Publisher: Darkhorse Comics

Reviewed by: Jonny Botsch

Straight out of Italy, Darkhorse represents for Tiziano Sclavi and his creation Dylan Dog by bringing North America this sweet omnibus style tome that gathers together seven trade paperback's worth (!) of material. Dylan Dog is Italy's best selling comic and as the cover of the book states, it has sold "more than 56 million copies worldwide." This being its only translation into English in the last ten years, it is a great introduction for any and all readers.

The book is something akin to the Hellboy series in terms of genre and tone, which is probably why Mike Mignola lent his skills to the covers that separate each story. Dylan is an occult investigator who finds himself on all kinds of bizarre cases with only his clarinet or a big gun at his side. He is beset on all sides by the most unique characters and the series itself is constantly filled with bizarre, dark humour.

While there is a film in the works starring Brandon Routh that already has many hardcore Dylan fans cringing, if you want a taste of Dylan Dog on the silver screen done properly, seek out a movie released in North America as Cemetery Man. Originally released as Dellamorte Dellamore, this isn’t truly Dylan, but it is based on a book written by Sclavi and heavily influenced by the comic. In fact Rupert Everett’s wardrobe is taken right off of Dylan’s back!

Find it, love it and kill anyone who tries to borrow it from you. Dylan Dog is a gift from Italy, so say, "Grazie mille!"