Review by Frank Plowright

Thunder is a generic mid-range dog, and the young Sage is his owner (in the absence of any adults in this world). To start with it seems to be straightforward comedy adventure of a girl and her dog, with particular attention paid to how Thunder feels. This is conveyed by a clever feature, the Wagometer, seen on the sample art and showing the level of Thunder’s happiness at any given time.

However, Bethanie Murguia has a bigger story in mind, represented by the manifestation of Thunder’s wolf ancestor, displeased that she’s altogether too willing to go along with demeaning tasks originated by Sage. If Thunder wants to embrace her heritage, this has to change.

Although almost always well-intended, the relationship between a young child and a dog isn’t always the healthiest for a dog. What Wagnificent does is provide an entertaining primer enabling children to understand a dog’s behaviour, and what it likes and doesn’t like. Highlighting this are pages separating chapters titled ‘Pack Manner’ explaining how a dog views the world, ranging from what various poses mean to what a dog extrapolates from an assortment of objects.

While the chapter separators are more specific, the educational aspects are generally encompassed within the episodic chapters themselves, in which Murguia features topics such as how a dog sniffs its way around the neighbourhood. At the beginning a loose connecting thread is Sage’s desire to discover a unicorn, but that’s eventually sidelined as other events take precedence.

Murguia’s art gives both Sade and Thunder emotional strength and a considerable charm, enough to ensure a sequel in A New Dog in the Den. Information after the story raises topics that haven’t been previously covered and provides more detail on some that have.