Lio: Happiness Is a Squishy Cephalopod (Volume 1)

A comic not for everyone, but enormously funny to anyone who enjoyed the ADDAMS FAMILY or the MUNSTERS.

Lio is the heir apparent to Calvin and Hobbes; he seems a little strange when you first read his comics, but very engaging and a true lover of nature and all animals. Can't wait for the next Lio; meanwhile it is ready him in the comic pages!

Currently a strip I search for. I'm glad to have the book, which keeps me from trying to locate elusive earlier strips when it first started. Lio is wonderful. There's a definite pattern developing, and the strip's consistancy keeps ebbing up. Drawn with a pen, (HEART OF THE CITY is brushwork) the linework is crisp clean and inventive. Lio's Dad is semi clueless, often seen with a beer in his hand smoking and dressed in his underwear, wondering who let the zombie in the living room to watch TV? Better dailys involve some comic strip history, invoking regret and joy from strips gone by. A little creepy crawly, things some parents will hate and their kids will love it. Definitely a keeper.

I discovered Lio not longer after the strip debuted, and it rapidly became one of my favorite, if not sole favorite, comic strips. Its a little hard to explain what Lio is about. The title character is a small boy who is absolutely brilliant and utterly twisted -- you can easily imagine him growing up to be a mad scientist. His pets are the oft-seen giant squid and spider, and the less-seen dragon and extraordinarily arrogant cat (possibly the only character in the strip the Lio actually obeys.) The imagination level of the strip is on a par with Calvin and Hobbes, and I honestly think Mark Tatulli, the strip's creator, may be the long-awaited heir to Bill Watterson's throne. Now, this isn't as "innocent" as C & H was -- there's no sweetness or sentimentality here. But its gone the same "I wish my childhood was like that" feel. Its also important to note that its done with (practically) no dialogue. The lead characters (basically, Lio and his dad) never speak, and any other dialogue is only used when absolutely necessary. That alone speaks volumes to Tatulli's skill as a cartoonist. And for fans of comic strip in general, the strip is a treat, because Lio occasionally gets "involved" with characters from other strips. This collection includes "visits" to Peanuts, Cathy, and Mary Worth (of all things) to name three off the top of my head. (Though unfortunately, the screamingly funny For Better or For Worse strip will presumably appear in the next collection.) I can't recommend Lio highly enough. If your taste in comic strip runs towards The Family Circus and For Better or For Worse, its not for you. But if you like twisted comics, Lio is a must read. And you'll be able to brag you were a Lio fan before everyone else was.

Mark Tatulli is a wonderfully talent cartoonist with a extremely wicked sense of humor. Lio is a silent strip, truly actions speak louder then words. After seeing his strips in my local paper, I couldn't wait to see what I missed out, the early days of the strip. Tatulli humor is very much in the same vein as Charles Addams and Gary Larson. I can't get enough of Lio and his creepy, and I do mean creepy, pals. If Addams and Larson tickle your funny bone, DON'T pass this up.