Reviewed by Jeanne
I remember having my grandmother read comic strips from the
newspaper to me as a very young child.
Her favorite strip was, predictably, one called “Grandma” which featured
an elderly woman who is still young at heart.
I’ve followed various strips for decades; I have my old favorites but I
am always on the lookout for new ones to enjoy.
Sometime around 2011, I stumbled across a web comic called “Breaking
Cat News” and it was love at first read.
The premise is that the cats are little reporters who inform about “News
of Interest to Cats.” They wear little
jackets and ties, have a news desk, and carry microphones. The People of the house have no idea this is going
on, of course. The characters are fully
developed, from rambunctious Lupin who is deaf and therefore has no idea that
he sounds like a small pony as he races around the house to neurotic Elvis, a
Siamese who is very hard to please and to Puck, a sweet and gentle black cat
who wants everyone to get along. The
cast has continued to expand to include the People’s growing family (the boy
and the baby), cats outside the household (including the titular Tommy, who
lives in the neighborhood and who reports on doings outside the house), and
various other characters: the robber
mice, Trevor the dog, ghosts, and so forth.
The comic was picked up by Gocomics.com, bringing it to a
wider audience. It has since been
syndicated in newspapers across the country, but in the traditional three panel
format which limits the way the story is told.
Take It Away, Tommy picks up
where the other two collections left off:
Breaking Cat News (reviewed earlier) and Lupin Leaps In. However, you don’t have to have read those to
enjoy this one. There is a basic
sweetness to the strip that I find endearing and addictive; they’re fun and
feel good without being saccharine or sappy.
It reminds me of Mutts by
Patrick McDonnell, another strip I adore, and like Mutts, there’s the occasional gentle lesson thrown in.
While I think anyone would enjoy the strip, cat owners—or should
that be staff?—will find much to be familiar, as when there is a report of bacon
in the kitchen. Naturally, the entire
news staff goes to investigate this possibly delicious story. This particular
book also has the Halloween story beloved by those who followed the strip
online. The story ran over several
weeks, beginning with a little ghost cat who appears but is only seen by some
of the cats. Our intrepid reporters are
on the case, and the ending is wonderfully satisfying. I was especially glad to see this one as it
was not adaptable into the newspaper format; three small panels just wouldn’t
work. However, the rest of the strips are equally good. Another favorite is Christmas, when Puck
informs the audience that people LOVE to decorate the Christmas tree, so he
advises all cats to remove the ornaments each night so they will continue to
have that joy each day. Then there’s “Vacuum Awareness Week” in which the
Breaking Cat News team advises the audience what to do if a vacuum cleaner
appears and offers a sage rhyme of advice:
“If it’s not a broom, leave the room.”
The books are marketed to middle school children as are many
family friendly strips these days: that’s where sales are most brisk. Don’t assume they’re just for kids any more
than the Peanuts gang.
This book is highly recommended and I have bought my own copy
so I can dip into it again and again.
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