Petey & Pussy [Hardcover]

John Kerschbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2008

Looney Tunes meets Luis Bunuel in this graphic novel debut. Petey and Pussy, John Kerschbaum's debut graphic novel, reads very much like a Loony Tunes cartoon - if all of the anthropomorphic animals were kvetching, balding, foul-mouthed misanthropes. Each character is articulate, but still recognizably have the traits associated with their respective species: Petey, the dog, is happy-go-lucky; Pussy, the cat, is self-centered; and Bernie, the bird, is high-strung. Together, they are the pets of an oblivious, repugnant old lady. The trio engages in slapstick adventures that are simultaneously given an edge and made hilarious by a twisted combination of mundane realism and insouciant gross-out humor. Kerschbaum cheerfully includes all the blood and guts that are left out of the cartoons, and lovingly renders his motley crew in a densely textured urban setting.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although its protagonists are an anthropomorphic dog and cat with foul mouths and balding human heads, this graphic novel by magazine illustrator Kerschbaum somehow offers a rather realistic and very funny look at New York City residents. Petey (the dog) roams the streets when not popping through the pet door to visit his bespectacled buddy Pussy, who lives with an ancient crone who puts various objects and food items found around her apartment to questionable uses. Also sharing the apartment is a bird named Bernie who longs for nothing so much as the tender release of death, a state of non-being denied him by Pussy, who keeps him alive because he enjoys messing with him. Though they're animals, the cast could easily be just another trio of schlubs on the street; their world brings to mind the human/animal interaction found in animated cartoons, only with actual gore and recognizable profanity (no razzin-frazzin here). Filled with content that would send Walt Disney and other purveyors of funny animal cutesiness into a state of apoplexy, think of this as what your pets would be getting up to if they could talk and enjoyed hanging out in dive bars. (Dec.) 
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From Booklist

In addition to publishing the collected works of master cartoonists of the past, such as Krazy Kat creator George Herriman, Fantagraphics has a flair for discovering and collecting artists whose visions are a tad twisted. Case in point: Kerschbaum, whose hilarious and grotesque vignettes featuring Petey and Pussy, a mischievous dog and cat sporting bald-pated human heads. When Petey isn’t busy pursuing female canines, or Pussy isn’t harassing the mouse living behind his parlor wall, the pair are usually seen together quaffing cocktails at the local bar or getting into some form of mischief involving Pussy’s elderly owner and her demented pet parrot, Bernie. In one episode, the two battle a neighbor’s renegade boa constrictor and rescue Bernie from the snake’s innards with a convenient carving knife. In another, Petey helps Pussy replace his lost spectacles with a pair of horn-rims filched from a nearby nursing-home resident. Readers are advised to avoid eating while reading or risk choking during the inevitable and frequent guffaws. --Carl Hays

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 129 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (October 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560979798
• ISBN-13: 978-1560979791
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,070,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seriously?, July 10, 2010

By 

blistrone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Petey & Pussy (Hardcover)

How is it that this book has not yet been reviewed on Amazon?

Brilliantly funny work by cartoonist Kerschbaum has been the norm, but to finally have a larger storyline by him is fantastic -- and in hardcover format!

Anthropomorphic "funny animal" comics are nothing new, but the profane and strangely matter-of-fact adventures of "Petey and Pussy" make them inhabitants of their very own genre. Kerschbaum looks at the lives of pets and sees what few of us see; these poor creatures lead remarkably bland existences, punctuated by harrowing life-and-death struggles. It's like being in the army, only a lot funnier because we invest no anxiety into these characters. We might if Kerschbaum drew them more realistically but his ingenious choice to give them human heads removes any such obstacle to our enjoyment.

It would be hard to discuss what makes this book hilarious without getting into particulars, and that would spoil the fun for new readers. What I can say is that you've never seen anything like it before. And you WILL laugh!