Petey & Pussy

Edition excerpt from Petey & Pussy (2008): Petey and Pussy, John Kerschbaum's new 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 (and, in fact, can speak directly to humans, well enough to order a beer) but still recognizably have the traits associated with their respective species: Pete, the dog, is happy-go-lucky; Pussy, the cat, is self-centered; and Bernie, the bird, is high-strung and constantly a-twitter. Together, they are the pets of a sweet old lady whose obliviousness to the lunacy unfolding around her is second only to her own hygienic repugnance. The Sisyphean struggles of the characters is brought to the fore - the cat is compelled to try and catch the mouse, the bird struggles to escape his cage - as the trio engage 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 m