Joe Kelly has an interesting approach to his jokes. He throws a bunch out. Some of them hit, some of them don’t, but he never tries too hard. He lets Bad Dog do its own thing (which includes not recapping after a years long break between issues) and it sort of works.

His characters are more likable than funny. It makes the humor awkward–because the characters are trying to be funny, them being likable makes their underperforming jokes more acceptable. They–and Kelly–get a lot of leeway.

The art, from Diego Greco, has something to do with it. Greco doesn’t push hard for humor, it’s already in every one of his panels. Bad Dog manages to be genial and biting at the same time, all thanks to Greco.

There’s not a lot to the comic except the concept; Kelly and Greco do a lot with what they’ve got.

Okay, the sidekick’s name is Wendell. Not sure why it stuck with me this time since he’s not in the issue very much. Instead, it’s Lou and this other character off fighting border hoppers.

Except they’re not really border hoppers, at least not in the traditional sense. I won’t spoil, since Kelly spends half the issue setting it up (and even takes a page after the reveal to make sure the reader gets the implications).

Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of what he’s doing. He misleads the reader just to make that reveal a surprise, which means about half the issue is wasted one misdirecting dialogue and so on. It’s treading water until the big twist, wasting valuable pages.

While Kelly does continue one of his subplots, he ignores the two bigger ones. There’s maybe a reference to one on the last page, but it’s not enough to be interesting.

Kelly follows the same format as before, with some minor changes. There’s a lot of humor, then some action, then some more humor and then the serious stuff.

The humor goes a little crazy here, actually, overloading the book. Kelly implies the serious material more than concentrates on it, instead emphasizing the absurdity of the protagonist’s sidekick. I remember the protagonist’s name is Lou, but I’m still iffy on the priest sidekick’s name. Though Kelly manages to be more blasphemous, on a per panel rate, than Garth Ennis. Kelly’s got some inspired lines.

But the humor goes even further, this time with the villains being neo-Nazis. There’s nothing more fun than watching a werewolf and his drunken priest sidekick humiliate and torture a bunch of white supremacists. It’s like Kelly’s using the book to amuse more than tell a story.

And amuse he does.

Great art, again, from Greco.

The most striking thing about Bad Dog is Diego Greco’s painted art. Besides one problem, it’s some of the finer painted comic book art. Joe Kelly’s characters and situations tend to be absurd and Greco turns Bad Dog into this incredibly polished political cartoon. He’s very talented.

Except when it comes to werewolves. The protagonist is a werewolf and Greco’s work is way too finished for him. There’s not a stray clump of fur. It looks like the titular Bad Dog (or Lou) is constantly grooming himself.

It’s unfortunate.

Still, Kelly’s writing is strong enough it can distract. There’s his sidekick, a degenerate preacher played for comedic purposes, and the blind girl who’s got the hots for him. There’s also a talking decapitated head in the refrigerator taunting him. This issue actually goes on so long with plot… it seems too long.

While not revolutionary, Bad Dog‘s solid, engaging storytelling.