Science Comics: Dogs: From Predator to Protector

I went into reading this book thinking it would be a light, breezy read about the history of dogs. I was right about the first part, because boy was I surprised by how much more comprehensive and detailed it turned out to be, all while still being light and funny in tone. Pulling off this tough balancing act, the latest volume in the Science Comics series, Dogs: From Predator to Protector, touches on a great many scientific subjects, including genetics, evolution, and DNA. And better yet, it covers all this ground narrated by a cute and energetic pooch named Rudy.

As you can see from the excerpt, this is a colorful, interesting, and informative book. It touches on all kinds of issues and information about dogs, including an account of how they evolved from wolves, became friendly with people, and have been bred in particular ways to suit specific jobs and human whims. Along the way, there are many interesting episodes and asides, including information about how they see, smell, and hear. This book gets at how they socialize, why they sniff butts, why they chase balls, and what their barks can mean. Amazingly informative and gorgeously playful, this book should be a big hit with anyone who loves dogs, science, good comics, or learning about the world.

This impressive blend of educational and entertaining comics was created by Andy Hirsch. He has a number of comic book series, including The Baker Street Peculiars, as well as a couple of other graphic novels under his belt, including his own Varmints. He has volumes in the Science Comics series coming soon, one about trees and the other cats. He speaks extensively about his work on Dogs in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. Johanna Draper Carlson gave it high praise, writing, "All the Science Comics are great, but this is one of the best of the bunch, an outstanding read." Kirkus Reviews stated, "The scope and depth of information is truly impressive and could be formidable, but the comic-book format keeps things on the accessible side as well as helping to illustrate more complex points." Suzanne Costner wrote that it was "an excellent introduction to the history of domesticated dogs, and offers enough basic facts to give readers a good place to start researching the topic more deeply on their own."

Dogs: From Predator to Protector was published by First Second, and they have a preview and much more about this book here.

A preview copy was provided by the publisher.