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Rover Red Charlie #1-6
Rover Red Charlie
Garth Ennis - the creator of Preacher and Crossed - delivers a story like no other, as an unlikely band of canines set out to survive in a world gone horribly mad. When a worldwide plague wipes out humanity, what happens to man's best friend? Charlie was a helper dog and he was good at it. Now he and his friends Rover and Red must escape the bloody city and find their way in this strange, master-less new world. Rover Red Charlie collects issues #1-6 of the comic book series.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 14, 2014
10 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,624 books3,170 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
May 29, 2014
Garth Ennis returns to the world of Crossed to tell the story of what happened when humanity imploded only this time from the perspective of three dogs, Rover, Red and Charlie!
If you’ve never read Crossed (and to be honest it’s not one of Ennis’ best), it’s a bit like the zombie apocalypse except rather than shuffling about mindlessly and rotting, humanity becomes deeply disturbing after their inhibitions switch off and they lose control of their actions, murdering and doing terrible things to everyone and everything.
Rover, Red and Charlie see that the feeders (humans) have gone nuts and decide to leave New York City and head west to the big splash (the Pacific Ocean) where they hear things are more or less normal. So begins our trio of canine heroes’ trip across the North American continent - but things don’t go easily for them as they face dog-eating groups of cats and a giant evil dog called Hermann who wants them dead.
The story is never dull and Ennis knows how to keep it lively and moving at a steady clip, but by far the standout reason to read this book is the character work - Rover Red Charlie is one of the best character books I’ve read in ages. You start the book not knowing who any of the dogs are but by the end - a mere six issues! - they’re so well-defined, you’ll swear they’ve been around as long as Batman and Superman.
You’ve probably heard the writing mantra “show don’t tell” but if you want to see how that works in practice, check out this book. In the opening scene, Charlie, a helper dog, is trapped on the subway. His leash is caught and he can’t move, his owner has died, the other humans are dead or trying to kill one another, there’s fire everywhere and you think he’s doomed. Then Red and Rover appear, running down the steps to Charlie, along with another dog. Red, Rover and Charlie chew through the leash while the other dog runs off to save his own hide - Charlie is finally freed and they run to (relative) safety up to street level.
Right away their relationships is established - you know Red, Rover and Charlie are friends, and true friends at that, willing to put their lives on the line to help one another, unlike the other dog who selfishly thought only of himself. If Ennis were a lesser writer he’d simply write a caption box that said “Red, Rover and Charlie were the best of pals”; instead we see exactly that in an exciting first scene.
From then on, we see their individual personalities emerge. Red is the biggest and strongest of the three and also the dopiest, but he has the biggest heart, like when they encounter a dying dog who’s been infected with whatever got the humans, and he fills his mouth up with water, walks over to the dog, and dribbles the water into its mouth. It’s such a beautiful moment of compassion.
Rover’s the smallest and weakest dog but the smartest (and whose voice sounded to me like the late, great Bob Hoskins - RIP), while Charlie’s transformation over the course of the book from servant to the feeders to an independent dog is glorious.
But Ennis goes even further than the great characters by establishing a canine lexicon that seems lived in and convincing. The dogs speak english to one another but with subtle differences like when they call their brains “thinkers” and their hearts “thumpers”; cats are “hisspots” while chickens are “bork borkers”, and my favourite description of them all is for lamp posts which are “light trees”. And when they bark, it isn’t “woof”, it’s “I’m a dog!” which feels closer to what dogs seem to be saying when they do bark.
And that’s another thing - Ennis knows not to keep things too cerebral and make the dogs behave like dogs, so they have moments when they just have to play with one another, or roll around for no reason, and when lightning strikes, hide and whine because they don’t understand what’s happening. It’s a tremendous balancing act between keeping the characters true to themselves while also driving the story onwards and yet he pulls it off effortlessly.
What’s surprising is how after a while you stop thinking of the dogs as dogs and rather like relatable characters, so when the story turns unexpectedly anti-human, you wind up actually thinking the world would be better off without humans to screw everything up, and it were all dogs instead! Like at the end when Charlie discovers Hermann’s sad past - why he became an evil dog - you realise you can’t really hate the villain, like you normally would, because you’re too busy hating humans for being the scumbags we can be, hurting animals for no reason and turning the Hermanns of the world into the monsters they become thanks to us.
It is Garth Ennis so expect swearing and a lot of violence, much of it gory, and yes animals do get harmed, so prepare for that.
Michael DiPascale’s painted art is gorgeous and emotive. Dogs don’t have the same facial muscles humans do so their expressions are limited - it’s a fantastical concept but DiPascale’s art is rooted in reality - yet he’s able to coax out exactly the right emotions from the characters with perfectly placed body language and the right look in the dogs’ eyes. It’s not a breathtaking art style but I think it’s simplicity is suited to the story and characters in a way that a more involved artist might end up making the pages look too cluttered and busy.
If you’d told me that after The Boys, Fury MAX and Battlefields, that Garth Ennis would do a dog-focused story set in the Crossed world, I’d be unconvinced that it’d be worth reading; having read that book now though, I’m more surprised that I doubted Ennis could pull it off. Rover Red Charlie is a book that draws you in with its masterful character work and propulsive story and keeps you hooked right up until the end. It’s ambitious and, doggone it, it pays off!
If you’ve never read Crossed (and to be honest it’s not one of Ennis’ best), it’s a bit like the zombie apocalypse except rather than shuffling about mindlessly and rotting, humanity becomes deeply disturbing after their inhibitions switch off and they lose control of their actions, murdering and doing terrible things to everyone and everything.
Rover, Red and Charlie see that the feeders (humans) have gone nuts and decide to leave New York City and head west to the big splash (the Pacific Ocean) where they hear things are more or less normal. So begins our trio of canine heroes’ trip across the North American continent - but things don’t go easily for them as they face dog-eating groups of cats and a giant evil dog called Hermann who wants them dead.
The story is never dull and Ennis knows how to keep it lively and moving at a steady clip, but by far the standout reason to read this book is the character work - Rover Red Charlie is one of the best character books I’ve read in ages. You start the book not knowing who any of the dogs are but by the end - a mere six issues! - they’re so well-defined, you’ll swear they’ve been around as long as Batman and Superman.
You’ve probably heard the writing mantra “show don’t tell” but if you want to see how that works in practice, check out this book. In the opening scene, Charlie, a helper dog, is trapped on the subway. His leash is caught and he can’t move, his owner has died, the other humans are dead or trying to kill one another, there’s fire everywhere and you think he’s doomed. Then Red and Rover appear, running down the steps to Charlie, along with another dog. Red, Rover and Charlie chew through the leash while the other dog runs off to save his own hide - Charlie is finally freed and they run to (relative) safety up to street level.
