Ellison's best-known story, "A Boy and His Dog" (first collected in The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World), is combined for the first time with its prequel, "Eggsucker," and sequel, "Run, Spot, Run," in a graphic novel illustrated by the great Richard Corben ("Den").
Ellison says the three tales form the first part of a 100,000-word novel, Blood's a Rover, but that long-planned project has never materialized. Which may be for the better; "Eggsucker" is interesting but obvious, while in "Run, Spot, Run" puts our heroes in peril using the hoariest post-nuke plot device: giant mutant spiders. If Blood's a Rover ever does get published in its entirety, let's hope Ellison has more original directions in which to take it.
The slightly retitled 2003 edition includes both the prose and graphic treatments of each of the three segments, plus interstitial snippets of "The Wit and Wisdom of Blood."
