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Staff Picks (October): Catboy GN

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Silver Sprocket is a new publisher to the pages of PREVIEWS, but their first work up for grabs is a promising show of what we can expect in the future.

Catboy by Benji Nate follows the day to day of an unemployed art-school grad and her talking, wish-transformed cat. Originally published as a webcomic on VICE.COM, the short stories are a lighthearted slice-of-life about the complications of having a roommate and a pet in one furry, human-shaped package. Its main story sees the two characters navigating the things you would expect from a roommate comedy, but with decidedly more feline hijinks. I love the fact that everyone just accepts the tall cat in people clothes, usually only ever remarking, “He’s bigger than the last time I saw him.” This coupled with his complete lack of prior human understanding pairs for a pretty surreal and entertaining read. The episodic stories are broken down into 4-5 pages apiece, making it easily accessible for anyone to pick up and enjoy.

I would be remiss in not talking about the presentation though, as a huge appeal of the book for me is the art. All the line work is uneven and free-handed which matches the loose, relaxed tone of the whole book. The simplicity of the characters, contrasting against the intricately curated clothes they wear, gives them a sort of paper doll quality. Nate does a great job of balancing an overall muted pastel color-scheme with a few more saturated reds and yellows to keep it from feeling too washed out.

Catboy is something I’ve enjoyed reading multiple times and, with the added outfit illustrations and sketches that aren’t online anywhere, it’s worth the price of admission. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants a fun, casual read or is just really into fashion illustration and cats.

Luke Martin

Publisher: Silver Sprocket
Item Code: OCT171805
Release Date: 12/27/17
SRP: $20.00

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