Right away their relationships is established - you know Red, Rover and Charlie are friends, and true friends at that, willing to put their lives on the line to help one another, unlike the other dog who selfishly thought only of himself. If Ennis were a lesser writer he’d simply write a caption box that said “Red, Rover and Charlie were the best of pals”; instead we see exactly that in an exciting first scene.
From then on, we see their individual personalities emerge. Red is the biggest and strongest of the three and also the dopiest, but he has the biggest heart, like when they encounter a dying dog who’s been infected with whatever got the humans, and he fills his mouth up with water, walks over to the dog, and dribbles the water into its mouth. It’s such a beautiful moment of compassion.
Rover’s the smallest and weakest dog but the smartest (and whose voice sounded to me like the late, great Bob Hoskins - RIP), while Charlie’s transformation over the course of the book from servant to the feeders to an independent dog is glorious.
But Ennis goes even further than the great characters by establishing a canine lexicon that seems lived in and convincing. The dogs speak english to one another but with subtle differences like when they call their brains “thinkers” and their hearts “thumpers”; cats are “hisspots” while chickens are “bork borkers”, and my favourite description of them all is for lamp posts which are “light trees”. And when they bark, it isn’t “woof”, it’s “I’m a dog!” which feels closer to what dogs seem to be saying when they do bark.
And that’s another thing - Ennis knows not to keep things too cerebral and make the dogs behave like dogs, so they have moments when they just have to play with one another, or roll around for no reason, and when lightning strikes, hide and whine because they don’t understand what’s happening. It’s a tremendous balancing act between keeping the characters true to themselves while also driving the story onwards and yet he pulls it off effortlessly.
What’s surprising is how after a while you stop thinking of the dogs as dogs and rather like relatable characters, so when the story turns unexpectedly anti-human, you wind up actually thinking the world would be better off without humans to screw everything up, and it were all dogs instead! Like at the end when Charlie discovers Hermann’s sad past - why he became an evil dog - you realise you can’t really hate the villain, like you normally would, because you’re too busy hating humans for being the scumbags we can be, hurting animals for no reason and turning the Hermanns of the world into the monsters they become thanks to us.
It is Garth Ennis so expect swearing and a lot of violence, much of it gory, and yes animals do get harmed, so prepare for that.
Michael DiPascale’s painted art is gorgeous and emotive. Dogs don’t have the same facial muscles humans do so their expressions are limited - it’s a fantastical concept but DiPascale’s art is rooted in reality - yet he’s able to coax out exactly the right emotions from the characters with perfectly placed body language and the right look in the dogs’ eyes. It’s not a breathtaking art style but I think it’s simplicity is suited to the story and characters in a way that a more involved artist might end up making the pages look too cluttered and busy.
If you’d told me that after The Boys, Fury MAX and Battlefields, that Garth Ennis would do a dog-focused story set in the Crossed world, I’d be unconvinced that it’d be worth reading; having read that book now though, I’m more surprised that I doubted Ennis could pull it off. Rover Red Charlie is a book that draws you in with its masterful character work and propulsive story and keeps you hooked right up until the end. It’s ambitious and, doggone it, it pays off!
June 8, 2014
Ennis is the best. And stories like this is why I love his stuff so much.
Very rarely, if ever I read a comic (or a book) that makes my eyes water (just a bit) and shivers down my spine and arms when the book ends. This one did. And I was reading this at work while waiting something to happen (nothing happened).
The art is so beautiful and the dogs so well painted.... just incredible. I do not know who the artist Michael Dipascale is, but he really knows dogs. The Bassethound was so well done, all the moves and expressions (I used to have one).
This was truly brilliant. Get this one. Get this one now.
Very rarely, if ever I read a comic (or a book) that makes my eyes water (just a bit) and shivers down my spine and arms when the book ends. This one did. And I was reading this at work while waiting something to happen (nothing happened).
The art is so beautiful and the dogs so well painted.... just incredible. I do not know who the artist Michael Dipascale is, but he really knows dogs. The Bassethound was so well done, all the moves and expressions (I used to have one).
This was truly brilliant. Get this one. Get this one now.
June 10, 2017
If it weren't for Red, this book would have been pure crap. A ball of pure instinct and fierce loyalty with an amazing nose and an aromatic rear end, that Irish Setter was the only dog who acted and thought like a dog. The road trip, a lot of the action scenes and some of the dramatic moments just didn't seem to make a lot of sense, depending on shock value I suppose to keep the reader from thinking about things very much.
January 17, 2020
If this comic doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you're not human. Or you're strictly a cat person. It's so enlightening to see the world through a character's eyes. It's similar to WE3 and Pride of Baghdad in this regard. The dogs in this story don't understand everything about our world, so they use unexpected words and expressions to name everyday objects we take for granted. The story explores something unique - what would happen to our pets after the humans are gone? The humans' death is unexplained. The real focus is on the dogs and what they make of the world around them. I wouldn't recommend it to a child, though. It's a bit too graphic.
The world has gone to hell. All the people - the dogs call them 'feeders' - started killing themselves and each other, resulting in all manner of destruction around them. Three dogs - Rover, Red and Charlie - band together to try to survive this chaotic world and find a new home. They meet a few humans and several dogs whose behavior is far from normal. Each encounter is a learning experience.
The world has gone to hell. All the people - the dogs call them 'feeders' - started killing themselves and each other, resulting in all manner of destruction around them. Three dogs - Rover, Red and Charlie - band together to try to survive this chaotic world and find a new home. They meet a few humans and several dogs whose behavior is far from normal. Each encounter is a learning experience.
December 3, 2017
Garth Ennis - možda i najveći pisac američkog stripa - briljira i ovde. Toliko.
February 15, 2016
Zanimljiva priča o prijateljstvu Rovera, Reda i Charlija, koji su zapravo psi. Rover je bigl i Britanac, pa priča čudno, Red je retriver i malo je glupast, ali veoma dobar i hrabar a Charlie je pas vodič, treniran za pomoć ljudima. Nakon što nekakav apokaliptični virus pobije sve ljude, na Zemlji ostaju samo životinje. Glavni likovi ovog stripa su psi koji kreću iz New Yorka do "velike vode" u potragu za preostalim "hraniteljima", tj. ljudima, kako ih oni zovu. Kroz čitav strip otkrivamo kako psi vide svijet, način što znaju, a što ne (mačke su, recimo, puno lukavije i više znaju te ih u jednom trenutku pokušavaju odvesti u stupicu da bi se nahranile). Način njihove komunikacije je isto sjajno zamišljen - "I'm a dog! I'm a dog" zapravo znači "Vau! Vau!" :) Međutim, psi uskoro otkrivaju da ljudi svtarno više nema, i da su prepušteni sami sebi. Priča je zapravo alegorija na ljudsko društvo - uvijek imaš one koji su dobri, koji žele pomoći, ali nailaziš i na neke koji se osvećuju, neke koje interesiraju samo oni sami... Preostale životinje su zapravo tipični predstavnici svojih vrsta i pasmina - belgijski ovčar vjerno čuva svoju jedinicu i ne odvaja se iako su svi ljudi mrtvi; buldog (ili staford) se osvećuje jer su ga čitav život zlostavljali; mini čivave su potpuno ovisne, glasne i dolaze u skupini; mačke su lukave; pijetao i kokoši znaju samo jednu stvar; i sl.
