Dog Biscuits

by Alex Graham

Social justice, “woke” culture, social media, gender dynamics, and insouciance intersect in this pandemic-inspired graphic novel about the repercussions of making mistakes. WINNER 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize, Best Webcomic 2023 LA Times Book Prize NOMINEE, Graphic Novel/Comics It’s July 2020 in Seattle. Gussy struggles to keep his dog biscuit boutique afloat while a global pandemic rages unchecked. The loneliness of lockdown and social distancing drives his employee Rosie to betray her principles. Rosie’s roommate Hissy is at a personal crossroads. A love triangle emerges as they find themselves tangled in a web of police brutality, protests, drugs, dating apps and Covid chaos. Taking place over the course of just a few days, this is a snapshot of humanity ― okay, animals ― in crisis. Alex Graham’s pandemic-inspired graphic novel was initially serialized six panels at a time on Instagram during the lockdowns of 2020 and became one of the most talked about comics of the year; this hardcover edition will remain a timeless work long after the pandemic ends. One-color illustrations

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Historical Fiction, Romance, Animals

416 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2021

About the author

Alex Graham is a painter and cartoonist from Denver, Colorado, currently residing in Seattle.

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently the most definitive, timeless 2020-pandemic art piece .

This book is not just about the pandemic; it is about falling in and out of passion in many different ways. How love and lust can confuse us and drive us away from our goals and into new horizons.

Do not miss out on this. Simon Hanselmann brought me here :-)

[Estibaliz · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just ok. The art is not great, even though it works in the context of the story. The plot is quite basic, mostly young people and relationships, with the background of COVID and police brutality.

But, over all, it felt too crass, and I barely enjoyed it.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angus "Gussy" Ginzburg is the owner of Dog Biscuits, a small pet food bakery in Seattle, and he has a crush on Rosie Fields, his employee who is half his age. Their relationship and their relationships with friends and Rosie's roommates play out in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests and police brutality surrounding the CHOP Zone.

I'm not usually a fan of age-gap romances, but since the two are so messed up, this one develops with some pretty messy verisimilitude. And with all the chaos ripping through the book with the other characters and events, it's more a through-thread than the center of the book. There are plenty of moments of biting commentary and wicked satire, as well as some sex scenes sure to offend somebody or other. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Grimace, Timothée Chalamet, and other celebrities get weird and amusing cameos.

It took me several days to get through it, but I was always ready to return to it when I had the chance, and I look forward to seeing what the creator does next.

p.s., I could have done without the overwritten and defensive afterword by some friend of the author that whined about negative online comments the material garnered when it was initially published digitally.

[Gretavonpanzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una gamberrada, una delícia, una aventura romàntica, una oda d’odi a la nostra vida pandèmica, un còmic que d’aquí un temps serà un clàssic.

[Cail Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine Sally Rooney wrote and illustrated a graphic novel, set in the pandemic, and her characters are animal-humans ala Maus—that's Dog Biscuits. Graham writes complicated, fucked-up characters that feel very real, very quickly. It's a compelling, emotional rollercoaster and I'm here for it.

The only thing of Graham's I'd read before this was 'Baby Clowns in a Castle' — highly recommended.

[🐴 🍖]

it's a soap opera, for better or worse

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oto najlepszy pandemiczny komiks, jaki czytałem, a trochę już się ich przewinęło. Nie mam na myśli treści mówiących stricte o wirusie, a raczej sytuacji, gdy covidowa rzeczywistość jest istotnym kontekstem opowiadanej historii. Alex Graham zyskała rozgłos właśnie dzięki publikowanym w sieci odcinkom „Dog Biscuits”, które (jeśli wierzyć posłowiu) spotkały się z dożyć żywiołowymi reakcjami, choć niekoniecznie pozytywnymi, uwidaczniając brak dystansu wielu czytelników do kreowanych na bieżąco postaci i pokazując łatwość w ferowaniu wyroków i wydawaniu moralnych ocen. Zresztą Graham wiele zawdzięcza protekcji Hanselmanna, którego „Crisis Zone” też jest przecież mocną pozycją z pandemią w tle.

Chociaż oba wspomniane komiksy łączą antropomorficzne postacie, Graham nie stawia tak bardzo na satyrę i przy postaciach autora „Megahex” jego bohaterowie wydają się zaskakująco normalni. Wygrywa za to emocjonalną intensywnością, stale wrzącą gdzieś pod powierzchnią i właściwie nie opuszczającą czytelnika aż do końca. Specyficzne warunki mają wpływ na samopoczucie głównych aktorów przedstawienia, którzy z jednej strony walczą z agresywnymi policjantami, stracili szacunek do którejkolwiek strony politycznego sporu i prowadzą dosyć otwarte życie towarzyskie, a z drugiej walczą z własnymi demonami i nieprzepracowanymi traumami. Dojrzały (wiekiem) właściciel sklepu z psimi przysmakami, młoda pracownica i jej współlokatorzy to przedstawiciele różnych środowisk, których łączą próby odnalezienia się w realiach, do których kompletnie nie pasują. Zbudowanie sensownego związku w takich warunkach wydaje się ponad ich siły.

