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angorarabbit's review
3.0
TW: Deaths of many animals on page. Indoor/outdoor cat controversy. The impact of cats and their humans on ecosystems. Mention of extinctions. The fates of throwaway kittens is depicted on page. Declawing and torture of animals mentioned, but not performed on page. While there are double entendres, there are no spicy scenes. There is some ethnic, gender diversity. Non-heterosexual orientation is not mentioned. Wide species diversity.
TLDR: I enjoyed this, you might not. Read the Ms. Atwood's introduction before you purchase.
History: Margaret Atwood has been a "take my money" author since I read [b:The Handmaid’s Tale|38447|The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] in the early 90's. So I was intrigued when I found volume 1 at the brainy book store. I read it, wanted to know how the story ended but was having no luck finding used copies in the area. Then I found the entire series on Libby and it was even available! So now I have a satisfying ending.
I'm not sure that the average Atwood fan (is there such a thing) would enjoy this. There is an agenda and it is very clear on almost every page. For some it might be a little too heavy handed. Living in a rural area where cats are both a pest control solution and a menace to birdlife and also a watcher of the Tiny Kittens cams I am familiar with both sides of the controversy. I know that it is a very emotional issue for a lot of people.
While not a big fan of superhero comics I am familiar enough to enjoy the humour and campiness of this graphic novel. Jonnie Christmas did an excellent job in capturing the feeling, though there weren't any POW, WHAM panels. Tamra Bonvillain improved the terrible colour separation of the Golden Age comics, making it easier for a modern reader to enjoy.
It is a graphic novel/comic book so don't expect deep character development. Thankfully, though the main male character is very brawny and the main female character very sexy, the female is not in constant need of rescue and the male is not always the smartest/bravest. Secondary characters do play vital roles in defeating the main boss. The villain is satisfyingly evil and ugly.
On a library note. I read the Libby books I borrow on a Kindle app on my iPad. The experience of reading graphic novels is significantly better on the Kindle app than the iBooks app. Apple, 'Do Better'.
TLDR: I enjoyed this, you might not. Read the Ms. Atwood's introduction before you purchase.
History: Margaret Atwood has been a "take my money" author since I read [b:The Handmaid’s Tale|38447|The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] in the early 90's. So I was intrigued when I found volume 1 at the brainy book store. I read it, wanted to know how the story ended but was having no luck finding used copies in the area. Then I found the entire series on Libby and it was even available! So now I have a satisfying ending.
I'm not sure that the average Atwood fan (is there such a thing) would enjoy this. There is an agenda and it is very clear on almost every page. For some it might be a little too heavy handed. Living in a rural area where cats are both a pest control solution and a menace to birdlife and also a watcher of the Tiny Kittens cams I am familiar with both sides of the controversy. I know that it is a very emotional issue for a lot of people.
While not a big fan of superhero comics I am familiar enough to enjoy the humour and campiness of this graphic novel. Jonnie Christmas did an excellent job in capturing the feeling, though there weren't any POW, WHAM panels. Tamra Bonvillain improved the terrible colour separation of the Golden Age comics, making it easier for a modern reader to enjoy.
It is a graphic novel/comic book so don't expect deep character development. Thankfully, though the main male character is very brawny and the main female character very sexy, the female is not in constant need of rescue and the male is not always the smartest/bravest. Secondary characters do play vital roles in defeating the main boss. The villain is satisfyingly evil and ugly.
On a library note. I read the Libby books I borrow on a Kindle app on my iPad. The experience of reading graphic novels is significantly better on the Kindle app than the iBooks app. Apple, 'Do Better'.
lionesskeeper's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
zanosgood's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
saedith's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5, I rounded up, because I seriously enjoyed all the puns!
This was very different Atwood than I'm used to, but I enjoyed the read anyway. The plot is very silly and very loyal to the old comics of the golden era, which doesn't necessarily age well. But the puns.. If you're a lover of puns, I highly recommend this collection! If you hate puns, maybe skip this one, because there really are a lot of them. I did wish that the characters would've evolved more, because I think there were a lot of really interesting and well portrayed characters, but maybe there will be more in the future?
This was very different Atwood than I'm used to, but I enjoyed the read anyway. The plot is very silly and very loyal to the old comics of the golden era, which doesn't necessarily age well. But the puns.. If you're a lover of puns, I highly recommend this collection! If you hate puns, maybe skip this one, because there really are a lot of them. I did wish that the characters would've evolved more, because I think there were a lot of really interesting and well portrayed characters, but maybe there will be more in the future?
cafedetinta's review against another edition
4.0
Quien se lo compre porque ha leído El cuento de la criada o algo en plan serio de la autora y espera encontrar lo mismo, que se olvide.
En Angel Catbird, Atwood despliega un sentido del humor delirante y en ocasiones muy absurdo pero que funciona de maravilla. Un cómic ideal para los amantes de los gatos (y de los búhos, los cuervos y los murciélagos!).
En Angel Catbird, Atwood despliega un sentido del humor delirante y en ocasiones muy absurdo pero que funciona de maravilla. Un cómic ideal para los amantes de los gatos (y de los búhos, los cuervos y los murciélagos!).
nuevecuervos's review against another edition
2.0
This book was entirely insane, which I can certainly respect, but it was also desperately reaching for the wide-eyed naivete of the golden age of comics (which makes perfect sense as framed by the author's introduction) that doesn't work well at all any more. I finished reading it because I was interested in how we were going to tie up the insanity, but I wasn't rewarded in equal measure. Anyway, recommended if you're a furry into golden age comics and can say "it's a bird! It's a plane!" without irony.
cathepsut's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
This starts like a typical superhero comic. Ordinary guy, something unusual happens and he turns into a superhero — in this case he shapeshifts. The process goes pretty quickly. Dude plus cat plus owl… it‘s a flying cat-bird!
More to Issue #1…
More to Issue #1…
No deeper thoughts or elaboration, one cliché follows the next. Simplistic story telling. Feels like middle-grade/YA. No surprises, no tension, it sort of pointlessly ambles along. The bad guy is obvious, because ugly. Women traipse around half naked in their shapeshifted half-forms. The MC has a silly name. And why is there a vampire in this? Seriously, this comic is silly.
I expected interesting story telling from Margaret Atwood. This is as shallow as it can get, one-dimensional and formulaic. What was she thinking?
So much for Issue #1. Why on Earth is a story this shallow taking so many pages? It‘s not as if there is any character development or decent world building happening. Normally I would toss this, but as it‘s a buddy read, I will proceed to Issue #2… ★★☆☆☆
Onwards to Issue #2!
Oh good, the evil rat-guy tells us exactly what he wants to do to our heroes. Suspense, where art though? Ok, the rats doing charades with him, because they can‘t talk—that was pretty funny… other than that this issue was pretty much a waste of space. Seriously, the meagre plot could have been told in a third as many pages, because the artwork certainly didn‘t make up for the almost non-existent story. I skimmed through half of this. Boo-Hoo Mew Mew! ★☆☆☆☆
Issue #3! Sigh…
Yeah, no. I skimmed though half of this, then fast forwarded to the end. This is too daft to read. The artwork is getting sloppier as well, with less and less detail. Last words of the one-dimensional bad guy: „I will return!“ Please don‘t, this was no fun. And 70 pages of additional artwork etc., you have got to be joking. This is an embarrassment for any self-respecting pulp fiction. ★☆☆☆☆
janedallaway's review against another edition
3.0
We listened to this in dramatised audiobook format. It was bonkers