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!

The Adventurous Eaters Club: Mastering the Art of Family Mealtime by Misha and Vicki Collins

 

A conversation between Ashley and Kristin

Kristin: I picked up this really cool looking cookbook and I think I might do a review on it. It’s by these parents cooking with their kids and it’s really funny.

Ashley: OMG! I requested that book because it looked good. Misha Collins is the guy from Supernatural and he and his wife created it because their kids were starting to want just chicken nuggets and food like that.

Kristin: I flipped through it and I might copy a couple of recipes, but I’m really enjoying the parts like “Culinary Frontiers—recipes only a kid could dream up”. This particular one, “Breakfast Popsicles”, has the ending: “We can’t recommend making these at home—unless you want a breakfast that’ll haunt you till the day you die.” Those popsicles have scrambled eggs in them.

Ashley: Those recipes by the kids are really funny. I really liked “The Pirate’s Eye aka The Bird in the Nest”. Eggs, bread, a frying pan, and you have breakfast.

Kristin: The “Egg and Cheese Cupcakes” sound good, and kids can help with them. Every single recipe has something that the kids can do safely. I guess the kids are much more likely to eat the food when they have helped make it, not to mention picking it from the garden or from the grocery.

Ashley: The “Shiitake Crispies” recipe was one that I would like to try. And “Mix ‘N’ Match ‘Fried’ Chicken” sounds really good with the spices coating each piece of chicken.

Kristin: The illustrations are great too. After the kids are shown eating their “Make-a-Huge-Mess-Sandwich” (spaghetti with sauce on bread) then their dad is throwing a huge pot of water to rinse them off! Some of the photoshoots look like they got out of hand—I can only wonder how much it cost to fill a claw foot bathtub with greens for the kids to sit in and toss around!

Kristin and Ashley: Yay!—We wrote a review because we love cookbooks! We recommend this to anyone with kids or anyone who is embracing their inner child.