Customer Reviews

Kevin & Kell: Run Free! (Kevin & Kell)

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I first became aware of Bill Holbrook's comic series when I started reading his syndicated newspaper strip, "Safe Havens," in the local paper.

"Kevin & Kell" is also syndicated . . . on the web. Indeed, it's apparently been running since before the web was widely available, and going on-line meant dialing in to a service like CompuServe or GEnie. This book is one of a half-dozen or so printed collections. All of the strips are available on-line, but they're much more readable on paper.

At first glance, K&K appears to be a computer humor strip with "funny animal" characters. Closer reading reveals more. It's set in an interesting alternate universe where intelligent carnivores and herbivores of various species uneasily share a common civilization. The Kevin of the title is a giant rabbit; Kell, a wolf. They're married, which raises a lot of eyebrows, and occasionally vexes their children-of-previous-marriages.

Some of the strips are one-shot gags; most follow Kevin, Kell, and their kids as they deal with each other and schoolmates, coworkers, and etc. The continuing plotlines can be rather complex and harken back to events that took place years earlier.

Another mild downside: A lot of the computer humor is rather dated.

Every now and then my husband would bring me a strip from Bill Holbrook's online comic "Kevin & Kell". I got him this particular volume for his last birthday and I looked at it myself. Not knowing the entire background didn't do much to slow me down, the humor is good and you can catch up quickly. At the end are two other strips by Holbrook -- "Safe Havens" and "On the Fastrack" which I know nothing about except the characters are human not anthropormorphic animals. The very last six pages of this book return to "Kevin & Kell" but in color.

If you haven't read any of the 3 previous books in the series, you may be a little lost. I would still encourage you to take a trip through this original, funny world where a rabbit is married to a wolf, the mega-corporation *really* is made up of predators, and weasals run ad agencies. For those familar with this world, "Run Free!" contains the origin of the Great Bird Conspiracy and the poignant story of Kell dealing with her father's Alzheimer's. Check it out; you won't be disappointed!