action scenes come in bursts of all lengths from short to long with a generally unconfusing flow, though there are some sections in certain fights that might leave you scratching your head.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like gritty noir crime drama stories that star anthropomorphic animals and that features brutal violence, heavy gore, and a layered mystery then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, blood, gruesomeness, gore.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I don’t want you as a detective.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/169403909/dog-days-a-zootopia-crime-noir-story/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 105

Violent Pages: 27, for 26% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 1, for 1% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 5

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 4

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”