Customer Reviews

Simon's Cat

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was a little afraid Simon's Cat would be lacking because you can't hear his little mews, but it's just as funny if not more! Tofield does a great job with little "mini-strips," and stories that every cat owner can appreciate. There is a ton of variety, and it's ALL illustrated brilliantly! Absolutely hilarious!

I love the antics of Simon's Cat. His expressions are absolutely priceless.

I have been enchanted by Simon's Cat on YouTube for 2 years now. I wasn't sure how this would come across in book format but it is brilliant! It maintains the same tone with its wordless cartoons - and every picture defintely tells a story. I am owned by several cats and Simon definitely understands feline behavior and portrays it indescribably well.

I have several cat lovers on my Christmas list who will be getting copies of this wonderful book. I look forward to more from this creative genius!

Simon's Cat book is probably the most brilliant of the kitty books in market. Funny, creative and real. Sometimes I think this cat is real. Of course, his antics can hurt Simon when he is asleep or watching tv but he is so adorable you're able to forgive him. What has struck me most is that how Simon's graphics teach us to treat animals humanely and with special care. I am one of the fans and it is an excellent book. Loved it. Plus this book makes a great gift.

I think we've gotten to the point where we're all pretty comfortable (or at least familiar) with the idea of the webcomic that is later turned into a book. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the most famous example of this, but it happens all the time. A webcomic becomes popular, and inevitably there's a print edition. Far rarer is the webvideo that makes the successful leap from short film to paper. Over the years the "Simon's Cat" web series has garnered millions of fans. So obviously, a book was going to be the next step. Considering how well Tofield animates cat behavior, you could be forgiven for not really believing that his images would translate to static comics. As it happens, not all his images do work, but the bulk of them stand on their own very well and the result is a comic collection that improves on those old Garfield strips of yore.

In hundreds of small comics, a neckless cat of indeterminate age or breed does the things cats do. Destroys. Yearns. Yearns to destroy. The images are simple pen-and-inks. No color. That's about the long and short of it, really.

The reason the book version of "Simon's Cat" works is twofold. First, Tofield doesn't caption his images. There's a webseries out there (now also a book) called "Garfield Minus Garfield" which highlights how unfunny that particular cartoon cat is by removing him from comic strips, leaving only his owner. It's a definite improvement. "Simon's Cat", in contrast, uses visual gags entirely and it works so much better. It's like watching a sitcom without an annoying laugh track. You don't need words for certain kinds of visual storytelling.

That's one. The second reason this book works is that it's kid friendly. It hasn't been specifically marketed to children, but kids will get a definite kick out of Tofield's small stories. And as you read through it you begin to recognize reoccurring characters. The garden gnome that the cat befriends. The hedgehogs (betraying Mr. Tofield's homeland) in the garden or the birds and mice bent on torturing the poor kitty. It all builds to a kind of conclusion.

A lot of the time the gags are just one panel standing on their own. Other times they go for several "scenes". Strangely, you can never know when a gag will be one or another. There's no rhyme or reason to how they're broken up. Sometimes a gag will begin on a right-hand page and then you'll have to turn the page to get the rest. Other times you feel like there should be more to the joke, but instead you're just left hanging. It would have been nice if there was more consistency to the layout. Still, I appreciated that the panels (which are never enclosed in boxes) shift from full-page spreads to eclectic sections of one page or another. Your eyes are constantly moving and roving all over these pages. It means that you don't get stuck in the same static way of reading each page.

As for his art itself, you are never in doubt that this is a book created by a cat owner. It's not so much the animal's body itself that tells you this. Tofield's cats tend to have stocky little builds, resembling koalas or small panda bears rather than sleek handsome felines. But in terms of movement he is dead on. He's particularly good at drawing a cat mere moments before the pounce. Those slicked back ears. The way the pupils grow large. You can practically see its little rump wiggling as it gets ready for a lethal leap upon some unsuspecting leaf or piece of fluff.

