Dog Biscuits
Dog Biscuits
By Alex Graham. Published by Fantagraphics.
Hardcover, 416 pages, B&W, 2022.
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
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.
"Many artists re-channeled their creativity during the Covid-related lockdowns, but few managed it with as much fiery elan and grace as Graham." — Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"A love triangle in Seattle over the summer of 2020 reveals the intersection and impact of social media, woke culture, art, commerce, politics, and gender and class dynamics. ... Graham has created an occasionally scathing yet perceptive portrait of an especially fraught period in American history." — Library Journal Starred Review
"Dog Biscuits is a foundational text of what we can call pandemic comics, COVID comics, or quarantine comics. It reads strangely familiar in its most vital moments." — Pop Matters
"Dog Biscuits deftly shows the complexity and dynamics of the current moment, but with enough substance that it should prove a timeless testament to the complexity of living in uncontrollable times. As if there's any other kind." — Broken Frontier
"Dog Biscuits was, for me, the best piece of media produced by anybody in 2020. Alex really stepped up to the plate with this thing and had all of us that were tuned-in on the edge of our seats. Gussy and Rosie's doomed romance felt realer than any bullshit in the 'real world'." — Simon Hanselmann