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Old Dog #1-6
Old Dog Book 1: [Redact One] Vol. 1
Jack Lynch was a once-promising C.I.A. operative. On the eve of his retirement, looking back at a failed career, he is tasked with one final mission…that goes horribly wrong. He wakes years later to a changed world—and deeper changes within himself. And when a shadow group offers Lynch a second chance at a life of adventure, he’s paired with the last person he ever could've imagined.In this collection of six high-octane adventures, an old dog learns some new tricks…OLD DOG is a striking new spy-fi series by DECLAN SHALVEY, the accomplished and innovative creator behind books such as Moon Knight, X-Men Unlimited, INJECTION, and TIME BEFORE TIME. Winter Soldier meets Mission Impossible in this Bourne-esque action/espionage blowout.Collects OLD DOG [REDACT ONE] #1-6
134 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2023
About the author
Declan Shalvey
443 books51 followersDeclan Shalvey is an Irish comics artist and writer.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 2, 2023
I really enjoyed Declan Shalvey's art on the series he did with Warren Ellis. I saw Shalvey's been writing some comics drawn by others, but wasn't intrigued enough to check them out. But I was definitely interested in reading this - written and drawn by him.
It starts off strong enough - it's a Mission Impossible/Bourne Identity style thing with secret agencies and our protagonist the Old Dog getting out of a coma and we don't really know what's going on. The problem is that sense of mystery instead of creating intrigue was just a bit too confusing! The comic goes in some pretty wild directions and takes advantage of the medium with some really interesting visuals.
I enjoyed the character of Jack Lynch and his daughter but the plot really got bogged down in the mystery and alternative worlds. Maybe I'm just a big dumb-dumb, but I think this would have been great as a more straight-forward "He was the best there was... now he's back for one last mission" style story.
It starts off strong enough - it's a Mission Impossible/Bourne Identity style thing with secret agencies and our protagonist the Old Dog getting out of a coma and we don't really know what's going on. The problem is that sense of mystery instead of creating intrigue was just a bit too confusing! The comic goes in some pretty wild directions and takes advantage of the medium with some really interesting visuals.
I enjoyed the character of Jack Lynch and his daughter but the plot really got bogged down in the mystery and alternative worlds. Maybe I'm just a big dumb-dumb, but I think this would have been great as a more straight-forward "He was the best there was... now he's back for one last mission" style story.
February 12, 2024
So this follows Jack Last Lynch who use to work for the C.I.A. who is later recruited by this secret agency called the Black Circle. On his last mission with the CIA, this machine blew up and put him in a coma for 8 years. When he woke up he had special abilities. Like he can heal from wounds and seems to be faster and a little stronger than an average guy. This is why the Black Circle wants him. He takes the gig and does some missions for them with a partner who we find out later is actually his daughter. Seems like they don’t have the best relationship. The beginning with the explosion was a little confusing as it seems like something was happening simultaneously. I couldn’t tell if this was the past or after. Not sure on that. The story takes some wild turns towards the end as we learn some more wild things going on within Jack Lynch’s body and about Lynch himself as it pertains to his daughter. If all is broken down further in the next volume it could make for a good story and potentially raise the score of this volume. I did enjoy Shalvey’s artwork.
October 7, 2023
Liked it, but didn't love it.
Basically about a agent who gets his youth back and tries to amend things with his daughter but then the case gets muddy, the world becomes darker, and more confusing, and by the end I felt less connected than I hoped from starting it. The art is solid though and works really well with the tone of the story itself.
A 3 out of 5.
Basically about a agent who gets his youth back and tries to amend things with his daughter but then the case gets muddy, the world becomes darker, and more confusing, and by the end I felt less connected than I hoped from starting it. The art is solid though and works really well with the tone of the story itself.
A 3 out of 5.
December 6, 2023
I talked with Declan Shalvey for a bit at a convention I attended recently and he signed my copy of this and sketched the main character on the front page for me. As much as I wanted to like this book, I just didn’t. The art is nice and there are some interesting story moments, but this just falls flat for the most part. Bummer.
September 27, 2023
I do want to say I love Declan as an artist, creator and every time I see him interviewed he seems like the nicest bloke. I am saying this because I am hoping he doesn't read this review because I know this series is a huge labour of love for him and he wanted to hit it out of the ballpark but, while fun, it falls short.
It is hard to write a review when after reading the first 6 issues I still don't understand this series. The big reveal at the end gave me "Planetary by Ellis" vibes in terms of a twist about the main character but it also created a lot of confusion. In defence of this series, with more understanding of what is happening I might reread these issues and like them a whole lot more. However, so far, it did something that frustrates me. Builds a mystery at the expense of character and story. It jumps around in time, it leaves confusing clues that are just confusing when you see them at the time and not "hmm, that's interesting", and does twists that it doesn't explain (at least not yet).