Svidjela mi se priča, svidio mi se crtež, što više reći?
Svidjela mi se priča, svidio mi se crtež, što više reći?
October 26, 2015
1.5 stars. I couldn't actually finish this book; a much better version of an apocalyptic world where only the dogs survive is found in Beasts of Burden. Where much of the degradation is left to the imagination in that book, and where the author assumes that the reader actually HAS an imagination, this book is so dark and depraved it just became too much to continue to read. I don't like the images that I'm stuck with in my head now, and I decided I didn't want anymore. There's such a thing as subtlety and suggestion, and the subject matter in this book is borderline disgusting. Add to that, it's just not original. I did this for a graphic novel book club, and I wasn't alone in my thoughts.
May 30, 2014
Started off incredibly strong. Super unique spin on territory Ennis is already prolific in: the apocalypse. Bizarre, poignant, creepy, bloody, beautiful, funny-- it has everything. I thought it kind of lost steam in the last couple issues though, unfortunately. It seemed kind of rushed. I wrote a more in-depth review on the series a few months ago here: http://endoftheuniversecomics.com/201...
September 1, 2021
A really fun twist on a post apocalyptic world story!
When I saw that there was a story about dogs trying to survive an apocalypse I knew I had to read it and it definitly didn’t disappoint me. The story follows the 3 dogs Rover, Red and Charlie and them trying to figure out what to do in a world without the feeders.
I really liked the 3 main characters, they all had very distinct dog personalities. There were lots of little things in here that were good additions to the story like humans talking gibberish and the dogs doing dog things like playing with each other or peeing on a lamppost. The art was really well done too.
Overall it was a fun story to read, I’m not sure if I missed out by not reading the main story ‘crossed’ as this is a spin off to that, but I feel like not having read that put me in the same position as the dogs not really knowing what was going on with the humans. I’d recommend this but it definitly is only for adults however cute the dogs are!
When I saw that there was a story about dogs trying to survive an apocalypse I knew I had to read it and it definitly didn’t disappoint me. The story follows the 3 dogs Rover, Red and Charlie and them trying to figure out what to do in a world without the feeders.
I really liked the 3 main characters, they all had very distinct dog personalities. There were lots of little things in here that were good additions to the story like humans talking gibberish and the dogs doing dog things like playing with each other or peeing on a lamppost. The art was really well done too.
Overall it was a fun story to read, I’m not sure if I missed out by not reading the main story ‘crossed’ as this is a spin off to that, but I feel like not having read that put me in the same position as the dogs not really knowing what was going on with the humans. I’d recommend this but it definitly is only for adults however cute the dogs are!
February 26, 2018
J'ai bien aimé ce comics, bien qu'il ne soit pas de si bonne qualité que "Bêtes de somme", que ce soit au niveau du dessin, du propos ou de la sensibilité artistique. Ici nous suivons des chiens qui du jour au lendemain voient leur routine (manger, pisser, flairer les derrières, etc) complètement dévastée et ils doivent s'en sortir sans leurs "feeders", leurs maîtres, et trouver un sens à leur vie de... chien. C'est parfois drôle, grinçant souvent et tirant sur le glauque, mais rarement émouvant. Je ne me suis pas sentie touchée plus que cela par le devenir de ces chiens (alors que "Bêtes de somme" me hante encore). La "rébellion" des chiens était également prévisible, et ils ont trop de caractéristiques humaines à mon goût. Mais c'est à lire par curiosité.
November 25, 2024
I'm sorry, but a human rimming a dog is not something I'm even remotely comfortable with seeing. I understand that this is Garth Ennis, but just NO. That scene (and Hermann's entire plotline) kinda killed the whole book for me, but the rest of it wasn't all that great anyway. The art isn't impressive, the characters were all complete cliches, and I really don't care for unnecessary shock value. Garth Ennis fans may love it, but this bleeding heart animal rescue worker does not. I've seen too much of this shit in real life...
February 18, 2020
Me gustó. Esta lindo el mensaje y me agradó. Es muy gráfica, y hay violencia y cosas que no les van a gustar a los que aman a los animales. Pero cero que es importante entender que eso gráfico que vemos en la novela pasa todos los días y ni siquiera es el fin del mundo. Mi único disgusto fue que yo sentí que el cierre fue algo soso. No malo, pero predecible.
Recomendada a quienes quieran una historia muy buena de animales pero tengan tolerancia a verlos sufrir.
Recomendada a quienes quieran una historia muy buena de animales pero tengan tolerancia a verlos sufrir.
April 20, 2020
Another quick, fantastic and very entertaining read from the comic book master Garth Ennis. Rover, Red and Charlie try to survive after their owners have died and the human race has seemingly imploded on itself. Violent but also sentimental, it made me think about what would animals, in this case dogs, really do if the human race went instinct and they didn't have them to rely on. Good stuff!
May 8, 2018
I would put this book on the same shelf as We3 and Pride of Baghdad. An enthralling story, at times humorous, but many times, poignant and tragic.
May 28, 2020
Shocking, experimental and thought-provoking. If you see Ennis as just another edgy comic book writer, I'd highly suggest you to pick up this book. You'll immediately understand that, at least here, the gore is not the main thing.
July 30, 2017
There's very few writers in the word that I find as divisive as Garth Ennis. I don't just mean that some people love him, and some people hate him. That's true for most authors. I mean that sometimes I love his work, and sometimes I despise it.
If, fifty years from now, you look up the term "shock value" in LiteraryDictionary.com, there will be a picture of Garth Ennis, and the description "This motherfucker here loves to cock up your expectations." I like but don't love Preacher, Volume 1: Gone to Texas. I really enjoyed The Boys, Volume 1: The Name of the Game, and his run on Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits, and Ennis was the first writer that made The Punisher Garth Ennis Collection 2 appeal to me. On the flipside I think books like Dicks, Volume 1 and A Train Called Love are unreadable garbage.
About a decade ago, I was working in a store when his original run on Crossed, Vol. 1 came out. It's the epitome of a shock value zombie apocalypse story, but there was enough really interesting humanity in it to keep me entertained. This book is similarly premised: something in the world goes horribly wrong and the humans become depraved and murderous. However in this story, they are quickly pushed into the background as we see how dogs (and to a lesser degree, cats) handle an apocalyptic scenario where humans have become sociopathic murder machines.
Some of the dog-isms in the book are amusing: the fact that when dogs bark they are usually saying "I'm a dog! I'm a dog!" is fun, if a little reminiscent of the seagulls in Finding Nemo who only ever say "Mine!" But most of them got tired for me very quickly.
