Well this is it dude. This is the end of an era. An era that Jake Lawrence has created and Teen Dog has followed out. With my arm held high in the air, I fist pump to you. But in all seriousness, I will miss the hell out of this comic. Lawrence captured pure fun into a bottle and then somehow produced it in this comic. Lawrence first just grabs you with every single cover. This week’s is obviously no exception. With his reference to a 80s classic, most readers will appreciate the nostalgia. Although I was a tad disappointed that Teen Dog was holding a pizza, but I guess I will get over it this one time. Then just rolling into the other art from #8 reflects what every issue has done so well.
First, the bright colors that just pop with each panel. My favorite is when Teen Dog is centered in front of purple though. When the sky is purple and when his locker alter universe is purple. It makes me want to be thrown into a skateboard video game with unlimited quarters. And levels that involve space, pizza, monsters, dogs, and McGuffin. And then when you think Teen Dog can’t get any cooler, Lawrence, for the bulk of this issue, puts Dog in shorts. Cute. To. The. Max. And maybe I don’t talk about Mariella enough, or even Sara. But both ladies are drawn perfectly. I just love how their personality matches their depiction. Every character does. And that isn’t clearer than in Mariella, with her punk rock clothes, shaved head, and pink hair, and Thug Pug. Thug Pug gets the jean jacket, black tee, and tuff face (The Outsiders reference there).
On top of this art lies something very deep; the plot. Ok so maybe Teen Dog doesn’t have the thickest plot in the world, and maybe there was only one real conflict in this mini-series, but I think we learned a lot from Teen Dog from the little moments. Like when we realized all the different pizza toppings that can occur and how little time we really have to try all of them. Or when we learned that being cool is not uncool with his relationship with his brother and Thug Pug. But the biggest storyline of all comes to a head with this issue. Teen Dog gets the deepest he has ever been and really talks about his feelings. Of course Mariella is there to help him through his troubles.
Teen Dog, if we see him again, will probably have not figured out his worries, as they are pretty big worries, but either way I would love to see him again. We still have all of senior year to get through and what better way to get through my week than with Teen Dog in last year of childhood. Overall, it is clear why this comic rocks, and it is clear that I adore this comic. Any comic that can talk about the things that make life so great for eight issues and still be just as great, can’t compete with others.
Score: 5/5
Teen Dog #8 (of 8) Writer/Artist/Creator: Jake Lawrence Publisher: BOOM!/Boom Box Price: $3.99 Release Date: 4/8/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital