HOT DAGN

Jun 1, 2023

Today I was treated to Hot Dagn – a wacky olde webcomic about a dog with amnesia who wakes up in a strange mansion. Some may already know that I am a huge fan of amnesia plots, no matter what folks say about it being a tired, overused cliché – I adore it. It is an easy, reliable device to plunge your audience headfirst into mystery, and allows them to see the story through the eyes of the protagonist. The amnesiac is the perfect avatar, and the good-natured little Hot is no exception.

I binged this comic in an afternoon. It is silly as hell. When a new character is introduced, someone thinks 'em up a brand new name on the spot, as for Meep, Jon Motivation, Bonbon, and Gloopy Box. (You really gotta read it to see why these are so entertaining, I mustn't spoil it.) The titular Hot Dagn names herself after a red note that reads "U are hot". This, of course, means there is a whole lot of title drops from Hot saying her own name in vain or someone speaking of her and I find that quite satisfying.

This unlikely band of colorful anthro amnesiacs are stranded in a fuckoff big "escape the room". Doors open to extreme hot (ha) and cold temperatures, a plant with a picture of a toilet in their closet, a box of 49 rolls of duct tape, a void window, vague control panel, and murderous purple ooze. There is a random cutaway to the mosquito, dog, and plant spending a week together (quite willingly, even though it was a threat) in a comfy little apartment to relax and watch DVDs, only to return to horrors all along the mansion's halls. The exploration is dreamy and surreal and I love that I have no goddamn idea what is going on. Why does Hot keep losing her hands?!? And Jon's randomly missing head!?? It's like an unseen foe is clicking the view option on their animation layers.

Much of the story is left unexplained and things that seem important, like the red note, or a map, are whimsically discarded and forgotten about. Nobody gives a damn. These cuties just want to have a nap and go play outside. They stumble, dreamlike, head in the clouds, into more questions and dangers. I love it. Evident from the title, the dialogue within is intentionally misspelled that way you do when you're too excited to type. It always got me chuckling. And when the art in a panel was simplified / pixelated / zoomed in, that also got me good. I am but a simple comics enjoyer.

As is the fate of most webcomics, Hot Dagn went on hiatus in 2017. But don't let this hinder your enjoyment of this beautiful art form! An unfinished story can be just as fun as one that sees its end. When an artist makes something, finished or not, that's fuckin' special. A special surprise, though, as in 2022 the artist reuploaded the entire comic on a snazzy new website and revamped some of the comic's pages for clarity. I am very grateful for the effort. From the website's comment section, it's clear this comic is near and dear to its readers. A webcomic on hiatus always leaves the possibility open that they could come back some day~

Meep the mosquito delicately kisses the blood off his companions.

Slither's art style is so fuckin' solid. The earlier pages are simplified, quick and energetic, purposefully unpolished, with bright colors and crispy pixels. Several pages had one panel where the art style changed, many of which were guest art. This comic doesn't take itself too seriously, its fun and insane and I think lots of webcomic artists aspire to draw with this kinda effortlessness. These strong rigid shapes, character silhouettes you recognize in an instant, all those popping personalities – it makes for quite the show. Maybe we're the ones sitting behind the screen watching?

If you enjoy crunchy, funny, low-pressure mspaint comics like Ruby Quest or Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff, you'll get a kick outta Hot Dagn.

Thank you to whoever submitted this beauty to The Obscure Webcomic Tournament.

Relevant Links:

• Hot Dagn Webcomic Site
• Slither's other comic, Soul Field