Two examples of "that was confusing" is 1) when we are seeing a scene form the past and one character grows a beard from one page to the next and the character we are following doesn't even mention it. So, you the reader are just confused but not in a good way. By issue six I kinda think I know why it happened but at the time it is just "you are confusing me and I am not following the story and you are making me feel dumb". 2) The main character's daughter (why she is also in the black ops team I am still not sure, but I am sure the bad guys had reasons for recruiting her) mentions something that is obviously supposed to be an in joke between her and her father and he doesn't get it. Then we move on and I was left being confused. Oh, and I am not even mentioning all the times the old dog suddenly becomes young from panel to panel...I am still not clear why/how that happened (yes, I know it is due to his "change" but why specifically does he get young and only for a few minutes/seconds?)
So, great art, some good action sequences and a story that is more confusing than it should be...hoping it gets better and the reveal will make some of the confusion in the early stories make sense. But a tip for writers - don't make the mystery so frustrating that readers don't want to stick around. Lost (tv series) taught us the wait is not always worth it.
It is hard to write a review when after reading the first 6 issues I still don't understand this series. The big reveal at the end gave me "Planetary by Ellis" vibes in terms of a twist about the main character but it also created a lot of confusion. In defence of this series, with more understanding of what is happening I might reread these issues and like them a whole lot more. However, so far, it did something that frustrates me. Builds a mystery at the expense of character and story. It jumps around in time, it leaves confusing clues that are just confusing when you see them at the time and not "hmm, that's interesting", and does twists that it doesn't explain (at least not yet).
Two examples of "that was confusing" is 1) when we are seeing a scene form the past and one character grows a beard from one page to the next and the character we are following doesn't even mention it. So, you the reader are just confused but not in a good way. By issue six I kinda think I know why it happened but at the time it is just "you are confusing me and I am not following the story and you are making me feel dumb". 2) The main character's daughter (why she is also in the black ops team I am still not sure, but I am sure the bad guys had reasons for recruiting her) mentions something that is obviously supposed to be an in joke between her and her father and he doesn't get it. Then we move on and I was left being confused. Oh, and I am not even mentioning all the times the old dog suddenly becomes young from panel to panel...I am still not clear why/how that happened (yes, I know it is due to his "change" but why specifically does he get young and only for a few minutes/seconds?)
So, great art, some good action sequences and a story that is more confusing than it should be...hoping it gets better and the reveal will make some of the confusion in the early stories make sense. But a tip for writers - don't make the mystery so frustrating that readers don't want to stick around. Lost (tv series) taught us the wait is not always worth it.
January 9, 2024
The story has an interesting premise, and some of the visuals are quite good, but nothing about this volume has me clamoring for more.
Jack Lynch, also known as "Rottweiler", was a CIA agent operating in the field. Unfortunately, his cover was blown and the Agency could no longer trust him and so sat him behind a desk for 20 years. One one last mission, he was tasked with staying in the surveillance van. But when the others raced into the scene and needed backup, Lynch went in - and got blown up, staying in a coma for eight years. When he awakes, he has very little memory of his time in the field, of his time as a father, or of his last mission - but he knows he has changed. And an Agency known as Black Circle is giving him the ability to go back into the field. He takes it, but the secrets - both his and the Agency's keep piling up.
There is definitely a mystery occurring, with some Sci-fi craziness thrown in. And as Lynch is our narrator and he is just as much in the dark as we are, answers are few and far between.
I do enjoy the present time verses past mission color changes; it helped keep the story lines clear. I found some of the layouts a bit repetitive, and wasn't sure I enjoyed reading small square panels across a two page spread... but that is formatting and doesn't really go to the story itself.
At the end, I was not surprised by the revelation - there were enough clues to make me realize something was off. If I had read each issue separately and had to wait a month in between, instead o just reading them all back to back in this volume, I may have missed the key clue. But as a completely collection, I think the ending was pretty clear. Unfortunately, leading up to it and the ending itself just didn't endear me to the characters or story line to keep reading more of this series.
Jack Lynch, also known as "Rottweiler", was a CIA agent operating in the field. Unfortunately, his cover was blown and the Agency could no longer trust him and so sat him behind a desk for 20 years. One one last mission, he was tasked with staying in the surveillance van. But when the others raced into the scene and needed backup, Lynch went in - and got blown up, staying in a coma for eight years. When he awakes, he has very little memory of his time in the field, of his time as a father, or of his last mission - but he knows he has changed. And an Agency known as Black Circle is giving him the ability to go back into the field. He takes it, but the secrets - both his and the Agency's keep piling up.
There is definitely a mystery occurring, with some Sci-fi craziness thrown in. And as Lynch is our narrator and he is just as much in the dark as we are, answers are few and far between.
I do enjoy the present time verses past mission color changes; it helped keep the story lines clear. I found some of the layouts a bit repetitive, and wasn't sure I enjoyed reading small square panels across a two page spread... but that is formatting and doesn't really go to the story itself.
At the end, I was not surprised by the revelation - there were enough clues to make me realize something was off. If I had read each issue separately and had to wait a month in between, instead o just reading them all back to back in this volume, I may have missed the key clue. But as a completely collection, I think the ending was pretty clear. Unfortunately, leading up to it and the ending itself just didn't endear me to the characters or story line to keep reading more of this series.