My main issue with this book is that I mostly didn't care what happened to any of the dogs. Unlike Brian K. Vaughan's Pride of Baghdad or Grant Morrison's We3, I never believed the animals would communicate the way they do in the book, and therefore, none of the consequences ever engaged my emotions. Scenes that were supposed to be sad made me roll my eyes, and those that were meant to shock me merely had me shaking my head "Oh Garth, we're back to shit jokes, again?"
I'm not sure, apart from die-hard Ennis or Crossed fans, who I would recommend this to. But there seems to be a number of positive reviews on this site, so there's clearly an audience for profanity-filled zombie apocalypse stories featuring pets.
I didn't give much of a thought to Michael DiPascale 's art while I read the book because I was working hard trying to enjoy the story. But he did a really gorgeous job drawing this, and I hope to check out his work on Hero Worship, Volume 1 sometime soon.
If, fifty years from now, you look up the term "shock value" in LiteraryDictionary.com, there will be a picture of Garth Ennis, and the description "This motherfucker here loves to cock up your expectations." I like but don't love Preacher, Volume 1: Gone to Texas. I really enjoyed The Boys, Volume 1: The Name of the Game, and his run on Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits, and Ennis was the first writer that made The Punisher Garth Ennis Collection 2 appeal to me. On the flipside I think books like Dicks, Volume 1 and A Train Called Love are unreadable garbage.
About a decade ago, I was working in a store when his original run on Crossed, Vol. 1 came out. It's the epitome of a shock value zombie apocalypse story, but there was enough really interesting humanity in it to keep me entertained. This book is similarly premised: something in the world goes horribly wrong and the humans become depraved and murderous. However in this story, they are quickly pushed into the background as we see how dogs (and to a lesser degree, cats) handle an apocalyptic scenario where humans have become sociopathic murder machines.
Some of the dog-isms in the book are amusing: the fact that when dogs bark they are usually saying "I'm a dog! I'm a dog!" is fun, if a little reminiscent of the seagulls in Finding Nemo who only ever say "Mine!" But most of them got tired for me very quickly.
My main issue with this book is that I mostly didn't care what happened to any of the dogs. Unlike Brian K. Vaughan's Pride of Baghdad or Grant Morrison's We3, I never believed the animals would communicate the way they do in the book, and therefore, none of the consequences ever engaged my emotions. Scenes that were supposed to be sad made me roll my eyes, and those that were meant to shock me merely had me shaking my head "Oh Garth, we're back to shit jokes, again?"
I'm not sure, apart from die-hard Ennis or Crossed fans, who I would recommend this to. But there seems to be a number of positive reviews on this site, so there's clearly an audience for profanity-filled zombie apocalypse stories featuring pets.
I didn't give much of a thought to Michael DiPascale 's art while I read the book because I was working hard trying to enjoy the story. But he did a really gorgeous job drawing this, and I hope to check out his work on Hero Worship, Volume 1 sometime soon.
April 24, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) 2.5/5
I'm really not sure what to make of this one. On the one hand, it absolutely annoyed the living shit out of me at times. I haven't read a lot of Ennis at this point, although what he has written so far, I've rather enjoyed. Despite hitting a few enjoyable moments at times throughout the story, I can't help but feel any number of other authors would have crafted a more successful narrative than Ennis has. Like the expectation on him to be Garth Ennis is just too much for him to resist at times. Was one of the dogs really used in a filthy bestiality film? Nothing shocks me, but come on. If you're trying to create a somewhat graphic yet touching story of three dogs surviving the apocalypse, then that is truly beyond the pale, and I'm a little shocked that I've actually written that. Whilst the art was fairly solid throughout, it was Ennis's contributions which most often fell down here. The continual need for the dogs to have their own lingo for certain words (for cuteness), yet have a perfect command of the English language otherwise really grated on me. Just call it an ocean and get on with it. The cast of characters they met along the way were bland and uninteresting, with one possible exception.
Ennis could have used this story for some very powerful meta commentary on mankind's relationship with animals. In fat, I think he tried to at times, he just failed rather miserably. This story could have had a rather profound secondary message about our callous abuse of no human creatures, although instead, we got ham fisted and fumbling attempts, that were about as subliminal or subtle as a punch in the face... from a gorilla... on steroids. Poor execution for sure. A definite missed opportunity.
The story was at its strongest during Charlie's narration, and would have been the better vehicle to build the story on, with only occasional dialogue from the dogs. Although this was used sparingly, and as a result, we got simple (boring) conversations between the dogs, because dogs are dumb and can't express themselves articulately, so their conversations must be very plain (boring). I really just wanted them to shut up. Yeah, the somewhat subversive ending brushing up against the expected was kinda nice, and left me with a slight fondness for this story overall that hadn't been there throughout the majority of the run. I really would have enjoyed a different author employing a different style to tell this story, as Ennis clearly wasn't capable of telling the story that at least I would have preferred. If you want lowest common denominator humour, emotion and plotting, then give this a go. If your expectations are any higher than that, approach with caution. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
I'm really not sure what to make of this one. On the one hand, it absolutely annoyed the living shit out of me at times. I haven't read a lot of Ennis at this point, although what he has written so far, I've rather enjoyed. Despite hitting a few enjoyable moments at times throughout the story, I can't help but feel any number of other authors would have crafted a more successful narrative than Ennis has. Like the expectation on him to be Garth Ennis is just too much for him to resist at times. Was one of the dogs really used in a filthy bestiality film? Nothing shocks me, but come on. If you're trying to create a somewhat graphic yet touching story of three dogs surviving the apocalypse, then that is truly beyond the pale, and I'm a little shocked that I've actually written that. Whilst the art was fairly solid throughout, it was Ennis's contributions which most often fell down here. The continual need for the dogs to have their own lingo for certain words (for cuteness), yet have a perfect command of the English language otherwise really grated on me. Just call it an ocean and get on with it. The cast of characters they met along the way were bland and uninteresting, with one possible exception.
Ennis could have used this story for some very powerful meta commentary on mankind's relationship with animals. In fat, I think he tried to at times, he just failed rather miserably. This story could have had a rather profound secondary message about our callous abuse of no human creatures, although instead, we got ham fisted and fumbling attempts, that were about as subliminal or subtle as a punch in the face... from a gorilla... on steroids. Poor execution for sure. A definite missed opportunity.
