This collection was included among some "Graphic Novels Starter Pack" genre recommendations, so I added it to my to-read list mostly out of curiosity. I for some reason was expecting an ongoing narrative rather than single-page strips, but I still enjoyed it well enough. There is lots of day-to-day humor and many of Yuko's experiences resonated with both me and my 12-year-old daughter, with whom I also shared the book. We both agreed it would have been improved with even more cats. :) ( )

This comic felt like reading a slice-of-life fiction. Although I guess it was based on the authors' lives, so it really is slice-of-life. I didn't find it funny but was very much amused by it. I could relate to very few parts of the comic but could empathize with most of the content. Would highly recommend it.

Note - I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way. ( )

I love Yuko Ota and Ananth Hirsh's works and their individual ones as well. I literally have Buzz! and Lucky Penny on my bookshelf now. I didn't know about their webcomic though. *whispers* I'm a Bad Fan.

STORY:

"I hate octopuses.

An animal that gross has no business being that smart.—John (pg 236)."

Our Cats are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota (416 pages) is about their day-to-day lives (really, there's a lot of morning coffee drinking here) in comic form. Some of the comics focus on cultural things (between Japanese and Indian culture), apartment shenanigans, the art process, and, of course, their many cats. I'm not a cat lover, but I find the cat comics super adorable. Maybe it's because they are drawn so cutely?

There's even a surprise conclusion that's pretty heartwarming. I didn't see it coming. But I wish them happiness regarding it.

ART:

It's grrrreat *in my Tony the Tiger voice* I like the color direction too.

CHARACTERS:

Well, these are all supposed to be portrayals of the real-life authors and their friends. Their friend John is absolutely hilarious. Everything he says (in the webcomic) sounds like the lead in an action thriller.

OVERALL:

Don't be scared by the thickness of this omnibus. You can read this book so quickly because the comics themselves are usually between 3-5 panels.

I definitely recommend it. :D ( )

These humor strips are too mild for their own good, never once drawing an audible laugh from me, just the occasional silent appreciation. Too often I felt I was witness to an in joke that would be hilarious to the creators and their friends. And though the strips are autobiographical, I felt the creators didn't actually share that much of themselves. I mean, for the longest time while reading I wasn't even sure if the the creators were romantically involved or just roommates or how many of the other characters were also living with them. And as for all the other people who kept appearing in the strip, I still have no idea who the hell they are. Friends? Relatives? Hostages? If you are doing a humor strip, you have to be funny. If you are doing an autobiographical strip you need to share more. If you fail to commit one way or the other, you get this inoffensive pile of pap. ( )