And Then I Read: I WAS THE CAT

Images © Paul Tobin & Benjamin Dewey.

This handsome hardcover from Oni Press has a lot going for it, and not just because it’s about Burma, a talking cat. What the cat talks about, to his newly hired memoir writer Allison Breaking, is a charming and yet sinister series of stories about his nine lives throughout history, in each of which he is sneakily planning to take over the world. Interspersed are present day elements like Allison’s relationship with her paranoid roomie Reggie, and Burma’s present day activities and that of his large staff, much of it also sinister. Burma makes the most of his cute catness, especially for Allison, who has a hard time taking the cat seriously, even when he tells her awful things. The writing by Paul Tobin walks this tightrope with skill, and the art by Benjamin Dewey is equally skilled. As Burma’s present day plans to take over the world heat up, the latter half of the book becomes more of a thriller, adding another level to the entire work.

My only problem with the book, and it’s a large one for me, is the lettering. It’s too small, too condensed (compressed horizontally) and the font is poorly made with large gaps between some letters that make one word look like two. I could only read a chapter of this at a time, the lettering was so annoying! Despite that, I enjoyed the book as a whole, and recommend it.