The story was at its strongest during Charlie's narration, and would have been the better vehicle to build the story on, with only occasional dialogue from the dogs. Although this was used sparingly, and as a result, we got simple (boring) conversations between the dogs, because dogs are dumb and can't express themselves articulately, so their conversations must be very plain (boring). I really just wanted them to shut up. Yeah, the somewhat subversive ending brushing up against the expected was kinda nice, and left me with a slight fondness for this story overall that hadn't been there throughout the majority of the run. I really would have enjoyed a different author employing a different style to tell this story, as Ennis clearly wasn't capable of telling the story that at least I would have preferred. If you want lowest common denominator humour, emotion and plotting, then give this a go. If your expectations are any higher than that, approach with caution. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
April 13, 2018
I read this, I can't unread it. I might be okay that I read it, I'm still not sure. I do NOT recommend it. It is violent, disturbing and very disgusting in places. At the same time it has some interesting things to say and some really wonderful moments. But you can find those same points made better in other books. The ending was the ending I needed after the stomach lurching trek we took with the 3 dogs and yet perhaps not the best or most realistic one for the story. The three main characters are wonderfully drafted and Ennis does an excellent job with conveying their journey and growth. Unfortunately all of the positive is heavily over shadowed by scenes that often push past the point of plain tastelessness into degrading garbage. The story would have had more impact if Ennis could have reined in his constant desire to shock and horrify.
I'm not a Garth Ennis fan so I probably should have known better. I will never reread this book. Quick pass me something happy, charming, sweet and filled with pink balloons. Really, don't read this book.
I'm not a Garth Ennis fan so I probably should have known better. I will never reread this book. Quick pass me something happy, charming, sweet and filled with pink balloons. Really, don't read this book.
December 21, 2020
Es un libro desgarrador y tierno a la vez. Te hace preguntar algo que tal vez ya nos habíamos puesto a pensar antes: ¿qué harían nuestros perros sin nosotros? Y no sólo perros, sino otros animales que dependen directa o indirectamente de los humanos. En parte, es la cruda historia de la civilización que desaparece de manera cruel, y como a través de eso, los animales vuelven a retomar un lugar que ahora es más amplio, sin restricciones, con mucha más libertad. Los perros son inteligentes a su manera, y la historia llega a ser cruda en ocasiones, pero lo asimilas como algo real, que se va a quedar en tu cabeza un buen tiempo.
August 27, 2015
Garth Ennis always takes at least one gross scene too far! But I still loved this story. Now whenever I hear dogs barking I hear them saying "I'm a dog! I'm a dog!"
September 11, 2019
El mejor cómic que he leído en muchos años, otra vez.
Garth Ennis, guionista. ¿Quién es Garth? Pues es el hombre que creó Preacher (Predicador), también hizo algo con Hellblazer, no puedo asegurar qué. Genera historias muy buenas, muy ricas en detalles, normalmente con escenas gore, pero que suelen tener mucho más que violencia gratuita. Preacher, por ejemplo, tiene unos personajes con muchísmo matiz y color, con los que no suele recurrir ni al cliché ni al personaje de paja al servicio de la historia. Las historias no suelen ser complejas. Se suele esperar el desenlace y no suele engañar ni sorprender en los finales. Aún así son historias entretenidas que no suele rellenar con acción que no tenga sentido para la historia.
En esta ocasión, Garth, nos cuenta una historia que en cine sería una buddy movie o una road movie, una historia de unos amigos haciendo un viaje. Pero el viaje no importa, lo que importan son las relaciones. Y nuestros amigos que viajan son tres perros que se han visto envueltos en el fin del mundo, para los humanos. Garth no explica demasiado porque todo lo cuentan los perros que tienen personalidad de perro y hacen cosas de perro, más o menos. La historia tiene sus toques de violencia, sangre e higadillos al principio. Pero la violencia desaparece bastante para dejar paso a la historia emotiva y a las relaciones de los perros con los otros perros que van encontrando hasta que terminan su viaje y un poquito más.
Del ilustrador, Michael, DiPascale, no puedo contar mucho porque lo desconocía antes de este cómic. Sí puedo decir que su trabajo es impecable. Las viñetas son magníficas, la gestión de la gestualidad y del movimiento es genial. Sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que son perros. Y no los antropomorfiza al estilo Pixar/Disney, lo que complica aún más la emotividad de nuestros personajillos. También borda la narrativa visual de página a página, las texturas, el mundo, el ambiente. En general hace un trabajo magnífico y no me imagino otro dibujante mejor para hacer este trabajo.
¿Y qué nos ofrecen? Como he comentado un comic con alguna dosis de gore. Una historia del fin del mundo en el que unos perros intentan salvarse o simplemente continuar. Uno de los perros era un perro guía que sólo ha servido para cuidar humanos y lo que quiere es encontrar humanos para cuidar de ellos. Y este es el espíritu de los perros que nos cuentan. Están totalmente humanizados y buscan a los que les han cuidado y dado de comer porque son los que dotan, o han dotado, de sentido sus vidas y existencias.
En el camino van encontrando otros perros que han encontrado otros sentidos a la vida. Un homenaje descarado a The Walking Death, un perro feliz comedor de gallinas y algún que otro encuentro más que nos interrumpen el viaje con una gran carga de emociones. Unas veces nos dejarán acongojados y otras nos sacarán unas risas.
A mi me ha resultado una genialidad, me ha emocionado profundamente y me resulta uno de esos cómics que no se pueden olvidar. Me ha parecido maravillosa la traducción de los ladridos y de los aullidos. El descubrimiento y el cambio en lo más profundo de los espíritus de Rover y Charlie, la personalidad libre, sana, noble y perrunísima de Red, adicto a que lo huelan, dominado por instintos por no haber sido “apañado”. Genial, todo genial, desde el principio al final.
No es apto para todos los públicos porque al señor Garth le encanta meter algo de gore en sus comics. Pero lo recomiendo a todo tipo de lector. Es una historia adulta, preciosa y magnífica.
¡Soy un perro! ¡Soy un perro!
Garth Ennis, guionista. ¿Quién es Garth? Pues es el hombre que creó Preacher (Predicador), también hizo algo con Hellblazer, no puedo asegurar qué. Genera historias muy buenas, muy ricas en detalles, normalmente con escenas gore, pero que suelen tener mucho más que violencia gratuita. Preacher, por ejemplo, tiene unos personajes con muchísmo matiz y color, con los que no suele recurrir ni al cliché ni al personaje de paja al servicio de la historia. Las historias no suelen ser complejas. Se suele esperar el desenlace y no suele engañar ni sorprender en los finales. Aún así son historias entretenidas que no suele rellenar con acción que no tenga sentido para la historia.
En esta ocasión, Garth, nos cuenta una historia que en cine sería una buddy movie o una road movie, una historia de unos amigos haciendo un viaje. Pero el viaje no importa, lo que importan son las relaciones. Y nuestros amigos que viajan son tres perros que se han visto envueltos en el fin del mundo, para los humanos. Garth no explica demasiado porque todo lo cuentan los perros que tienen personalidad de perro y hacen cosas de perro, más o menos. La historia tiene sus toques de violencia, sangre e higadillos al principio. Pero la violencia desaparece bastante para dejar paso a la historia emotiva y a las relaciones de los perros con los otros perros que van encontrando hasta que terminan su viaje y un poquito más.
