This cover made me so happy that it was inevitable I would pick up Teen Dog from BOOM! This publishing company has so many strong comics come out that they are becoming one of my favorites when it comes to picking new comics. I actually picked up two new titles from them this week. BOOM! has a way of picking up awesome plot stories with high characterization. For me, I can’t go strictly off of plot or theme or characters, but I am selfish and need it all. Teen Dog delivers in every way while still being tons of fun. So do yourself a favor and pick up some any title from them. Let’s first talk about the insanely fun art that Teen Dog has. It is bright with lots of pastel colors yet still has this punk feel to it. I love how the comic snaps from one 90s piece of attire to another. It looks like me and most fans of that era... although I still dress like this. But by far the coolest thing about the comic are the little background images you might miss. Like Teen Dog’s cranky old teacher loves cats by the kitten pictures he has behind his desk or the endless pizza options showing tiny pizzas on top of a pizza slice. It just goes on and on. So going through the pictures is an adventure in itself. It has plenty of cartoon fun to go around, so I just can’t get over the style and the mirror images of grudge and punk.

The set-up of the comic is simple; we go through a normal day with normal teen feelings and moments. About every two pages is a moment in the kids’ lives. Nothing out of the ordinary. What makes this comic stand out is the normalcy. And that isn’t a bad thing. Actually it is an awesome thing. See Teen Dog’s logic makes perfect sense on every subject matter. It is as if he is taking every thought and corny joke out of the readers’ mind and making a simplistic story into a revelation. I dig it. He and his best friend Mari, go through a school day commenting on everything. It is what teens should be doing and thinking. Mari, being a pretty cool girl, probably ends up being my favorite. She is that friend that tells it how it is, oh and she has half her head shaved... so badass. At one point, she even goes through some cliques within the school, and I just love how honest she is. There are tons of side characters that give the whole school a personality. But these two make the perfect pair for this light-hearted comic.

If it isn’t obvious, I was cracking up reading this comic. It came together so well that I didn’t want this ordinary day to end. I could spend the whole school year with Teen Dog and Mari. BOOM! once again has entertained me through and through. The plot is strong, the characters are strong, and delight is strong. Jake Lawrence's story is so clever that it had to fit in with BOOM!’s titles and it has to fit into your life.

Score: 5/5

Writer/Artist/Creator: Jake Lawrence Publisher: BOOM!/BOOM Box Price: $3.99 Release Date: 9/10/14 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital