History YMMV / DylanDog

* HilariousInHindsight:
** Creator/BrandonRouth, fresh from playing [[Film/SupermanReturns one iconic superhero,]] plays a CaptainErsatz of [[{{ComicBook/Hellblazer}} John Constantine]] here before moving on to [[{{Series/Arrow}} The Atom.]] That's 3 for Creator/DCComics in a row. Even more hilarious, ''all three roles are wearing blue and red.''
** Creator/PeterStormare plays a character called Gabriel, a name from ''{{Film/Constantine}}'' which ''also'' starred Stormare ''as the Devil''!

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs:

* CompleteMonster: [[VampireMonarch Vargas]] is the owner of the Corpus House, the biggest nightclub in New Orleans, who facilitated drug trading in his club. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Introduced]] by knocking out one of the humans who is partying at his club, it was revealed that prior to the main story, Vargas murdered the wife of a supernatural private investigator, Dylan Dog, and framing the Vampire Elders so that he could secure his position as the leader of the vampires. Determined to get the artifact known as "The Heart of Belial", Vargas personally murders a werewolf that guarded the artifact, and when one of his vampire mooks accidentally exposes him and his clans to Dylan, Vargas then [[BadBoss punishes him]] by [[FateWorseThanDeath burying him for more than twenty years]]. When Dylan and his undead friend, Marcus, obtains the Heart of Belial, Vargas then locks them in the crypt and gloats towards Dylan about his dead wife as he plans to use the Heart of Belial to summon a demon in order to make all of the vampires and humans [[AGodAmI bow down to him]].

%% * {{Anvilicious}}: Often the series' [[FantasticAesop fantastic Aesops]] are like that.

* TheUntwist: Lampshaded in an issue where an ex policewoman is haunted by what seems to be the ghost of a criminal she helped capture and execute. When Dylan suggests [[spoiler:it may be a twin who wants to avenge his dead brother]], Bloch replies he's not heard such a trite idea since '48. In the end it turns out [[spoiler:it was a band of six twins]].
** [[spoiler: Groucho revealing he had been secretely working with John Ghost]] in issue #399 was no surprise since pretty much everyone had figured that out.
* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: Pretty much everything.

** PeterStormare plays a character called Gabriel, a name from ''{{Film/Constantine}}'' which ''also'' starred Stormare ''as the Devil''!

* CriticalResearchFailure: It happens occasionally, since the series is written by Italians but set in the UK.
** Bree Daniels costantly mispronounces Dylan's name as DIE-lun and claims that it's the American pronunciation. "Dylan" is pronounced in the same way in all English-speaking countries (and most non-English speaking ones, for that matter).
** Dylan once said that [[spoiler:Lillie Connolly]] was sentenced to death for terrorism. This would have happened in the late 70s/early 80s, when the death penalty had long been abolished in the UK.It's possible that [[spoiler:Lillie]] being sentenced to death was an alcohol-induced hallucination for Dylan, but in that case he should have realized that long before telling the story.
** Police officers all carry handguns as in Italy, to the point that Dylan's Bodeo revolver was once mistaken for his former service gun.

* BrokenBase: Mostly during the ''phase 2'', the overarching story arc leading to the SoftReset]]. Bloch's retirement, the introduction of John Ghost, Ranya and inspector Carpenter (among other changes made to the series) were either welcomed to those who felt the series had gone stale or criticized by those who feel that the changes made the series too different from what it was supposed to be. Everything [[ItsPersonal went horribly personal]] with the SoftReset itself, with the now current curator of the series personally [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks blamed and marked with every major change in the upcoming continuity]].

** Police officers all carry handguns as in Italy, to the point that Dylan's [[RareGuns Bodeo revolver]] was once mistaken for his former service gun.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Often the series' [[FantasticAesop fantastic Aesops]] are like that.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: To the series' credit, they did drop them.

* TearJerker:
** "Johnny Freak": Johnny is a deaf, abandoned boy without legs, found by Dylan. Johnny displays amazing intelligence (he learned how to read lips and to speak, albeit badly) artistic abilities, and forms a bond with Dylan and Groucho. Then things go downhill as his origins are revealed: [[spoiler:he's the illegitimate son of the Arkham family, born deaf but otherwise healthy, while his legitimate brother Dougal was born with a degenerative illness. The Arkhams then ''used Johnny's organs and limbs to replace his brother's when they started failing'', while otherwise keeping Johnny trapped in the basement. For ''years'']]. How the story ends? [[spoiler:Dougal shoots Johnny because he loathes him as a "freak", then has a heart attack. As Dylan is at Johnny's death bed, Johnny's last request to him is to give his heart to Dougal in order to save him. Dylan '''almost''' refuses to do so, but can't bring himself to betray what is effectively his own son]].
** "The Long Goodbye": Marina Kimball, an old flame of Dylan when he went to her town Moonlight for a summer vacation, presents herself at Dylan's doorstep with no memory of how she got there and asks Dylan to take her home. This issue avoids monsters or horror elements and is instead a successfully sentimental story between Dylan and Marina as they travel and talk about the old days and how their lives have turned out. Dylan bitterly remembers having left Moonlight after almost killing himself because of Marina preferring a rough guy named Robby (with whom she had a bad marriage that ended with his death) over him despite declaring his love for her. [[spoiler: In the end Dylan arrives in Moonlight and, as he suspected, Marina killed herself and before dying made a last wish to see him again. As he returns home, Dylan finally remembers that despite leaving Moonlight angrily back then, Marina did run after him and had a proper TrainStationGoobye, which remains tragic for Dylan not hearing Marina yelling that she loves him too, screaming back at her "You'll tell next summer!", and present day Dylan bitterly wonders "But how much time separates us from the next summer?"]]
** "Beyond Death": Bree Daniels, Dylan's HookerWithAHeartOfGold love interest from "Memories from the Invisible World" is dying of AIDS. The Grim Reaper arrives and Dylan begs to not take her away. Death makes a deal: Dylan will have to kill someone, and that someone's life will be traded for Bree's survival. Dylan decides to expose himself to lure and fight to death Johnny Dark, a cybernetic serial killer. [[spoiler: But despite killing him, Bree ends up dying anyway. Death reveals that in the fight, Dylan died from the severe injuries Dark subjected him to, and Death had to use Dark's life to save Dylan's because his time to die hasn't come yet]].

** "The Long Goodbye": Marina Kimball, an old flame of Dylan when he went to her town Moonlight for a summer vacation, presents herself at Dylan's doorstep with no memory of how she got there and asks Dylan to take her home. This issue avoids monsters or horror elements and is instead a successfully sentimental story between Dylan and Marina as they travel and remember the old days and how their lives have turned out, and Dylan bitterly remembers leaving Moonlight after almost killing himself because of her preferring a rough guy named Robby (with whom she had a bad marriage that ended with his death) over him despite declaring his love for her. [[spoiler: In the end Dylan arrives in Moonlight and, as he suspected, Marina killed herself and before dying made a last wish to see him again. In the end Dylan finally remembers that despite leaving Moonlight angrily back then, Marina did run after him and had a proper TrainStationGoobye, which remains tragic for Dylan not hearing Marina yelling that she loves him too, screaming back at her "You'll tell next summer!", and present day Dylan bitterly wonders "But how much time separates us from the next summer?"]]

** "Johnny Freak": Johnny is a deaf, abandoned child without legs, found by Dylan. The child displays amazing intelligence (he learned how to read lips and to speak, albeit badly) artistic abilities, and forms a bond with Dylan and Groucho. Then things go downhill as his origins are revealed: [[spoiler:he's the illegitimate son of the Arkham family, born deaf but otherwise healthy, while his legitimate brother Dougal was born with a degenerative illness. The Arkhams then ''used Johnny's organs and limbs to replace his brother's when they started failing'', while otherwise keeping Johnny trapped in the basement. For ''years'']]. How the story ends? [[spoiler:Dougal shoots Johnny because he loathes him as a "freak", then has a heart attack. As Dylan is at Johnny's death bed, Johnny's last request to him is to give his heart to Dougal in order to save him. Dylan '''almost''' refuses to do so, but can't bring himself to betray what is effectively his own son]].

** "The Long Goodbye": Marina Kimball, an old flame of Dylan when he went to her town Moonlight for a summer vacation, presents herself at Dylan's doorstep with no memory of how she got there and asks Dylan to take her home. This issue avoids monsters or horror elements and is instead a successfully sentimental story between Dylan and Marina as they travel and remember the old days and how their lives have turned out, and Dylan bitterly remembers leaving Moonlight after almost killing himself because of her preferring him over a rough guy named Robby (with whom she had a bad marriage that ended with his death) despite declaring his love for her. [[spoiler: In the end Dylan arrives in Moonlight and, as he suspected, Marina killed herself and before dying made a last wish to see him again. In the end Dylan finally remembers that despite leaving Moonlight angrily back then, Marina did run after him and had a proper TrainStationGoobye, which remains tragic for Dylan not hearing Marina yelling that she loves him too, screaming back at her "You'll tell next summer!", and present day Dylan bitterly wonders "But how much time separates us from the next summer?"]]

** "The Long Goodbye": Marina Kimball, an old flame of Dylan when he went to her town Moonlight for a summer vacation, presents herself at Dylan's doorstep with no memory of how she got there and asks Dylan to take her home. This issue avoids monsters or horror elements and is instead a successfully sentimental story between Dylan and Marina as they travel and remember the old days and how their lives have turned out, and Dylan bitterly remembers leaving Moonlight after almost killing himself over her preferring him over a rough guy named Robby (with whom she had a bad marriage that ended with his death) despite declaring his love for her. [[spoiler: In the end Dylan arrives in Moonlight and, as he suspected, Marina killed herself and before dying made a last wish to see him again. In the end Dylan finally remember that despite leaving Moonlight angrily back then, Marina did run after him and had a proper TrainStationGoobye, which remains tragic for Dylan not hearing Marina yelling that she loves him too, screaming back at her "You'll tell next summer!", and present day Dylan bitterly wonders "But how much time separates us from the next summer?"]]

** "The Long Goodbye": Marina Kimball, an old flame of Dylan when he went to her town Moonlight for a summer vacation, returns presents herself at Dylan's door with no memory of how she arrived there and asks Dylan to take her home. This issue avoids monsters or horror elements and is instead a successfully sentimental story between Dylan and Marina as they travel and remember the old days and how their lives have turned out, and Dylan bitterly remembers leaving Moonlight after almost killing himself over her preferring him over a rough guy named Robby (with whom she had a bad marriage that ended with his death) despite declaring his love for her. [[spoiler: In the end Dylan arrives in Moonlight and, as he suspected, Marina killed herself and before dying made a last wish to see him again. In the end Dylan finally remember that despite leaving Moonlight angrily back then, Marina did run after him and had a proper TrainStationGoobye, which remains tragic for Dylan not hearing Marina yelling that she loves him too, screaming back at her "You'll tell next summer!", and present day Dylan bitterly wonders "But how much time separates us from the next summer?"]]

* TearJerker: "Johnny Freak". Johnny is a deaf, abandoned child without legs, found by Dylan. The child displays amazing intelligence (he learned how to read lips and to speak, albeit badly) artistic abilities, and forms a bond with Dylan and Groucho. Then things go downhill as his origins are revealed: [[spoiler:he's the illegitimate son of the Arkham family, born deaf but otherwise healthy, while his legitimate brother Dougal was born with a degenerative illness. The Arkhams then ''used Johnny's organs and limbs to replace his brother's when they started failing'', while otherwise keeping Johnny trapped in the basement. For ''years'']]. How the story ends? [[spoiler:Dougal shoots Johnny because he loathes him as a "freak", then has a heart attack. As Dylan is at Johnny's death bed, Johnny's last request to him is to give his heart to Dougal in order to save him. Dylan '''almost''' refuses to do so, but can't bring himself to betray what is effectively his own son]].

