Most comics have some sort of theme that unifies the various strips. Sometimes it's absurdest humor, or action/adventure, or even just really great art. These themes define the comic and aim it's direction, and at the very least they can be identified by the reader early on. And then there's:
CAT AND GIRL
I think it's meant to be subversive, honestly. But not quite. A commentary on the world, without actually saying anything about the world. Does that make sense? Probably not, which is kind of how the comic works. I read this comic thrice a week, but do I LIKE this comic? Um, yeah, kind of. In a weird way. But let's break it down a bit.
CHARACTERS
They're not really characters. At best they're designated voice boxes for various things. They have some personality quirks, I guess, but asking "who is Cat and who is Girl" and I'd be hard pressed to say anything (besides Cat eats paint for some reason). Some characters are there for the joke, like Bad Decision Dinosaur, who makes and encourages bad decisions. Saying they have "character" would be wrong. But then, this isn't a story comic in any sense, so not having character isn't a detriment to the comic at all. It is about the joke, which I'll get to in a moment.
ART
All comics evolve in their art, but I'm not sure how to really label the evolution here. From a technical perspective, the art, I suppose, has improved. The lines are crisper, more defined in the current strips compared to the early strips. At the same time, the art now feels stiffer, less lifelike and effective. It's almost as if most of the art is copy and paste, though I'm pretty sure it isn't. Looking back, the comic feels more alive in the early strips, while it's feels more dead in the later ones. Though not always. It's a very confusing comic.
HUMOR
Trying to describe the humor of this comic is difficult. Let me try by quoting from the about page referring to the artist:
OVERALL
I like this comic, but being able to say why has given me issues. It's not strictly funny, but it is entertaining. It offers commentary on life, the universe and everything, but doesn't really say much about them. The art isn't great, but it's not awful. It's subversive, but not really. I somehow manage to enjoy it, and while it's not one of those comics I'm looking forward to reading, I'm not dreading it either. Decent comic, and if you like the odd humor, you'll love it too.
Until next time kiddies.
CAT AND GIRL
I think it's meant to be subversive, honestly. But not quite. A commentary on the world, without actually saying anything about the world. Does that make sense? Probably not, which is kind of how the comic works. I read this comic thrice a week, but do I LIKE this comic? Um, yeah, kind of. In a weird way. But let's break it down a bit.
CHARACTERS
They're not really characters. At best they're designated voice boxes for various things. They have some personality quirks, I guess, but asking "who is Cat and who is Girl" and I'd be hard pressed to say anything (besides Cat eats paint for some reason). Some characters are there for the joke, like Bad Decision Dinosaur, who makes and encourages bad decisions. Saying they have "character" would be wrong. But then, this isn't a story comic in any sense, so not having character isn't a detriment to the comic at all. It is about the joke, which I'll get to in a moment.
ART
All comics evolve in their art, but I'm not sure how to really label the evolution here. From a technical perspective, the art, I suppose, has improved. The lines are crisper, more defined in the current strips compared to the early strips. At the same time, the art now feels stiffer, less lifelike and effective. It's almost as if most of the art is copy and paste, though I'm pretty sure it isn't. Looking back, the comic feels more alive in the early strips, while it's feels more dead in the later ones. Though not always. It's a very confusing comic.
HUMOR
Trying to describe the humor of this comic is difficult. Let me try by quoting from the about page referring to the artist:
Dorothy Gambrell was born in Illinois, and educated at Illinois College and Union College of Law. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895, during which time she became the leader of the free silver movement. Her later years were devoted to the advocacy of fundamentalism, most notably as a prosecutor during the Scopes monkey trial.Yeah, it's that kind of humor. Is any of that actually funny? To some it is, because it's silly, but it's not "ha ha" funny. It's more "huh" funny. And that's a lot of this comic, it just kind of makes you go "huh." Oh, it does have some "ha ha" moments, enough that I do consider it a humor comic, but a lot of it isn't that way. It's like a weird mix between a daily comic and an editorial comic but without necessarily being topical or timely.
OVERALL
I like this comic, but being able to say why has given me issues. It's not strictly funny, but it is entertaining. It offers commentary on life, the universe and everything, but doesn't really say much about them. The art isn't great, but it's not awful. It's subversive, but not really. I somehow manage to enjoy it, and while it's not one of those comics I'm looking forward to reading, I'm not dreading it either. Decent comic, and if you like the odd humor, you'll love it too.
Until next time kiddies.
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