Writer: David Pepose
Artist: Ornella Greco
Letterer: Justin Birch
Designers: Tim Daniel & David Reyes
Editors: Adam Wallenta & Mike Marts
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios & Papercutz
Digital Copy: $9.99
Hardcover: $17.99
Paperback: $12.99
Release Date: October 7, 2025
When Sam Dawson sees a falling star, he wishes for a puppy. His parents don't think he was ready for the responsibility, but they believe he will be in the future. Then, Irradigator attacks Proxima City. One minute, his parents were with him. Then they aren't. As he searches among the rubble, Sam finds a puppy. When she barks at the Bio-Titan, Irradigator sinks into the sea. Impressed by her bravery, Sam promises to take care of her.
Will Sam become the responsible master his parents believed he could be? And what happens when Irradigator attacks civilization again? Let’s leap into Ten-Ton Titan Terrier Vol 1 and see!
Story
General Sterling Armstrong may have failed to save Sam’s parents. Still, seven years later, Sam joins the Planetary Elite Protectorate. He feels fortunate to work there. Sam has studied hard and gained expertise in Xenoengineering and Astrobiology. After he arrives, he meets General Armstrong and his daughter, Penny. But Holly messes up the laboratory, forcing Sam to consign her to his apartment.
David Pepose kicks off Ten-Ton Titan Terrier Vol 1 with a giant mechanical monster protecting Proxima City. Then he flashes back to show Irradigator’s attack, Sam losing his parents, and Holly defending their city. After Sam becomes the Protectorate's new researcher, the General reveals a fact he has kept Top Secret. While Sam saw one meteor fall that night, two struck the ground. One contained Bio-Titan eggs. The second impact was a giant suit of Mechacolossus Armor.
As the story moves forward, Sam must demonstrate that he deserves to work for the Planetary Elite Protectorate. His first order of business is to come to grips with the Mechacolossus Armor. General Armstrong has tried and failed to find anyone who can control it. And with the Bio-Titans leveling cities across the planet, Humanity desperately needs someone to save civilization.
In Ten-Ton Titan Terrier Vol 1, Holly demonstrates her fierce loyalty to Sam. In return, the armor allows her to be its master. While Sam is elated, Penny and General Armstrong are not amused. The armor rejected their best candidates and chose a little dog instead. But General Armstrong is determined to control the armor. In his war against the Bio-Titans, the last thing General Armstrong needs is a loose ten-ton cannon.
Art
As young Sam gazes up into the night sky, a shooting star forms a Y. After a mountainside explodes, smoke rises from armor lying in a glowing trench. Like his younger self, Sam wears glasses with square frames, while Penny wears glasses with enormous circular lenses. Holly examines the lab, leaps into a swivel chair, and frightens a caged animal. When Penny discovers them, she points at them, frowns, and crosses her arms over her chest. General Armstrong, clad in his decorated military jacket and beret, also frowns and crosses his arms before leading Sam to a vast room. Like Yancy and Raleigh Becket beholding a Jaeger, or Johnny Sokko befriending a Pharaoh-like robot, the scale of the complex evokes NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida.
Ornella Greco lavishes vibrant and appealing colors on her action-packed art in Ten-Ton Titan Terrier Vol 1. Holly remains an adorable “pupster” as she pilots the armor with virtual displays. The Mechacolossus Armor battles Bio-Titans resembling creatures from mythology, the natural world, and Kaiju cinema. Yet Holly remains at the center of this story, as she gazes up at her master with adoring eyes, investigates her new powers, and suffers nightmares in which Sam no longer loves her.
Justin Birch fills white and colored dialogue balloons and boxes with black uppercase letters. The boxes, balloons, and arrows demonstrate great variety, while words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects amplify the action, drama, devastation, and revelations as Sam's relationship with Penny and her father evolves. Thanks to Mad Cave Studios & Papercutz for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Fierce, loving, and brave, Sam Dawson's adorable "pupster" sees him through his adolescence. Holly has a heart bigger than the Bio-Titans she battles in the beautifully drawn and colored Ten-Ton Titan Terrier Vol 1. Just don't say, "Fetch," while she's wearing the Mechacolossus Armor!
Rating 9.5/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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