Review by Booklist Review
Coyote Doggirl, the half-dog, half-coyote, all-guts heroine of Hanawalt's (Hot Dog Taste Test , 2016) western-of-sorts, is on the run from some bad guys, for some reason, but feeling pretty good about things. "We are a team! We are family. This is a symbiotic thing," Coyote tells her beloved little horse, Red just before she takes three enemy arrows to the back and loses Red at the same time. An eccentric band of do-gooder wolves takes Coyote in, appreciating her handmade fashions, nursing her back to health, and teasing out the story of her flight from home. Beyond her gloriously absurd story and funny dialogue, Hanawalt (who also designs TV's BoJack Horseman and the upcoming Tuca & Bertie) creates anthropomorphized animal-mash-up characters of unparalleled imagination; it all adds up to entertainment of surprising sensitivity. She prods at westerns' inherent nostalgia with exaggeratedly bright, Southwestern palettes that convey the time of day and Coyote's inner state, while telling a very modern story of a female character triumphing over abuse and charting a new trail.--Annie Bostrom Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this cockeyed Western, a pink, half-coyote, half-dog cowgirl named Coyote gallops across the prairie on her faithful horse, Red, "pursued by guys" but mostly luxuriating in the ride. She falls in with a tribe of seemingly friendly wolves in Native American garb, but as the guys persistently tail them, she can only delay a showdown with her pursuers for so long. Hanawalt (Hot Dog Taste Test) is best known for idiosyncratic gag cartoons and design work on the black humor animated series Bojack Horseman. This graphic novel showcases plenty of her trademark off-kilter wit as the characters engage in casual violence and anachronistic dialogue. ("I like your top," a wolf says, checking out Coyote's cowhide shift. "Did you make it from scratch?") But there's sincerity imbued in the book's appreciation of nature, the frontier spirit, and, above all, horses; Coyote's bond with Red is the central love story. Hanawalt draws simple anthropomorphic characters (the horses are rendered with more realism and care)-colored in vivid preschool watercolors-and sketches in maps and inventories of riding supplies. The hilarious, bloody journey unfolds with a childlike sense of adventure, bigger and brighter than life, shot through with a snarky adult sensibility. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Hanawalt (My Dirty Dumb Eyes) is probably best known as producer and production designer for Netflix's animated series Bojack Horseman, but for years she's been releasing terrific, idiosyncratic graphic novels. Her latest features the adventures of Coyote Doggirl, a brash, daring half-dog, half-coyote, who, along with her trusty horse Red, wanders the West, crafting leather crop tops and staying one step ahead of a vigilante gang bent on vengeance. Hanawalt specializes in absurdist humor, but here she experiments with a variety of different tones, from slapstick to suspense to downright poignancy. It's tempting to call the result a parody of the classic Western, but really this is totally its own thing-a fun, original, and constantly surprising tale from a creator with a singular vision. -VERDICT At once a rousing escapade, a celebration of fierce independence, an exploration of female empowerment, and the clash among foreign cultures, yet consistently laugh-out-loud funny. Hanawalt's best book yet. [Previewed in Jody Osicki's "-Graphically Speaking," LJ 6/15/18.]-TB © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