Del ilustrador, Michael, DiPascale, no puedo contar mucho porque lo desconocía antes de este cómic. Sí puedo decir que su trabajo es impecable. Las viñetas son magníficas, la gestión de la gestualidad y del movimiento es genial. Sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que son perros. Y no los antropomorfiza al estilo Pixar/Disney, lo que complica aún más la emotividad de nuestros personajillos. También borda la narrativa visual de página a página, las texturas, el mundo, el ambiente. En general hace un trabajo magnífico y no me imagino otro dibujante mejor para hacer este trabajo.
¿Y qué nos ofrecen? Como he comentado un comic con alguna dosis de gore. Una historia del fin del mundo en el que unos perros intentan salvarse o simplemente continuar. Uno de los perros era un perro guía que sólo ha servido para cuidar humanos y lo que quiere es encontrar humanos para cuidar de ellos. Y este es el espíritu de los perros que nos cuentan. Están totalmente humanizados y buscan a los que les han cuidado y dado de comer porque son los que dotan, o han dotado, de sentido sus vidas y existencias.
En el camino van encontrando otros perros que han encontrado otros sentidos a la vida. Un homenaje descarado a The Walking Death, un perro feliz comedor de gallinas y algún que otro encuentro más que nos interrumpen el viaje con una gran carga de emociones. Unas veces nos dejarán acongojados y otras nos sacarán unas risas.
A mi me ha resultado una genialidad, me ha emocionado profundamente y me resulta uno de esos cómics que no se pueden olvidar. Me ha parecido maravillosa la traducción de los ladridos y de los aullidos. El descubrimiento y el cambio en lo más profundo de los espíritus de Rover y Charlie, la personalidad libre, sana, noble y perrunísima de Red, adicto a que lo huelan, dominado por instintos por no haber sido “apañado”. Genial, todo genial, desde el principio al final.
No es apto para todos los públicos porque al señor Garth le encanta meter algo de gore en sus comics. Pero lo recomiendo a todo tipo de lector. Es una historia adulta, preciosa y magnífica.
¡Soy un perro! ¡Soy un perro!
August 31, 2021
«–¿Quién puede decir lo que puede hacer un perro y lo que no?
–Los humanos.
–Los humanos y sus opiniones ya se han ido. Yo creo que los perros somos capaces de hacer muchas cosas pero no nos dejaban. Cada vez que estaba a punto de llegar a algo interesante, todo lo que escuchaba era "Rover ¡No!".»
⚠️Está novela gráfica autoconclusiva es parte del universo de Crossed de Ennis Garth, pero se puede leer sin ningún problema.
Desde que salió que quise esta novela gráfica sin saber que formaba parte de una historia ya publicada y con varios spin-off por todos lados.
Vi la portada y la ame: perros, un apocalipsis; qué más interesante que eso?
Me llama la atención las cosas cuando están puestas en una perspectiva completamente diferente, se puede fallar o acertar. En este caso estoy... No tan maravillada como lo esperaba.
¿De que va la historia?
Leí está novela gráfica sin haber leído antes Crossed, pero como comenté, se puede leer igual sin ningún problema.
Estamos en un mundo apocalíptico donde los humanos se vuelven suicidas y asesinos, así que todo es realmente un caos terrible.
Nuestros personajes principales son tres perros: Rover, Red y Charlie quienes mucho no entienden que es lo qué le está pasando a los humanos. Charlie fue criado para cuidar a los humanos y su instinto lo lleva a intentar eso y a querer hacer eso constantemente. Pero tras un par de cositas y acontecimientos deciden ir hasta "el gran salpicadero" (el Océano Pacífico) donde se dice que ahí todos los perros son libres. Así comienza la travesía de estas tres mascotas que van aprendiendo a dejar de serlo.
¿Qué me pareció?
Sinceramente, no sé porque, esperaba que me volará la cabeza y no, no sucedió. Me agradó, pero no me fascinó. No sentía que estaba leyendo a unos perros, no se, me costaba muchísimo eso (y he leído libros con perspectivas de animales y contados por ellos) pero acá me faltó esa conexión. De ratos los sentía muy tontos. Por ejemplo en las cosas que pasaban y no las entendían, me parecía normal pero en dialecto, si bien la mayor parte era "como podría pensar un perro" a veces sacaba palabras como "ciencia ficción" y uno se queda "¿Cómo puede ser que este perro use la palabra ciencia ficción perfectamente en una oración y para otras cosas lo deja como bien tonto?".
La historia en sí me gustó, la amistad de estos tres can me encantó. Su travesía es entretenida pero sigue sin fascinarme. Las ilustraciones también me gustaron mucho.
Por otro lado debo aclarar que si son sensibles al maltrato animal y esas cuestiones, hay escenas que no les van a gustar y les puede resultar chocantes. Si pueden bancar esas cositas podrían darle una oportunidad a este volumen. Explora la decadencia humana y su mal comportamiento, también el lado bueno de ellos pero parcialmente.
Espero leer Crossed más adelante y adentrarme en su apocalipsis.
June 13, 2020
Cuando se trata de Ennis sé exactamente qué esperar. Violencia desmedida y escenas perturbadoras. Pero interesamente, RRC me agarró desprevenido, es una obra de Ennis, muy mesurada, muy emotiva, muy profunda, muy simbólica y muy reflexiva.
Ennis utiliza la violencia a cuenta gotas para demostrar su punto y eso es muy interesante porque estamos hablando de un mundo post apocalíptico. La violencia debería de estar en cada pagina y no lo está. Y cuando la usa, también la usa mesuradamente, esta obra la podría leer un adolescente y no pasaría gran cosa.
Me gusta pensar que esta obra transcurre en el universo de Crossed de Ennis, podría ser, finalmente el apocalipsis aquí también son humanos enloquecidos matando humanos.
No sé si esto sea un cumplido pero Ennis escribe perros malditamente mejor que lo que escribe humanos. Wow. Nunca había pensado lo interesante y retador que puede ser narrar desde el punto de vista de un perro y Ennis lo hace muy bien. Introduce algunos detalles sutiles sobre cómo nos perciben y cómo perciben al mundo estos animales. Quedé muy sorprendido y conmovido.
Nunca he tenido mascotas, a mis padres no les gustaban. Por eso las obras de animales no suelen llegarme o producirme muchas emociones. Esta obra lo logra, y es muy interesante porque los perros están muy poco humanizados. Sentí empatía y otras cosas por un perro, no por un perro que piensa como un humano.
Me gusta mucho el apartado reflexivo que introduce sutilmente Ennis. Charlie, quien podría ser considerado nuestro protagonista, tiene varias dudas existenciales. Charlie era un perro de ayuda porque su "alimentador" era ciego. En el apocalipsis, él quiere buscar a los alimentadores para que le digan qué hacer. Para ayudarlos, y son sus dudas y reflexiones con lo que se va encontrando, lo más interesante del libro.
El final me gustó bastante, feliz, y agridulce al mismo tiempo. Un final interesante para una obra que me agarró desprevenido.
