DOGS

Dogs is a series of shorts giving introductions for each of the characters involved. Some of the characters have mob history, some are just victims of circumstance, and some are victims of intent. All of them however, are deadly when provoked.

Mihai is the weepy old killer, he used to be the a hit man. He was in love with Milena, and surrogate father to the son of the Don he works for whose name is Ian. Mihai teaches Ian how to use a gun at the Don's request. Mihai, Ian and Milena are almost like a family for a while. This backfires when in jealousy Ian does the unthinkable and destroys that which Mihai holds most dear. The resulting standoff gets Mihai cut off from the organization, banished for pulling a gun on the Don's heir.

Badou is the gun smoker, a chain smoker with a knack for getting into trouble. Badou is an information broker, that specializes in infidelity cases. He stumbles on a sensitive secret of a very powerful man in a compromising situation and decides to take a picture. (obviously discretion is not his strongest trait) During the ensuing chase, he manages to dodge bullets while slinging insults like mud balls over his shoulder. (the old piss them off till the make a mistake tactic, which unfortunately does not work very well in his case)

Naoto is the blade maiden, a super slick chick that will slit your throat before you realize she has her blade drawn against you. Draw your blade first and you still won't have a chance. This chick is trained to be so fast that even if you are delivering what should be a killing blow, she will get inside your guard and take you down before you know what happened. Orphaned as a child and raised by a man she fears and hates, Naoto uses every ounce of flexibility and dexterity available to her in her fighting, as well as all the training she can get from her foster father.

Heine is a mystery and an enigma. All you learn about Heine's back story in this volume is that he is pretty much proof against death. Fill him with lead, throw him off a building, he gets up and keeps on going. He is a very solitary person, with an explosive personality when provoked. Although he is more reliable than anyone else in a gun fight. (I guess anyone that can laugh off someone emptying an entire clip into them would be) even if his only real friend Badou thinks otherwise.

Dogs simply introduces these four characters, with enough detail and background to make them real. The stories told give you a feeling for the individuals' character and integrity. Beyond that, the basic ground work for the sequel Dogs: Bullets and Carnage is laid down but nothing more. You get the impression that each character brings something unique and yet similarly preternatural to the table, but you can't quite place your finger on it. The only common factor tying each story together is the pending doom brought on by glimpses of an unseen and unknown evil. (sorry you have to follow the series to learn more)

This series is a real page turner, it sucks you right in and keeps you on the edge. Silly humor mixes with serious carnage in a perfect blend with drama. The artwork is (in my opinion) very good. The characters are distinct through the entire manga, and the cells have only the detail level that is required to portray the scene properly. There are occasionally entire pages of near silence, where the art conveys most of the story. Where other pages contain cells of mostly dialogue or sound effects. The level of detail in each cell keeps you focused on the direction of the plot rather than distracting you with static, scenery and exuberant verbosity.

The end of the manga has a very humble after-word by Shirow Miwa, as well as a very interesting note on the characters names and their various guns.

This manga reads right to left and is currently available from VIZ Media. The sequel “Dogs: Bullets and Carnage” will be released in August 2009.