Never let it be said that Robert Kirkman is a man without ideas.  Or a lazy writer.  He’s the creative force behind some of the best selling comics around today, from Invincible, to Marvel Zombies, The Walking Dead…the list goes on.  Plus, he’s got the forthcoming “Walking Dead” TV show on AMC which has already been approved for a second season in spite of the fact that the first season is 2 months away from its premiere!

That said, last week brought us Science Dog #1 which featured the first two parts of the Science Dog story put together in one book.  Each of the two parts were featured in previous issues of Invincible.  Part one was in Invincible #25, part 2 was in Invincible #50 and part 3 will be in Invincible #75 next month.  Parts one and two are one cohesive story that were separated by 25 issues and are now, finally, collected in one book.

Science Dog was a dog/science lab mascot whose evolution was sped up by a freak lab accident.  His mental capacity was greatly increased and his body is now far more similar to that of a human, with the head of a Scottish Terrier.

Kirkman explains after the story that Science Dog has always had a very special place in his heart.  At Comic Con 2000, Kirkman had just published his first two issues of Battle Pope and he was sitting at his first ever Con booth.  He happened to look at one of the booths across from him where he saw another comic creator (who goes unnamed) that was only ever known for one thing.  That one thing had spawned (that’s not a hint, I don’t think it’s McFarlane) two movies at the time with a third that has come out since.  The mystery creator had a long line of people anxiously awaiting signatures and he couldn’t look more miserable.  Kirkman made himself a promise at that booth not to ever limit himself to just one project.  So he got together with artist Cory Walker and the first idea they came up with was Science Dog.  Unfortunately, the people at Image Comics didn’t like the idea and Science Dog didn’t get its own book but Kirkman and Walker went on to other things including one of their biggest hits, Invincible.

But, Kirkman has always made sure to include Science Dog in all of his projects.  In Invincible, Science Dog is a comic book character that Mark (Invincible) reads and later on in the series an alien shape shifter visits Mark in the form of Science Dog which pretty much blows Mark’s mind.  In Haunt #4, there’s a little mutant kid who, if you look closely, is playing with a Science Dog action figure.  Possibly the most epic of all Science Dog cameos, in the poster for the upcoming “Walking Dead” TV show the character Carl (the little kid and son of the main character Rick) is wearing a t-shirt with the Science Dog logo on it!

Overall, Science Dog #1 is a great read.  Kirkman is a fantastic storyteller and Walker’s art is outstanding.  The biggest downside to this book is the fact that we have to wait for every 25th issue of Invincible for new Science Dog.  Come on Image!  Anything you stamp Kirkman’s name on is going to sell like crazy!  Give us some monthly Science Dog!

Ian Candish
Ian@ComicImpact.com