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome:
** Dylan's encounter with Xabaras at the end of "Morgana". [[spoiler:He picks up a broadsword from the wall and beheads Xabaras. Sadly, he got better thanks to Morgana.]]
-->'''Dylan''': "THE ANGEL OF VENGEANCE HAS RETURNED! AND NOW HE HAS A SWORD!!!"
** Also all the last part of volume 100. [[spoiler:Alias Dylan, the Good side of Xabaras and Morgana kicking the shit out of the zombie minions of Xabaras, who is eventually vanquished]].
** In "[[WhamEpisode Let Chaos Reign!]]", [[{{AXCRAZY}} Axel Gills]] is rampaging through London, the police unable to stop him... Then Dylan shows up and kills him with a ''giant crossbow''. It's enough that his HeroWithBadPublicity status finally ends... Hence why [[BigBad John Ghost]] had set it up, as humanity now needs a hero.
* NightmareFuel: It's a horror comic, what did you expect?
** Xabaras is always a single victory away from causing a ZombieApocalypse. And in the "Planet of the Dead" alternate timeline, ''he did it''. And not even on purpose, [[WellIntentionedExtremist he just wants to make people immortal]].
** Johnny Ghost, who took over as BigBad after Xabaras' death, is a billionaire capable of manipulating ''everyone'' (including ''Bloch and Groucho'', who are helping him doing something under the impression it'll help Dylan) and has effectively complete control of the United Kingdom. As in, he's the lover of ''the Queen'' (or something that really resembles her).
** One particularly terrifying story is "The Man Without Face", a WholeEpisodeFlashback telling the tale of when, as a child, he met with [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos a girl convinced to be chased by a freakishly tall and faceless man that had been stalking the girl for months, with the girl's parents being terrified of the being and convinced that every kid that stumbled upon them would end up as its target]]. To this day, Dylan is still wondering what actually happened-or if it happened at all.
** Another terrifying character is the Pied Piper of Hameln. He doesn't actually appear, but his pipe does, and it turns out that, with the right music, it can summon ''anything'', including a horde of spiders (one of the easiest tunes, to the point a bully who got his hands on it did it by accident-and he couldn't even really play a pipe), a darkness that ''will'' devour the player if they don't banish it away in time, and even ''zombies'' (what its latest owner [[spoiler:Xabaras]] uses it for). But that's not really the scary part, that came with ''Martin Mystere'' #360, when it turned out that [[spoiler:the one to kidnap the children of Hameln had been a wounded alien that needed their energy to heal itself]]-meaning that [[spoiler:[[NothingIsScarier we don't actually know what the Pied Piper was doing in Hameln or even why he was there]]]].
** The "Meteor Cycle", starting in issue 383 "[[WhamEpisode Let Chaos Reign!]]". In that first issue, John Ghost, the BigBad since Xabaras' death, sets up Dylan to be a hero to the people (admittedly by getting him to do something truly heroic on camera)... Because in little more than a year, [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt a giant meteor will hit and devastate the planet]], and if Ghost can't stop it humanity will need a hero to rally around to survive. Every issue that follows adds some more horror, such as [[spoiler:the Meteor actually having a malevolent will]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The authors originally wanted to have an expy of Marty Feldman's [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Igor]] as Dylan's assistant, but the caricature was judged to be "too monstrous", so they decided to replace him with another American comedian.

* BrokenBase: Roberto Recchioni's management of the series and the story changes led to this. Bloch's retirement, the introduction of John Ghost, Ranya and inspector Carpenter (among other changes made to the series) were either welcomed to those who felt the series had gone stale or criticized by those who feel that the changes made the series too different from what it was supposed to be. The fanbase was even more broken after the issue #400 marked the end of Tiziano Sclavi's Dylan Dog and the beginning of Recchioni's take on the character which had, among the other things, [[spoiler: Groucho being replaced by a new assistant]].