Ennis utiliza la violencia a cuenta gotas para demostrar su punto y eso es muy interesante porque estamos hablando de un mundo post apocalíptico. La violencia debería de estar en cada pagina y no lo está. Y cuando la usa, también la usa mesuradamente, esta obra la podría leer un adolescente y no pasaría gran cosa.
Me gusta pensar que esta obra transcurre en el universo de Crossed de Ennis, podría ser, finalmente el apocalipsis aquí también son humanos enloquecidos matando humanos.
No sé si esto sea un cumplido pero Ennis escribe perros malditamente mejor que lo que escribe humanos. Wow. Nunca había pensado lo interesante y retador que puede ser narrar desde el punto de vista de un perro y Ennis lo hace muy bien. Introduce algunos detalles sutiles sobre cómo nos perciben y cómo perciben al mundo estos animales. Quedé muy sorprendido y conmovido.
Nunca he tenido mascotas, a mis padres no les gustaban. Por eso las obras de animales no suelen llegarme o producirme muchas emociones. Esta obra lo logra, y es muy interesante porque los perros están muy poco humanizados. Sentí empatía y otras cosas por un perro, no por un perro que piensa como un humano.
Me gusta mucho el apartado reflexivo que introduce sutilmente Ennis. Charlie, quien podría ser considerado nuestro protagonista, tiene varias dudas existenciales. Charlie era un perro de ayuda porque su "alimentador" era ciego. En el apocalipsis, él quiere buscar a los alimentadores para que le digan qué hacer. Para ayudarlos, y son sus dudas y reflexiones con lo que se va encontrando, lo más interesante del libro.
El final me gustó bastante, feliz, y agridulce al mismo tiempo. Un final interesante para una obra que me agarró desprevenido.
April 3, 2020
En estos días de incertidumbre, donde el coronavirus está en boca de todos (no literalmente... y esperemos que así se mantenga), es fácil pensar en el fin del mundo o al menos, de nuestra especie.
Coincidencialmente me he encontrado con una novela gráfica fabulosa de Garth Ennis y la ilustración de Michael Dipascale: Rover Red Charlie, que combina dos de mis temas preferidos... el apocalipsis y los perros.
Esta epopeya cuenta con una introducción de nada más y nada menos que el gran maestro Alan Moore, quien no duda en decir ciertas verdades pero sobre todo, en alabar el trabajo de Ennis y Dipascale.
La historia del mundo vista desde los ojos (o más bien el olfato) de tres perros que han presenciado el fin del mundo para los humanos, o como ellos les llaman: "los alimentadores", y su búsqueda de un lugar mejor y de la adaptación a su nueva vida.
Con una narrativa fluida y un trabajo gráfico excepcional, los autores presentan un mundo nuevo, lleno de posibilidades para esta especie que, sin interés de mantener un estatu quo particular, hereda el mundo.
Mientras leia esta novela gráfica me acompañaban mis perros....Máia, Léia y Renzo. Fue inevitable pensar qué sería de ellos si algo así sucediera. Ellos, en especial Máia que ya me ha salvado la vida en un par de ocasiones, saldrían adelante. Estoy seguro que tanto Máia como Léia le enseñarían al gran Renzo como vivir en la calle, ellas tienen mundo y mi pequeño gran cachorro no tendría de que preocuparse. Al final, solo espero que si llega el apocalipsis, este trío amoroso lo vivan meneando la cola a cada instante.
Coincidencialmente me he encontrado con una novela gráfica fabulosa de Garth Ennis y la ilustración de Michael Dipascale: Rover Red Charlie, que combina dos de mis temas preferidos... el apocalipsis y los perros.
Esta epopeya cuenta con una introducción de nada más y nada menos que el gran maestro Alan Moore, quien no duda en decir ciertas verdades pero sobre todo, en alabar el trabajo de Ennis y Dipascale.
La historia del mundo vista desde los ojos (o más bien el olfato) de tres perros que han presenciado el fin del mundo para los humanos, o como ellos les llaman: "los alimentadores", y su búsqueda de un lugar mejor y de la adaptación a su nueva vida.
Con una narrativa fluida y un trabajo gráfico excepcional, los autores presentan un mundo nuevo, lleno de posibilidades para esta especie que, sin interés de mantener un estatu quo particular, hereda el mundo.
Mientras leia esta novela gráfica me acompañaban mis perros....Máia, Léia y Renzo. Fue inevitable pensar qué sería de ellos si algo así sucediera. Ellos, en especial Máia que ya me ha salvado la vida en un par de ocasiones, saldrían adelante. Estoy seguro que tanto Máia como Léia le enseñarían al gran Renzo como vivir en la calle, ellas tienen mundo y mi pequeño gran cachorro no tendría de que preocuparse. Al final, solo espero que si llega el apocalipsis, este trío amoroso lo vivan meneando la cola a cada instante.
May 29, 2024
Гарт Енис е достатъчно познато име сред комикс почитателите, а от известно време имахме дори удоволствието да гледаме сериали по негови творения. С този комикс, поне според мен Енис опитва нещо сравнително ново, което всъщност е брилянтно.
В комикса "Роувър, Ред, Чарли", ще се срещнем с трима най-добри приятели, които се борят да оцелеят в момента в който целият свят започва буквално да се сгромолясва, а ужасяваща пандемия превръща хората в безмилостни убийци. Разбира се, както вече може би сте се досетили, тук историята няма да бъде разгледана от гледна точка на някаква оцеляваща група хора, а на пангара са най-добрите приятели на човека след бирата - кучетата. Това е историята на Роувър, Ред и Чарли. Комиксът е нарисуван доста добре, а историята ни сблъсква с колкото тъжни, толкова и весели моменти. На фона на мащабни сцени със самоубийства, тримата приятели бягат за да оцелеят. По пътя към спасителната Територия, тримата другари се сблъскват с най-различни приключения, които ги срещат, както с приятели, така и с доста силни врагове.
Друг интересен похват е гледната точка на историята, която е от страна на кучетата, които комуникират помежду си, но всъщност не разбират нищо, което хората казват. Препоръчвам комикса, доста е трогващ и е една от онези сърцати истории, които могат да ни припомнят, защо толкова много обичаме домашните си любимци.
В комикса "Роувър, Ред, Чарли", ще се срещнем с трима най-добри приятели, които се борят да оцелеят в момента в който целият свят започва буквално да се сгромолясва, а ужасяваща пандемия превръща хората в безмилостни убийци. Разбира се, както вече може би сте се досетили, тук историята няма да бъде разгледана от гледна точка на някаква оцеляваща група хора, а на пангара са най-добрите приятели на човека след бирата - кучетата. Това е историята на Роувър, Ред и Чарли. Комиксът е нарисуван доста добре, а историята ни сблъсква с колкото тъжни, толкова и весели моменти. На фона на мащабни сцени със самоубийства, тримата приятели бягат за да оцелеят. По пътя към спасителната Територия, тримата другари се сблъскват с най-различни приключения, които ги срещат, както с приятели, така и с доста силни врагове.
