The Dog Knight

A non-binary tween gets a chance at superhero-dom in this graphic novel that’s perfect for bridging the divide between reluctant readers and passionate comic readers. Frankie knows they are non-binary, and their mom supports that, but they know that things aren’t always easy out in the world. When they came out, they lost their best friend, and picked up a few new bullies. When mom’s working long hours as a lawyer, and things start going wrong around town, Frankie finds themself called to servce. A freak interaction with some stray dogs transports Frankie to a sort of liminal space where they are presented with the opportunity to be THE DOG KNIGHT.

First, they must pass several trials though–including the smell test, loyalty, kindness, stubbornness, etc. The bulk of the book focuses on Frankie passing these trials, showing they are destined to be the Dog Knight and worthy of the helmet, which allows them to communicate with dogs. These trials and antics unfold in chapters that will delight many readers—from cat chases to hiding a dog to mom from learning what stubbornness does and doesn’t mean.

I enjoyed this as a sort of coming-of-powers super hero tale rooted in the real world, but it felt incomplete. Just as Frankie gets started, the book is done. I appreciated the experience and story line of the old best friend learning the errors of their ways and Frankie being the bigger person, etc, but I wanted more of Frankie’s life and not just the trials to BECOME the Dog Knight, which often didn’t involve other people or felt kind of…chaotic. The fight scenes were…interesting, for me as a non-super hero comic reader, and felt very quick but also too busy at times?

Overall, this was a solid book. I will definitely recommend it to tweens, but I don’t know that it’ll stick in my mind as much as other graphic novels have recently.