27 Mar / Cat Person by Seo Kim
Both my kids regularly refer to me as ‘the crazy cat lady.’ When Eldest gets especially annoyed, I get shooed off with advice to conduct feline conversations instead. So imagine my delight in discovering a shared obsession with Canadian Korean cartoonist Seo Kim! Currently Los Angeles-domiciled and storyboarding for Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, Kim makes her comic(al) debut thanks to Toronto-based, eclectic indie Koyama Press, with a collection filled with evidence that she is forever devoted to her kitty Jimmy.
For anyone in cat love, you will absolutely recognize yourself right here, from your inexplicable wonder at every little thing your cuddly bundle does, to losing your seat every time you get up to get that next cup of caffeine, to the fur that invades all including your dinner and your toothbrush, to the “cat charades” that never ceases to entertain, especially the otter and chicken nugget poses.
Although the “Jimmy & Me” section ends all too quickly, irresistible Jimmy does make the occasional when-he-feels-like-it reappearance throughout the rest of the book. Kim turns her panels on herself in “Just Me” and “Just Me II” and openly shares what we all do sometimes: forgets her phone, eats too many (killer) wasabi peas and does it all over again, shrieks in midnight terror at the bug in bed. She shamelessly admits to life’s more embarrassing moments: “I just eated my own boogers,” repeating the endless steps necessary to (re)prepare that forgotten (again) cup of tea, proudly sporting toothpaste and food stains on your shirt, and even sharing “poop adventures” but having the phone die before you’re done, oh my.
The boyfriend gets attention in “Eddie & Me,” albeit he often comes second to Jimmy. Kim’s human relationship seems to involve more technology – phones for TMI texting and chatting, larger screens for Skyping and virtual sharing – but Jimmy often proves “the best.” And no, Eddie’s four-legged buddy Bubble just can’t compete. Other animals get pagetime in the brief “Misc.” section, with “Chocolate Chip Cookie Disease” a warning for all, ahem!
Crazy cat lady that I admittedly am, of course I could have used a triple dose of Jimmy … but then that’s what sequels and series are for, right?!
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2014