Nathan Fox

"Dogs of War" shares three stories of canines and their masters during times of war. The dogs highlighted are: Boots, a World War I medical dog; Loki, a sled dog used during World War II; and Sheba, a scout dog utilized during the Vietnam war. The stories different time periods and dogs help keep the story varied while still having that single link between them being a focus on dogs of war.

The book starts out with what is probably the strongest of the bunch in Boots. Set in the trenches of show more WWI, Boots and his master Marcellinus are responsible for venturing out and locating injured soldiers. The story focuses a lot on the soldiers interactions with each other with Boots' story being more of the footnote that holds them together, but this doesn't detract from the dog theme. The story packs a "Band of Brothers" type punch as well with some great emotional content. The second story following Loki has the feel of a Jack London adventure story. Loki is a misfit among the other sled dogs and must work to prove himself. The third and final story integrates its war stories through flashbacks about Sheba's exploits in Vietnam with her handler, who after the war is having trouble coping and returning to society.

The collection as a whole is very solid. The pacing and variety of the stories is fantastic and the art supports the story very well. People looking for stories that focus solely on the dogs may be disappointed in some instances where the canines take a backseat to their human counterparts, but overall, the book is very enjoyable. Also of note is the further reading and author's note section that go into the true, historical aspects of the story. I received a free copy through NetGalley. show less

There is a long, noble history of war dogs —back to the Greeks and Romans of antiquity and earlier, to Alyattes of Lydia against the Cimmerians in 600 BC. Dogs have been used for patrols and guard work, as well as taken into battle.

In the modern era, dogs were used during World War I as sentries, scouts, casualty dogs, explosive dogs, ratters and mascots. Hundreds of dogs were used by US forces in WW II and thousands during the Viet Nam war. It is beyond dispute that they contributed to show more saving thousands of lives in all of these theatres of war.

And yet they have not received the recognition they deserved. Helping to alleviate that is a wonderful, heart-felt new graphic novel from Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox. Dogs of War links three fictional vignettes of heroic dogs used in major conflicts.

In “Boots” Fox and Keenan do masterful work in portraying the cruelty and hopelessness of trench warfare in Ypres, 1914 — grimy and desperate but room enough for a wonderful scene highlighting the Christmas Eve truce along the Western Front.

“Loki” is set in Greenland during World War II where an American expeditionary force has built runways, set up a weather station and monitor any enemy activity. Our hero Loki, an Alaskan Malamute, is paired with a new recruit from Maine who trains him and is well served in the hazardous adventures they face together.

In “Sheba” the war has ended but the nightmares never do for Lanford a Vietnam vet back home in North Carolina. Flashbacks to Vietnam and his scout dog Sheba bring the horror of war home and this bittersweet story is a wonderful way to end this inspiring book.

The stories are extremely well written and the art is confident and exciting. Highly recommended for any audience. show less

The individual character studies are coming a bit more often now (then again, there's only two more volumes to go, so I assume this is the last) and I'm part of this is to allow the regular series artist an opportunity to catch up a bit.

These are interesting stories and, in a couple of cases, actually shocking developments. I enjoyed this, but I'm now really invested on where Wood's going to take it as he completes the series.

On it's own, this is a good, creepy read! But compared to the story it's based on, it's just ok. Robert E. Howard's short story, of the same name, is much scarier and creepier and just a much better read! Maybe the weakness of this version is the expansion of the cast. Maybe it's the art. And maybe, just maybe, it didn't need to be updated. I really like Lansdale, and it is a good story, I just think that Howard nailed it the first time, and it probably should have just been left well enough show more alone. show less