Grumpy Cat and Garfield is the sort of crossover that makes perfect sense when you think about it. They both like to sleep, they’re grouchy, and lovable in their own ways. Grumpy Cat/Garfield is a comic that I’ve been looking forward to. To start with, I’m one of the few people you know who liked Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever. I also love the Garfield and Friends animated series. With both of these awesome cats, I have history and a great history with both of them. Now it is time to see if both of these cats make for a winning combination. Will this be the worst comic ever? Will it be one delicious plate of lasagna? Hopefully it isn’t as dark a day as a Monday. Now let us begin our adventure into the grouchy but lovable world of Grumpy Cat/Garfield #1.
Grumpy Cat/Garfield #1 is a clever crossover idea from Boom! and their Kaboom! imprint and Dynamite. Still can’t believe this is real but I can’t help but like that it exists.
What helps here is Mark Evanier has had a long history with Garfield from comics to TV with Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show. Evanier knows our lasagna loving friend and his universe well, probably about as much as Garfield’s creator Jim Davis at this point. This is also Evanier’s first time writing Grumpy Cat and her universe and to be fair on my part, I’m not familiar with the Grumpy Cat comics. From this though, I find I should get more familiar with Grumpy Cat’s comic series. Even if you’re not familiar with either of them, Evanier keeps the story simple, nefarious businessman Mr. Ichabod Gross is trying to make cats act like dogs, and from one wacky idea comes wonderful results.
Now the simple premise works wonders in getting two of our favorite cats together. Both of them think Gross is a fool and ignore him immediately. You can almost figure how these cats collide with Gross yet it works and it is delightful. I also like the bits in between as Grumpy Cat’s brother Pokey and Odie have a role to play in this too. I’ve always liked Odie but Pokey was a lot of fun and I will enjoy seeing Odie and Pokey meet. Evanier crafted a neat story that gets everyone together and that’s all you need. It’s fun, it’s sweet, and it will be a blast to see how this plays out. A simple story idea that brews many neat possibilities for a fun crossover adventure. Sometimes all you need a simple hook to make a story fun and keep readers wanting more.
Yes I am a touch biased here in my liking of both Grumpy Cat and Garfield but sincerely this is a lot of fun.
I can’t rave enough about the art, Steve Uy is pitch perfect for this comic. Uy’s art has vibrant colors, wonderful expressions, and it all comes together beautifully. Evanier’s script has a lot of life to it and Uy captures the life in this comic with ease. It’s a book you can’t help but appreciate how the art merges the worlds of our feline friends effortlessly. Two different styles of characters mixing well with one another between the script and a great artist. I also enjoy Tom Napolitano’s lettering, especially in the handling of the narration of the book. The narration has a neat text style going for it, think mysterious typewriter style narration, and I like that. Even more so I love the lettering for Odie’s “Yeah! Yeah!” conveying his joyful nature perfectly.
Overall a solid start to a fun adventure. Grumpy Cat/Garfield #1 begins what should be a great time to be had by all readers.
Considering this book got me curious in learning more about Grumpy Cat’s comics, I say this is a win. I was already a fan of Garfield and now I’m game for this entire crossover adventure. If you’re a fan of one or both of them, you will have a great time with this comic book adventure. It is better than any Monday that’s for sure.
