Frazz by Jef Mallet

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

It’s well-known that I am a fan of comic strips.  From the classics such as Blondie and Peanuts to newer offerings like Breaking Cat News and Strange Planet, I’m a fan.  (Not to mention Calvin and Hobbes, Arlo and Janice, Rose is Rose, Mutts, Red and Rover, The Far Side…. This could go on for a very long time.)

So when a patron asked about Frazz, I hesitated for just a moment. I knew I’d seen a strip or two, but it wasn’t one I followed.  Since the library didn’t have any collections, I ordered a couple and, after the original requester had returned them, I was intrigued enough to give them a try.

It didn’t take long for me to see the appeal. This is a thoughtful and delightful strip set in an elementary school. The title character is a young man who works as a janitor at the school.  He’s smart, an athlete, and a musician, but he loves working with kids because of their energy and excitement. He can also see right through some of their ruses, especially the plans cooked up by Caulfield, an extremely bright student who likes to push boundaries.

The humor is wonderful, sometimes a bit philosophical, but always clever. It reminds me a bit of Calvin and Hobbes, and I’m not the only one to think so.  There were once rumors that Bill Watterson was the real artist behind the strip, but no, this is all Jef Mallet though he does cite Watterson among his influences. (There are also a few Watterson references in the strip.)  I get some echoes of Peanuts as well, because the kids are so perceptive.

For me, there’s a lot to love about this strip.  I get a kick out of the literary and cultural references (Caulfield reads Kafka behind his school book and dresses up as Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea for a school play) and I enjoy some of the thoughtful responses.  The characters are all treated with respect, even the ones we may not find as amiable. It’s a sweet strip without being saccharine.  The only drawback I’ve found is that the humor can’t be boiled down to a short sentence. It’s more nuanced and complex than that, which is very appealing to me.  It just makes the strip hard to explain!

So if you’re in the market for a comic that’s more than a one-liner and art that isn’t cookie-cutter, you may want to give Frazz a try. I think I may have found a new strip to follow!

Wallace the Brave, Snug Harbor Stories, and Wicked Epic Adventures by Will Henry

 

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

 

Wallace is a young boy with an adventurous spirit and a very active imagination.  Accompanied by his anxious best friend, Spud, and the new girl in town, Amelia, Wallace sets off throughout Snug Harbor in search of adventures, mysteries, and mischief.  Along the way, readers will meet his green-thumb wielding, surf-loving mom, his fisherman father, his half-feral younger brother, Sterling, and a whole cast of characters with quirks all their own.

I originally stumbled across Wallace the Brave online.  It was part of an ongoing serialized comic—in fact, author Will Henry continues to update the comic regularly at https://www.gocomics.com/wallace-the-brave/about—and, as I continued to prowl through the different comic strips, I quickly fell in love with Henry’s work.  Colorful, wacky, sweet, wholesome, and just plain funny—these comics are a mixture of humor and heart that reminds me strongly of Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, but set in a tiny coastal town in Rhode Island.

So, of course, I had to go out and buy myself a copy of Wallace the Brave for my shelf—quickly followed by Snug Harbor Stories and Wicked Epic Adventures (because I’m a completionist and, also, because I just loved reading the comic strips).  I was so glad I had the chance to continue following Wallace’s adventures as he imagined new sea monsters with Spud, wandered through the woods with his friends, and, in general, spent his days being an energetic kid with an overactive imagination, a loving family, and an odd little brother.

 One of my favorite aspects of Wallace the Brave is actually the characters.  I enjoy the art and I enjoy the stories, but, most of all, I love the weird and wonderful characters that populate the entire town of Snug Harbor.  I like Wallace with his bountiful optimism and imagination—and his hatred of shoes; I like Amelia with her smart mouth and tendency to stir up trouble; I like Spud with his love of cheese, his hatred of vegetables, and his fear of monsters and catastrophes.  I particularly like Wallace’s parents:  Mrs. McClellan is an avid gardener, a lover of comic books, and a talented surfer; Mr. McClellan is a fisherman and a perennial jokester.

 Altogether, I just really enjoy the dynamic between the characters and I loved their individual personalities—how they meshed and, occasionally, conflicted to create weird situations, amazing adventures, and downright funny episodes.  It’s always such a fun trip with Wallace and his friends, and I can’t wait to read more by Will Henry.