Друг интересен похват е гледната точка на историята, която е от страна на кучетата, които комуникират помежду си, но всъщност не разбират нищо, което хората казват. Препоръчвам комикса, доста е трогващ и е една от онези сърцати истории, които могат да ни припомнят, защо толкова много обичаме домашните си любимци.
December 20, 2019
While not a bad comic by any means, I was left expecting and wanting a lot more.
One of the biggest surprises I had while reading this was that the dogs seemed to have no heartache from losing their owners. In fact, nothing about their owners are really mentioned in good detail. Don't get me wrong, the animals are obviously very distressed seeing all the people being harmed and such, but I don't get why they seem to have no worries about their owners.
Also, the outbreak that wipes out humanity was basically a less rapey and more suicidal version of the Crossed disease. I would prefer to have seen something less similar to Crossed, and have seen something more refreshing.
Despite this, you do end up caring for the characters quite a bit, and even sympathizing with the antagonist to a great extent. Still, I was disappointed by the lack of intensity of emotions I felt during this read. When I first saw the cover I almost cried literally just imagining what these poor dogs would go through, but instead it was kind of underwhelming.
It's still a nice read, as I said the characters are good and seeing how the animals react to the end of the world is very neat. I just think a lot more could have been done.
One of the biggest surprises I had while reading this was that the dogs seemed to have no heartache from losing their owners. In fact, nothing about their owners are really mentioned in good detail. Don't get me wrong, the animals are obviously very distressed seeing all the people being harmed and such, but I don't get why they seem to have no worries about their owners.
Also, the outbreak that wipes out humanity was basically a less rapey and more suicidal version of the Crossed disease. I would prefer to have seen something less similar to Crossed, and have seen something more refreshing.
Despite this, you do end up caring for the characters quite a bit, and even sympathizing with the antagonist to a great extent. Still, I was disappointed by the lack of intensity of emotions I felt during this read. When I first saw the cover I almost cried literally just imagining what these poor dogs would go through, but instead it was kind of underwhelming.
It's still a nice read, as I said the characters are good and seeing how the animals react to the end of the world is very neat. I just think a lot more could have been done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2023
Tal como dice la introducción realizada por Alan Moore, al utilizar personajes principales que no son humanos puede haber un efecto refractante, sobre todo, al intentar transmitir la psique de una especie ajena; desconocida porque lo que se puede intuir e investigar, no da luz a conocimientos sólidos suficientes para basar una historia que se cuente desde su perspectiva, es decir, siempre existe el riesgo de que se dote de características antropomórficas y emociones asociadas con lo "humano".
Esta historia se separa un poco de lo anterior. El lenguaje y conocimientos de los personajes presentados es límitado, reflejando el entorno y las vivencias al lado de lo que denominan "alimentador". Aún así, los personajes evolucionaban a medida que no tenían un alimentador que les dijera qué hacer.
Es un poco gráfica/explícita, pero para la situación que se relata, se ajusta. Aunque cuenta pequeñas historias dentro de la historia, esto tiene el objetivo de darle al lector un entendimiento de que los personajes no son humanos y permite que los protagonistas se planteen si quieren continuar con una dinámica que, dado el caso actual, pertenece a una cotidianidad muerta.
La historia en general es enternecedora, aunque ciertas partes me sorprendieron mucho.
Esta historia se separa un poco de lo anterior. El lenguaje y conocimientos de los personajes presentados es límitado, reflejando el entorno y las vivencias al lado de lo que denominan "alimentador". Aún así, los personajes evolucionaban a medida que no tenían un alimentador que les dijera qué hacer.
Es un poco gráfica/explícita, pero para la situación que se relata, se ajusta. Aunque cuenta pequeñas historias dentro de la historia, esto tiene el objetivo de darle al lector un entendimiento de que los personajes no son humanos y permite que los protagonistas se planteen si quieren continuar con una dinámica que, dado el caso actual, pertenece a una cotidianidad muerta.
La historia en general es enternecedora, aunque ciertas partes me sorprendieron mucho.
January 4, 2018
Garth Ennis has a (well earned) reputation for pushing material far past the point of decorum. Its part of his appeal. And while I won't say that this book completely bucks the trend (there is a brief scene that exceeds good taste) the story this time succeeds on its own merits rather than having to fall back on shock value.
Rover Red Charlie is an animal story. The kind I read plenty of as a kid. It takes the familiar trope of the human world "as seen through animal eyes" used in books like Black Beauty for The Art of Racing in the Rain and pushes it to a much darker place. The book takes us through the final hours of man and the next year after, as seen through the eyes of a trio of dogs who are just smart enough to comprehend what is happening around them but not enough to understand the hows and whys.
It sounds like dark stuff, but again this isn't Grimdark Ennis. This is warm, sentimental, sense of adventure Ennis. This story, is ultimately an uplifting one. Perhaps thats due to the subject matter. As a writer, Ennis seems to be keenly tuned to the various ways man can be awful. Maybe he feels that dogs will just do better if they were to inherit the earth.
Rover Red Charlie is an animal story. The kind I read plenty of as a kid. It takes the familiar trope of the human world "as seen through animal eyes" used in books like Black Beauty for The Art of Racing in the Rain and pushes it to a much darker place. The book takes us through the final hours of man and the next year after, as seen through the eyes of a trio of dogs who are just smart enough to comprehend what is happening around them but not enough to understand the hows and whys.
It sounds like dark stuff, but again this isn't Grimdark Ennis. This is warm, sentimental, sense of adventure Ennis. This story, is ultimately an uplifting one. Perhaps thats due to the subject matter. As a writer, Ennis seems to be keenly tuned to the various ways man can be awful. Maybe he feels that dogs will just do better if they were to inherit the earth.
December 12, 2025
A surprisingly sweet story from Ennis, three dogs surviving the apocalypse together and finding new purpose in life after humans. Our main character, Charlie, is a seeing eye dog, all the more tied to his need to help humans, only to find that there's nobody left to tell him what to do and he has to find his own purpose. A lot of cute moments throughout, from a pack of chihuahuas that repeat "what about ME what about ME ME ME" and the constant standard dog barking translated as "I'm a dog!". Of course, this is still an Ennis work, and it's filled with plenty of gore, dark humor, and bad taste. DiPascale's art renders it all gorgeously, from the emotions on the dogs being realistic but expressive, to the violence towards animals that's genuinely a little hard to look at. Our biggest problem is maybe the plot is a little too typical for Ennis' stylings. Most of all, it's weird to have moments like a third-act friendship misunderstanding that feel out-of-place in such a family-unfriendly work. For all of the uniqueness that's propped up by Moore's introduction, the plotting itself is rather by the numbers when it comes down to it.
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