Summary
Fans of Jim Davis’Garfieldand Charles Schulz’Peanutswho aren’t familiar withPatrick McDonnell’sMUTTShave the perfect chance to discover the long-running series, with the upcoming release ofBreaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story, celebrating three decades of the cartoon and one of its enduringly popular character, the eponymous Guard Dog.
Screen Rant is proud to release an exclusive preview ofBreaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story. Coming from Abrams ComicsArts, the book serves as a tribute toMUTTSprominence in comics over the last three decades. Introduced in the first year of the strip’s run, Guard Dog has been oneMUTTS' most endearing characters, making him the perfect focus for this anniversary publication.
Excitingly,Breaking the Chainoffers a full-color version of the original black-and-white story; hopefully, the book will be crucial in introducingMUTTSto an eager new generation of readers.
First released on June 17, 2025,MUTTquickly found a devoted following, and made a lasting impression on critics and audiences alike, including some of the comic industry’s most prominent names, such asPeanuts’Charles Schulz, who praised it as,““one of the best comic strips of all time,“andSimpsonscreator Matt Groening, who calledMUTTS, “smart, funny, brilliantly drawn, and full of heart.”
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Celebrate Thirty Years Of Patrick McDonnell’s MUTTS With “Breaking The Chain”
Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story, Available June 28, 2025
[Guard Dog’s] story speaks to the larger themes at play that were always at play in the world ofMUTTS.
Over the course of 30 years, the core concept ofMUTTSwas simple: each strip would chronicle the escapades of a dog and a cat, respectively named Earl and Mooch. One of the key supporting players they’d often interact with in the neighborhood was Guard Dog, a chained-up guard dog who wanted nothing more than to be free.Breaking the Chainputs a special spotlight on the popular character:
This September, Abrams ComicsArts will publishBreaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story,a celebration and history of Guard Dog with a full color version of his newsworthy story of long awaited freedom that captivated readers around the world. Over the years, Guard Dog, one of the strip’s most beloved characters, has played an important role in raising awareness about the cruelty of tethering and has inspired countless readers to become involved in animal welfare
Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Storybegins when Guard Dog is abandoned by his owner, left alone and suffering. But he’s soon discovered by his animal friends Mooch and Earl, and Doozy, a kindly neighborhood girl, who work together to rescue their friend.
In other words, for new and returningMUTTSfans alike, this isan incredible opportunity to revisit Guard Dog’s origin story.
In discussing the upcoming release ofBreaking the Chain,writer/artist Patrick McDonnell noted the essential foundation of Guard Dog character’s conception:
This wasn’t a villain; this was a tragic character. I thought of all the real dogs in this country and around the world who suffer the same unbearable fate. Maybe my dog could be their voice. He could represent the cruelty that animals endure at the hands of humans, and the cruelty we inflict upon ourselves by staying chained to our own unconscious ways of thinking.
As McDonnell pointed out, Guard Dog was always an abused victim longing for love and freedom. His story speaks to the larger themes at play that were always at play in the world ofMUTTS. Now, by being positioned as a protagonist, those themes as they relate to Guard Dog can be made all the more prevalent.
“The Guard Dog Story” Highlights MUTTS' Most Important Themes
And It’s Impactful Message
This thirtieth anniversary special hopes to amplifyMUTTS’overall message and, hopefully, further inspire readers to get involved in nursing the animal community.
MUTTSwas always more than just an often comedic tale about a cat and a dog.MUTTSwas all about raising awareness about animal cruelty and how important it is to care for animals, regardless of what size or shape they come in. The series hasgarnered fans of all kinds, of all ages, including singer-songwriter Rob Thomas, who provided an introduction forBreaking the Chains.As Thomas wrote:
To me,MUTTSis much more than a comic strip. It’s an expression of the best parts of life – a mirror that reflects our love for the people and animals we share it with.
Or, asfamed animal researcher Jane Goodallput it;
Patrick McDonnell is a compassionate champion for all animals, particularly dogs and cats, and through his comic strip,MUTTS, he captures magically the personalities of some of our best friends.
Though perhaps it was Peter Docter, award-winning filmmaker, who put it best:
Mutts is elegant,
simple, deep, yet funny
Like a good haiku.
In any case, the scope ofMUTTS’reach should be clear.
As the press release forBreaking the Chainpointed out, this thirtieth anniversary special hopes to amplifyMUTTS’overall message and, hopefully, further inspire readers to get involved in nursing the animal community. According to fellow cartoonist Jules Feiffer:
In his heart-rending Guard Dog story, Patrick McDonnell proves once again that he is the kindest, most passionate cartoonist on record. InBreaking the Chain, McDonnell kindly and gently breaks the reader’s heart over and over again, and does so with such gentleness and grace that the reader, by the end, is in a state of elevated bliss. Not sinceLittle Nemo in Slumberlandhas the comics page been gifted with such a gentle, reverential spirit. I don’t envy my friend Patrick having to deal with the fury of his fellow cartoonists, who haven’t realized that plain, simple humanity works on the comics page.
In all, readers who haven’t revisitedMUTTSin awhile, or might not be familiar with this timeless peer ofGarfieldandPeanutswill be thrilled to haveBreaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Storyin their hands soon enough.
Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Storywill be available August 03, 2025 from Abrams ComicsArts.
Peanuts
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