The Art of Nothing: 25 Years of Mutts and the Art of Patrick McDonnell

Reviewed by Jeanne

I’m a long-time fan of the Mutts strip.  It’s funny, sweet, endearing, and I am fascinated by the artwork.  I own several of the books, both the collections of strips and the picture books. I also own the predecessor to this volume, Mutts:  The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell. 

For those new to Mutts, it is a long running comic strip featuring Earl, a happy dog, and Mooch, a bewildering cat.  Earl loves his human Ozzie devotedly, and Mooch is fond of his humans, Millie and Frank.  There’s also a whole cast of characters, from Guard Dog to Shtinky to Crabby and the Fatty Snax deli man.  Along the way, the strip has evolved from a simple three panels with a gag to a sensitive, thoughtful strip that espouses kindness to all living things without being didactic. I’ll admit I have teared up at some. 

And if you are indeed new to Mutts, I would suggest you start with a collection of the strips, just to familiarize yourself with McDonnell’s style to be able to appreciate The Art of Nothing.  While strips are included, the book is more of a “behind the scenes” look at McDonnell, his influences, and how he works.  It includes sketches for strips and goes through the process of how these are turned into the strips we see in newspapers, early versions of some strips, and the artist’s commentary.  I have always particularly enjoyed the Sunday title panels, the single panel which has the strip’s name; sometimes these are dropped by an individual paper so they can’t be an integral part of that week’s strip.  Many strips just use the same panel week after week, but McDonnell uses it as a sort of tip of the hat to other artists.  Sometimes one just won’t be familiar to me.  There are a number of the panels shown in this book, explaining the attributions from N.C. Wyeth’s The Giant to Andy Warhol to a Frank Zappa album cover to The Big Lebowski. Of course, some of my favorites pay homage to classic children’s books such as The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Interspersed with the art are comments from McDonnell himself, talking about his life, his influences, and the real life inspiration for some of his characters.  It’s no surprise to learn that Charles Schultz is one of his heroes, but it’s nice to know that the two had a very cordial relationship.  One of the early pieces in the book is a photo of a sheet from a newspaper with the first printed Mutts strip and the notation, “Good start, Sparky.”  McDonnell’s taste is art is expansive, covering a lot of eras, style, and cultures.

This is a real treat for fans and a fascinating look at the artistic process for anyone interested in comic art.

Take It Away, Tommy by Georgia Dunn

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.

Sarah's Scribbles

Reviewed by Ambrea

I originally saw Sarah Andersen’s work online, and I quickly fell in love with her comics.  Andersen is funny and witty and relatable, chronicling her life as a young adult thrust into the modern world without job experience, training, or a set career path—and student loans thrown into the mix.  Her series is about growing up, being an introvert with (ugh) responsibilities, loving pets, gaining life experiences, and, some days, snuggling under the covers because adulting is hard.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I stumbled across her books at the library.  She currently has three books in her “Sarah’s Scribbles” collection:  Adulthood is a Myth, Big Mushy Happy Lump, and Herding Cats.  Each one is a collection of thoughts, sometimes visual essays about dealing with life and chasing after one’s dreams.

Personally, I love the fact that Andersen’s comics are so relatable.  She deals with situations I’ve encountered in my own life, like using books as a means of escape when life is, well, less than ideal.

Or being trolled by your brain for no apparent reason.

 

Or figuring out how to be the coziest human being ever on a rainy day.

Or learning that routines are great—but warm laundry is better.

I absolutely loved reading “Sarah’s Scribbles.”  Once I read the first panel, I was hooked and I couldn’t stop reading; in fact, I finished both Adulthood is a Myth and Big Mushy Happy Lump over my lunch break, so I could read Herding Cats as soon as it arrived at my library.  The drawings are simple but quirky; the stories are funny, if sometimes exaggerated, but they connected with me on a visceral level.

Overall, the books are wonderful.  If you’re looking for an easy, lighthearted read—or just a good laugh while snuggled in bed on a dreary, rainy fall day—I highly recommend any one of the “Sarah’s Scribbles” books.