Customer Reviews

Cow and Boy

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I started reading Cow & Boy online, where I read all the strips I follow, without expecting much. There are lots of comics dealing with a child and their animal companion, most of which are not likely to thrill. Unlike those, however, Cow & Boy is not simply about an child and his animal. It's about life, growing up, having adventures, anxiety, outright fear, stupid stunts, politics, current events, obsession, etc all through the eyes of the wise yet semi-naive Cow and the precocious Billy.

Although I am loathe to make this comparison for fear of pigeon-holing the artist, Mark Leiknes have a perfected a tone of voice that can bring out the hilarity and outright silliness in situations that you and I deal with every day. This particular voice has only been expressed by one other author that I know of, Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes. Is Cow & Boy and a Calvin and Hobbes knockoff? Heck no! Leiknes has his own way of telling stories and setting up punchlines. Cow and Billy are very different characters from Hobbes and Calvin. The similarity between Watterson and Leiknes is not in style but rather in the ability to expose your deepest concerns and treat them will comfort and insightful humor.

The bottom line is this: Cow & Boy is downright hilarious. From Cow's obsession over Hollywood stars to Billy's endless ideas for adventure and/or payoff. You will not regret getting this collection. I doubt, in fact, that it will take you more than one sitting to feverishly read through the entire book. You'll kick yourself for not finding this strip sooner, and you beg for another collection to be published.

I have purchased several of these books to give to friends. Cow competing in the county fair, Billy going to school, and Cow in a bunny costume are just a few of the highlights of the first year of this comic strip. Who knew a cow could be so funny.

I was so pleased with this collection of the cow and boy comic! The author goes from one silly situation to another, and has me laughing the entire time.

I like Cow&Boy very much. But..as with any of these comics compendiums..it is sometimes too much of a good thing. The M-Sat four panels or eight on Sunday is just right.....but suddenly you are overwhelmed; limit your daily reading of this book and you'll love this strip forever.

I very much enjoyed this first cartoon book of Cow and Boy--easily worth the money.

I love this comic because it is both insightful and funny. It does not fall back on tired norms like most comics. The character also have believe ability and depth. But most of all its funny in a way that refreshingly different than the rest of the every 5 day comics, I will surely get the next book he publishes.

Cow and Boy is hysterical! My kids love Cow, who is clearly the conscience for Billy (aka Boy). Great for adults and kids of all ages.

When it comes to newspaper comics, it's difficult to explain how my interest came about. For the most part, reading the newspaper was far from a daily ritual until I started working at my current job. Having an hour compared to the half hour lunches of the past, to most it would be no surprise that I'd want some reading material to go along with my cup of coffee. Quaint as that may seem, little did I know I'd find something nestled between the stories of the local paper, something unexpected....

Nowadays it's almost a forgone conclusion for me to check out the latest adventures of Big Nate and Cow & Boy. My attraction to Big Nate is more than obvious, it being a much more sophisticated take on the formula that fuels the ever popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, but the reasons behind my enjoyment of Cow & Boy remain elusive. As problematic as that would seem, I don't think I really need a reason to justify it - it just works.

Still, with Big Nate teaming with life through its book releases, I was interested in what I could find for Cow & Boy. That's what leads me to this book and the one thing that holds it back. That thing? Unlike the current strips in the newspaper, Boy is a bit younger in this collection and, while it's a silly argument given that one of the main characters is a talking cow, I have a hard contemplating someone this young tackling concepts this deep. I don't mean this as an insult - I'm sure kids are capable of deep thought - but the fact that Boy seems to be a teenager (or a tween) in newer strips really helps in ironing out this issue.

As silly as that little qualm of mine is, the book delivers on every other front. In all honesty, the only thing I could really ask for is another release. I'm sure I'm not the only one wants a book of newer strips to complement this collection, but it is definitely overdue if it doesn't exist already. Still, eager as I may be to check out the strip during the week, I'm more than willing to uncover what makes Cow and Boy so devilishly alluring.