Customer Reviews

Hallmarks of Felinity: A 9 Chickweed Lane Book

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a fan of Brooke McEldowney's "9 Chickweed Lane" for some time, and have been hoping it would show up in book form - especially the "Hallmarks of Felinity" sub-stream. Fans of the strip need only know that the book contains Hallmarks 1 through 46 (since the current count is around 119, I hope another book's in the offing), and that you want this.

To cat-fans who don't know the strip, I recommend this book; each of the "hallmarks" encapsulates an all-too-familiar attribute of our feline companions, as illustrated by the winsome Siamese, Solange. Some of the hallmarks are charming, some exasperating, some hilarious. (See Hallmark #12, "Grace" - depicting oblivious cat strolling along mantelpiece as bric-a-brac tumbles behind her... Well, OK, maybe that one's hilarious when it's somebody else's bric-a-brac.)

It would have been nice if there were more strips included in the book, but it's still a charming, funny collection that I consider a must-have for the cat-humor section of the bookshelf. [What do you mean, you don't have a cat-humor section?!?]

9 Chickweed Lane has been a favorite comic strip for some time. Brooke McEldowney uses heavy lines and negative spaces to capture a unique atmosphere. These strips about the family cat, Solange, and her feline quirks are some of the best.

Unfortunately, the book's addition of pink to the otherwise black and white comics detracts greatly from his artwork. A book in the same format as Mutts or Calvin & Hobbes would have been much preferred over this "special" book. And I hope that 9 Chickweed eventually gets such a collection.

You will probably enjoy this book.

Cats are easy to understand. The ancient Egyptians worshipped them as gods and they have never forgotten this fact. And Brooke must be not only owned by a cat but love them as well to show off their endearing traits as well as they are presented in this book.

Kipling may have had it right when he quoted the cat as saying "I am the Cat that walks by himself, and all places are alike to me." but Brooke show us the hilarity that ensues when a cat takes that expression to heart and settles down for a nap while you're trying to do taxes or yoga or, well, anything that's not involving the cat.

I said this book would be coming from the first Hallmark of Felinity and I'm glad to see it in print. Now if only we could get more of these strips in print...

Those fans who've been waiting for McEldowney's first book will be first in line to pick up this small but highly humorous book and its perfect for the cat lover on your gift list. If you're familiar with the strip-- its only the first 50 Hallmarks of Felinity, it does not include the other daily or weekend strips. I would have liked to see that but this is great for a first book. I look forward to more work by McEldowney and remain a devoted reader.

9 Chickweed Lane has been a favorite comic strip for some time. Brooke McEldowney uses heavy lines and negative spaces to capture a unique atmosphere. These strips about Solange, the family cat, and her feline quirks are some of the best and emphasize McEldowny's graphic skills over dialogue.

Unfortunately, the book's addition of heavily using pink to highlight the otherwise black and white comics detracts greatly from his artwork. A book in the same format as Mutts, Fox Trot, or Calvin & Hobbes would have been much preferred over this special-format book. And I hope that 9 Chickweed eventually gets such a collection.

Not only has Brooke McEldowney captured the pure essence of 'cat' but Solange is without a doubt one of the most expressive cartoon cats I have ever seen. What a wonderful little book.

Ms. McElddowney has captured the sometimes mystical ways of our feline friends in this delightful collection of cartoons. She presents the behavioral eccentricities of cats in this charming book. Anyone who is owned by a feline pet will surely relate to the crazy, adorable antics these wonderful creatures are capable of. An amusing, thoroughly enjoyable book. I plan to buy more of her works.

As the owner of six (6) Siamese cats, I can attest that every behavioral quirk exhibited by Solange has mainfested itself in the behavior of one or more of my cats, often by all six of them. McEldowney has an affinity for these gentle and playful creatures that exceeds any other cartoonist (or writer, for that matter) that I've ever encountered. I like the 9 CHICKWEED LANE strip (a quirky strip not carried by my hometown Orlando Sentinel) but the primary reason I read the strip is for the cartoons featuring Solange. I hope to see additional volumes featuring Solange

Brooke McEldowney is one of those rare daily strip artists who can actually draw. As I did with Murray Ball's Footrot Flats, I marvel at the amount of effort McEldowney puts into every panel...including, recently in 9 Chickweed Lane, the occasional use of airbrushed highlights. His characters are real, his angles cinematic (sometimes experimentally so), his line remarkably fluid (reminding me of Norman McLaren's landmark short film PAX DE DEUS, for the National Film Board of Canada), his knowledge of music a bonus joy, and most important of all, he's funny. He's also a genuine romantic, a true rarity in comics.

While 9 Chickweed Lane (and Pibgorn) collections are long overdue (are you listening, Andrews & McNeel?), in the interim we must make do with Hallmarks of Felinity. Both graphically and content-wise the opposite of Gilbert Shelton's Fat Freddy's Cat (Solange the cat is pure Boston, Fat Freddy's is pure Berkeley), both share their creators' love of all things feline. Enjoy

I'm a fan of 9 Chickweed Lane, and of the "Hallmarks of Felinity" especially, and this book is funny stuff, especially if you live with cats. However, this book has a few shortcomings. I think that regular paper would have been nicer than the glossy stuff they used. Also, the two color (black and a kind of pinkish) halftone (with rather large dots) detracts from the enjoyment of the book somewhat. Still, these are minor gripes, and some may prefer the glossy paper and unorthodox reproduction. In any case Hallmarks of Felinity is funny stuff, and well worth reading. It's a pity there aren't any other 9 Chickweed Lane books out though.