As cat books go, this one's pretty much superior to the usual fare. In terms of comics for kids, it reads like a collection of comic strips rather than a straight out graphic novel. There's stuff I would have changed about it, but if you happen to know a kid or adult that thinks cats are the bees' knees AND they have a thing for comics, this is plain good stuff. And maybe it's the first of its kind. Maybe in the future it's all gonna be webvideos turned into collected comics. Dunno. One thing's for certain. The cream usually rises to the top. And "Simon's Cat", whatever else you might call it, is the best of its kind I've seen.

Ages 8 and up.

I absolutely LOVE the videos online. They are brilliant, so accurate and true! But I thought the book was a bit disappointing. I give it 4 because it is great for what it is, I just thought it will be more like the videos.

I didn't like how a lot of the drawings were very "comic" like and similar to Garfield. What I love about Simon's videos is how they "simply" represent perfectly his cats and cat-like behavior. Those little things of a cat chasing and being this or that, interacting with Simon, his owner.

The book had a lot of things that had nothing real to do with cats but sort of Garfield type comic and not really like his videos.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. Just wish it had more cat and Simon and less cat acting human.

If you are a fan of Simon's wonderful YouTube channel, or a lover of cats and their antics, or if you like funny comic books. Everyone knows that there are gazillions of cats on line--cartoon videos, real life videos, and, of course, LOLcats. With all these cats, do we really need a cartoon book, esp. one who already has millions of internet fans? After reading and re-reading Simon's book, I say an emphatic YES! This format draws the reader into a different world than that of video, and it conveys a different layer of enjoyment--one in which the reader "participates" in the action because s/he must imagine and interpret what goes on "between the frames" in order to achieve "closure" which we need for understanding. (I've been reading a bunch of graphic novels lately, and I also read and recommend Scott McCloud's excellent book, "Understanding Comics") I'm a big fan of LOLcats, too, but the books derived from these, like many books based on websites don't really have anything new or interesting to say, and are often a disappointment. Simon's Cat, in his very own book, helps the reader to identify with both him as well as Simon in his life as a cat, and with Simon as the human whom he owns, FTW.

(Unfortunately, real life calls me away, so check back later; I'll write more later. I hope that this paragraph adds to the discussion about the book, and why I like and recommend it. BFN.)

Hilariously funny for everyone, cat lover or not. Cat owners can testify that Simon's Cat is on the mark with true cat behavior and how it portrays what cat owners are willing to put up with because of the bond we share with our precious fur balls.

As part of a budget-oriented Christmas, this book served as a welcome surprise from my spouse. While he would have been disappointed with receiving the book, the knowledge that I was a fan ensured that it was money well spent.

TWO CAVEATS:

1. Do not buy this book for someone who does not own or particularly like cats. As other reviews have suggested, it is a book aimed at those familiar with the idiosyncrasies of felines, and a significant portion of the humor relies on that knowledge for the joke to "work".

2. Don't buy this book before visiting the Simon's Cat website/seeing Simon's Cat videos. If you're contemplating the purchase of this book, it is highly unlikely that this is the first time you have heard of Simon's Cat. However, on the off-chance that you have just stumbled across this book, you would do yourself a disservice to purchase this before exploring its origin. As previously stated, this humor isn't for everyone (including my husband), and there is abundant free material via YouTube videos and simonscat.com to help you decide if this is a book you'll enjoy.

I am a big Simon's Cat fan on YouTube.
While shopping for the kiddos for Christmas, I saw this book.
I even commented to my husband how much I wanted to get this one.
I put it on my wish list on Amazon, and thought I'd come back after the holidays
and treat myself.

Well, I got one for Christmas! Woo-hoo!
It is very cute, and I'm really glad I got it.
Now, I read it all the first night. Reading might be a stretch,
since it is almost all pictures. But, it goes way too quickly.
I found myself thinking "I hope he makes a mini movie out of THIS group".

Lots of cute cartoons, and if you love Simon's Cat, you can't go wrong!
(And thanks Hubby, for getting this book for me!)

This book is too adorable! I love how it rings so true to the YouTube cartoons. My favorite pages are the ones with the hedgehogs. Poor Simon, I feel for him...my cat does the same kinds of things. I'd recommend it to any cat, comic, or book lover!