October 15, 2023
A fairly generic espionage action thriller with tinges of sci-fi. The story centers on Jack Lynch, an aging CIA operative who has been relegated to desk work after the agency suspects he might be a compromised asset. After a mission gone wrong, Lynch awakens from a lengthy coma and finds that he has advanced supersoldier-esque abilities like heightened strength and regeneration. A clandestine organization known as the Black Circle recruits Lynch to work in the field for them alongside his estranged daughter, Keelin. Each issue of Old Dog has Jack and Keelin taking on a different mission, but the overarching plot deals with the conspiracy around the Black Circle and uncovering why Jack was held back during his time with the CIA.
Old Dog isn't shy about leaning heavily into spy thriller/espionage tropes. There are infiltrations, handlers, black sites, burn notices, honey traps, assassinations, and back stabbing aplenty here. Not much of Old Dog exists to differentiate it from similar stories, though towards the end the series does dip more heavily into the sci-fi stuff albeit clumsily. Declan Shalvey's artwork is a redeeming factor to an extent here, with the locations and action set pieces all rendered nicely. Shalvey does some interesting stuff with colors here too to craft some gorgeous lighting and contrasts throughout. Overall, this isn't something I'd say was very memorable but if you're looking for something akin to the Bourne films in comic form then this might be for you.
Old Dog isn't shy about leaning heavily into spy thriller/espionage tropes. There are infiltrations, handlers, black sites, burn notices, honey traps, assassinations, and back stabbing aplenty here. Not much of Old Dog exists to differentiate it from similar stories, though towards the end the series does dip more heavily into the sci-fi stuff albeit clumsily. Declan Shalvey's artwork is a redeeming factor to an extent here, with the locations and action set pieces all rendered nicely. Shalvey does some interesting stuff with colors here too to craft some gorgeous lighting and contrasts throughout. Overall, this isn't something I'd say was very memorable but if you're looking for something akin to the Bourne films in comic form then this might be for you.
Read
May 1, 2024An agent on his last legs gets a new lease of life - and superpowers - from a science accident, after which he's recruited by an even more secretive organisation, Black Circle, for operations where he never seems to be fully briefed; each issue has a done in one plot of spy-fi ultraviolence, while in the background our grizzled lead is trying to piece together the bigger picture. Shalvey is doing everything bar the lettering here, but all the swearing and the mean old guy/younger female sidekick duo doing brutality recall Warren Ellis, with whom he used to collaborate before Ellis' disgrace. Ellis might have brought a little more spark and particularity to a comic which lacks the individuality of prior Shalvey outings like Bog Bodies or Savage Town; on the other hand, he'd also have likely lost interest halfway through in favour of bothering every goth girl on the internet, so swings and roundabouts, isn't it. Oh, and progressively more forced codenames aside, don't expect much in the way of actual dogs.
June 16, 2024
Not as good as I hoped. Before the plot gets even slightly interesting, more than half of the book is behind you, and you're already a little bored. There are some cool twists at the end, but I'm not really interested in reaching for another episode of this comic book.
Solid, if somewhat underwhelming, "spy-fi." I prefer Shalvey in his Irish crime mode.
Solid, if somewhat underwhelming, "spy-fi." I prefer Shalvey in his Irish crime mode.
December 26, 2023
Flojisimo. mucha explosion y tal sin interés ni sentido, diálogos absurdos en mitad de las peleas con poquísima gracia, dibujo flojo, un secreto que me interesa menos que la gala de nochevieja de la tele ... En fin... Nada de nada. Aquí me bajo
October 18, 2023
Intriguing, but doesn't make me care.
December 17, 2023
Great art and an interesting story premise, but needed to deliver more by the end of this volume. The characters are interesting and I am hopeful for more in the future.
January 28, 2024
I love Shalvey's art here, and he is mixing some interesting genres at the end of this first trade pb. Rounding up a 3.5 to a 4 of optimism.
February 8, 2024
Loads of fun! A craggy old guy face buffet with some good body horror on the side and I am here for it.
April 14, 2024
This is dope!
September 1, 2024
This was fun, but so confusing to me. I felt like I was missing stuff. But yeah, kind of BA and rollicking.
January 15, 2024
La historia de Old Dog nos lleva al mundo del espionaje. Su protagonista es Jack Lynch, un agente de la CIA jubilado y cuya última misión no acabó como se esperaba.
Ahora, años después de aquel incidente y después de despertar de un coma de 8 años, Lynch es un hombre muy distinto tanto por dentro como por fuera, en el que se encuentra en un mundo muy diferente al que conocía.
Aún así recibe una oferta que no podrá rechazar de una organización llamada círculo negro que parece esconder más de lo que dice, aunque esto suponga tener que trabajar con alguien que prefería no tener a su lado, su hija.
Ahora, años después de aquel incidente y después de despertar de un coma de 8 años, Lynch es un hombre muy distinto tanto por dentro como por fuera, en el que se encuentra en un mundo muy diferente al que conocía.
Aún así recibe una oferta que no podrá rechazar de una organización llamada círculo negro que parece esconder más de lo que dice, aunque esto suponga tener que trabajar con alguien que prefería no tener a su lado, su hija.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews