A while back, The Beat published a list of top dog characters in comics, “SILBER LININGS: Who’s a good boy? The 10 goodest dogs in comics,” and it got me thinking about all the various great dogs in comics. Their list is generally a good one (other than Man-Wolf, who is clearly not a dog!) but there were a couple of notable absences I thought.. and I made a mental note to make my own addendum list at some point. 

So, here are a few comics dogs that I think should be added to the list (and note that I’m certainly not suggesting any dogs should be removed from the list to make room! As they say, “They’re good dogs, Brent.”) I’m adhering to the parameters of the original list and only including literal dogs–not anthropomorphic dog characters. 

Snowy/Milou

Seriously, no Snowy? In terms of just sheer popularity and eyes-on-panels, the only other comics dog that even comes close to Snowy is Snoopy (who’s at the #1 spot in The Beat’s list). Like Snoopy, Snowy (Milou in the original French) does occasionally communicate in words, so maybe not a 100% literal dog, but if Snoopy counts, so does Snowy. Not only is Snowy Tintin’s loyal companion who’s stuck with him through thick and thin and through all kinds of harrowing scrapes, but he also knocks back Scotch on occasion! Bonus: Hergé apparently named him in “honor” of a love interest that spurned him as a young man. 

“Milou” = Marie-Louise.

Sam

If you can make it through “Sam” the adoption-to-death story of John Porcellino’s dog, Samantha Love, (from King Kat Comics & Stories #38)  with a dry eye, you are a monster. As with all of Porcellino’s work, the spare drawing belies the emotional richness of the narrative it conveys. We follow John and Sam’s relationship as John grows up, goes through adolescence, moves away from home, etc.–and all the while Sam is there for him. Until she isn’t.  This scant ten-pager is hands down one of the best short comics ever made–and Sam is clearly one of the bestest dogs ever.

The Walking Dog

Neither the titular main character in Jiro Taniguchi’s The Walking Man nor his dog are ever named–there are, in fact, almost no words at all in this book. What does this dog do that merit’s his (her?) inclusion here… well, strictly speaking, neither the dog nor the man really do much of anything. They wander around their town observing and just existing in the moment–and that’s exactly why I love The Walking Man. It reminds us that even in a world of nonstop activity and buzzing phones there’s joy to be found in the simple act of going on a quiet walk with ones dog.  

Pierre

Pierre is the hilariously awful papillon owned by Valerie Russo’s family in Peter Bagge’s HATE. Peirre makes this list mainly just because every single panel with him in it makes me laugh aloud.  Sadly, Pierre only appears for a few panels during the scene where Buddy meets Valerie’s parents. If I were in charge Pierre would have had his own spin-off limited series.