Świetne sugestywne rysunki, kapitalne dialogi, które sprawiają, że całość ma swój bardzo przyjazny rytm i brak fabularnych mielizn – "Dog Biscuits" automatycznie wędruje do topki komiksowych obyczajówek wszech czasów

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1 biblio

[M. J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a journey this one was.. I had some expectations when I got this book after a Simon Hanselmann recommendation. I was expecting raw humor and psychedelic plots, instead Dog Biscuits is a sensitive story with subtle character development and a sardonic, but not hopelessly so, sense of humor. Police brutality, covid life, the social justice question, these elements blend as we get to know Gussy, Hissy, Rosie and friends. There's something very engaging in the way Alex Graham builds the narrative, layer by layer adding new details to her animal characters, by the end of its 400 pages we have so much insight of Rosie and Gussy particularly it's hard not to get yourself emotionally invested. That's probably why the police brutality parts of the book felt so rough, the cartoony representation of police violence felt surprisingly inconsistent when compared to the thought-provoking and nuanced tone of rest of the book, (the emotional impact of that same violent acts on the characters are way more cleverly explored for example). Despite that, Graham is very successful at capturing the zeitgeist of online moral warfare, she writes internal monologues beautifully, encapsulating, sometimes on a single page, several mechanisms of the self-conscious self-analyzing modern mind. This is quality covid art and I recommend it to future historians and present fans of good narrative in comic books in general.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Self-absorbed characters navel-gaving during the pandemic. Half the book is their internal monologues about how disappointed they are in themselves. With a healthy dose of police brutality thrown in, and for good measure, oddly graphic sex scenes and a whiny, stunningly overwritten essay at the end about the original Instagram commenters that I couldn't even muddle through. Perhaps this would have worked better in that serialized format without the essay? Disappointing.

[Misch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot to log this here... I'm convinced it's the best if not the only good piece of art made during/about the pandemic. And it's about way more than that of course.. graphic novel masterpiece, must read.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling characters that capture the first summer of the pandemic. I inhaled this.

[Jara · Rating 5 out of 5]

de momento, lo mejor que he leído en el 2022 y justo lo que necesitaba

[Jose Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dice Alex Graham sobre el inicio de su webcomic DOG BISCUITS: “Dibujé el peor dibujo del que fui capaz, lo subí a Instagram ¡y a la gente le encantó!”. Me da risa este comentario porque ¡qué difícil es “dibujar así de mal”! con esa gracia, desparpajo y personalidad. Si para un autor de cómic el mejor dibujo siempre es el más adecuado para acentuar lo que nos quiere mostrar, el más indicado para lo que nos esta narrando en su obra, en este sentido Graham es una dibujante excepcional. Un dibujo más estilizado o detallado, un dibujo “mejor” desde un punto de vista académico, hubiera lastrado narrativamente este tebeo. Hubiera ralentizado su lectura sin aportar nada y le hubiera restado fluidez, algo contraproducente para la dinámica del mismo ya que el ritmo endiablado que le imprime es uno de sus grandes aciertos. Esto es algo que queda muy claro cuando lo leemos.
A partir de su primera página solo nos queda maravillarnos a medida que Alex Graham nos va introduciendo con una verosimilitud que no hubieras creído posible en el clima pandemico de este tiempo extraño que nos ha tocado experimentar, y partiendo de lo individual, las experiencias de sus tres personajes protagonistas: Rossie, Gussy y Hissy, logra un alcance global de las dinámicas, miedos e incertidumbres sociales que se han instalado en la experiencia colectiva de este periodo. No creo que haya muchos medios que hayan parido una obra que haya logrado atrapar el Zeitgeist de esta epoca más acertadamente. Me cuesta imaginarlo, la verdad.
Tanto formalmente como en su contenido, desde el principio, desde como se concibió hasta su consecución, todos los supuestos males de nuestra epoca están representados en Dog Biscuits de una manera tan explicita, una de sus grandes virtudes es como utiliza estos para darle sustancia, que asusta. Tiempos de inmediatez, confusos, donde parece no haber un instante para la reflexión; redes sociales, likes, faroleo e impostura, penuria, soledad, depresión, vacío existencial… todo esta reflejado aquí, y también el cumulo de cuestiones universales que nos configura como animal social: la complejidad de las relaciones afectivas y sexuales, el amor, el miedo, el conflicto generacional, la economía, la politica y otros asuntos implicados. La naturalidad pasmosa con que se solapan todas estas cuestiones sin forzar en ningún momento su claridad narrativa es uno de los grandes méritos de Graham.
Es admirable como todo funciona aquí de forma superlativa. No solo como lupa de los comportamientos de nuestra sociedad, concretando en la realidad norteamericana, durante la pandemia, sino aportando una serie de registros que hacen más que apetecible acercarnos a cualquier obra de ficción. Es alocada, sagaz, profunda, ligera, lírica, chispeante… y la diversión está mas que asegurada, uno de sus puntales más irrenunciables a lo largo de sus casi 400 páginas.
Atendiendo al resultado general es inevitable pensar que esto que nos dice Simon Hanselmann sobre Graham y Dog Biscuits: “Alex Graham es buenísima, y Dog Biscuits es simplemente el tebeo del año” no va nada desencaminado. Y hacerlo con Zona Crítica, su propio webcomic pandemico recopilado, aún sin desempaquetar (Sí, le he puesto los cuernos al mismísimo Hanselmann) dice mucho de lo que me ha impresionado este tebeo.
Un 10. De verdad. Nada de ojana.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the dust finally settles (maybe it already is?), critics/people who read this/comics fans will realize this was the best (maybe the only?) cultural artifact to address in a kind of "permanent record" (even if the implementation was initially via posted images drawn with a sharpie on printer paper...holy smokes) the completely memoryholed period that was those slow-fast and utterly forgotten pandemic days of 2020 into early 2021.

Graham's The Devil's Grin multi-volume work is more artistically ambitious and will probably wind up "better" in most senses that matter, but as works of social realism (albeit with bunnies, dogs, etc.) written by near-kids in the age of high COVID, there will never be anything like this: produced in the moment, capturing all of the complexities of that particular demographic (the page showing "Rosie's" disillusionment with BROAD CITY's shark-jumping Hillary Clinton episode is one such perfect distillation), and then just ending, like life does. I can't recommend it highly enough.

You can hear my interview with Graham here, who is one to watch over the next couple of years. A potential GOAT of the post-2020 indie comics game: https://oliverbatemandoesthework.subs...

[Jonathan Hawpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3&1/2 *s 7/10. My favorite "pandemic lit"! Alex Graham works in the great underground comix tradition of letting it all hang out, warts and all. This is people being people (even if they look more like mutant bunny-dogs), getting through crisis, social weirdness, political crap, and simple everyday life. Hilarious, "dirty", smart... for fans of TV's Fleabag and R. Crumb.

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this comic. More sex than I wanted but lots of sweet moments too. Follows an ensemble of friends, crushes, Co workers, in the early days of COVID in Seattle cool kid / activist circles. Funny, sometimes sad, always introspective.

[Xochi Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are so true to life it is triggering! Their language a perfect reflection of the conversations I was witnessing both on twitter and in real life (irl). and as much as everything was awful and terrible and bad 2020, this book reminds me at least I didn't live in Seattle!

[Beck Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was unexpectedly extremely triggering in quite a few ways lol. it's a little too accurate of how the summer 2020 and the pandemic unfolded with the hopelessness and grand sense of guilt over the state of the world - there's a lot of spiraling.

[biakosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drawings were not so appealing to me at first but grew on me along the reading. Rich inner speeches and dialogues make the characters very human and the plot convincing, but still funny, exaggerated... wild! Amazing sex scenes. Very strong in onomatopoeias ✨ can't recommend more 👍

[mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

cute lil graphic novel that hit way too close to home sometimes re: 2020 and the madness that took place that year

[Ana Cabral Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s fun, thought provoking, touching and… _true_

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virgil’s biscuits

[Paradox · Rating 4 out of 5]

a relatable and realistic story set in the 2020 pandemic.

[Alicia Zavala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me feel seen. I cried. It's horny. It's reflective. Self critical. Horny. I wish I could read it again for the first time.

[Mongeta Verda · Rating 4 out of 5]

còmic ambientat durant la pandèmia, l'estil m'ha recordat al simon hanselmann però menys bèstia

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Gurldoggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high-stakes high-energy love triangle erupts between three anthropomorphic animals during the 2020 pandemic lockdown in Seattle. I'm a bit biased as I also lived in Seattle at the time and followed this adventure as an unfolding webcomic, so the specific locations and political references carry a personal resonance. But regardless the storytelling is unique and entertaining, and the various emotional journeys are beautifully realized. And honestly the dog on bunny action is pretty hot.

[Keith Kavanagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's wabbit season

[Shea Socrates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool and weird art, real and complex characters, set during that wild summer of 2020. VERY horny.