This graphic novel/comic strip is full of humor, hijinks, and wild adventures. Based on the “Dog Eat Doug” comic strip, which features 
the exuberant Sophie (dog) and noisy but speechless Doug (baby), the full-color graphic novel introduces all the familiar characters in roughly chronological format with somewhat surreal adventures.
Sophie introduces herself and gets the story started, imagining herself as a “labrasaurus” meeting her bald baby brother for the first time. She is not happy. Sophie challenges the toddler, but all her ploys to assert her dominance are ended with a strangling hug, intervention from the adults, or a bland-faced “Bak!” from Doug. Through a series of imaginary adventures set in the Wild West, Outer Space, and as superheroes, Sophie and Doug come to an understanding – maybe even an alliance. A good thing too, because two new characters arrive on the scene in the final chapter – Chewy and Equinox, two alien… cats!
Colorful art shows the characters bouncing back and forth from reality to imagination. One moment Sophie is a cuddly brown pup, the next moment she’s a slavering dinosaur, space bot, or old-time sheriff. Doug’s round face and single blonde curl however, remain constant throughout the story. While he gets popped into costumes and silly situations – driving a car or riding a “horse” his bland face rarely changes except for small twitches of his mouth and the occasional loud “Bak!”
The panels are formatted like a typical middle grade graphic novel, with rectangular panels occasional interspersed with full spreads, on which is superimposed a few individual panels. They jump in size, while maintaining a linear narrative, and the full-color content and book-style layout use only the characters from the original strip.
Collections of comic strips have always been popular, but this is more a hybrid graphic novel/comic strip, using the general plot and characters of the original, a plotline that fits well into a comic strip setting, and putting them all into a standard graphic novel layout. While this won’t necessarily appeal to readers looking for comic strip collections, those who like the humor and rapid-fire gags of comic strips will appreciate this and readers who aren’t interested in more in-depth stories will be happy to pick this title up.
Sophie: Jurassic Bark
By Brian Anderson
Marble Press, 2024
ISBN: 9781958325148
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
