Our Mutts: Five

Mutts is a fun, innocent comic--very much like the pet version of Calvin and Hobbes. It's a comic for anyone with an Earl or Mooch in their lives!

Mr. McDonnell's Mutts is my favorite comic. In each edition McDonnell manages to preserve the freshness of this comic strip making it a joy to read over the past few years. It's funny, lively, witty and the characters get cuter and cuter. He carefully introduces new characters while reinventing the old ones. You will love this book.

Another wonderful book by Patrick McDonnell. The stories and art are fresh and funny, silly and poignant. I have all of the Mutts books and calendars (OK, where's the 2001 calendar??)and have the same reverence for the strip as I had for "Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Far Side". Somehow McDonnell manages to endow all of the characters with distinct "person"alities, without anthropomorphizing them. Looking forward to more Mutts, ASAP.

Well, one of them. The art is brilliant, conveying a range of expression that brings the "stars" to life. Impressive stuff for a tiny canvas. Fine drawing in the league of "Calvin and Hobbes" - beautiful to look at, regardless of the subject or humor. Earl is one of the best cartoon dogs ever. McDonnell is the author of a retrospective/tribute to "Krazy Kat", and the influence shows in many ways. The strips that concentrate on gags pull them off easily, and the ones with messages generally succeed as well. The "shelter stories" are especially touching, but there's heart to be found in most strips - one dog that lives his life chained in a yard always gets to me (though his best appearances are in earlier books). I don't think this volume is as strong as the earlier books, but I still give it a full 5 stars - which shows how brilliant the entire body of work is. Great art, dead-on personification of pets, a lot of heart...I recommend all of the Mutts books without reservation. (ps - You can see samples at king features' web site)

"Mutts" has been my favorite comic strip for years now, and this latest compilation is just as delightful as the previous "Mutts" books. Although Mooch and Earl's antics are sometimes whimsically far-fetched, their attitudes and quirks are likely to be familiar to anyone who has ever owned a cat or dog. Patrick McDonnell's commitment to animal shelters, and the people who devote time and resources to them, deserves high praise too -- the "Shelter Stories" strips in this book point out that there are plenty of pets out there who need and would love to have homes. They haven't been as lucky as Mooch and Earl. Every "Mutts" collection is perfectly drawn, funny, hopeful, sometimes sad, and a reminder that human beings share this world with so many other living creatures, and not always generously. But what's the best part about "Mutts" for me? I always want to go hug my dog after reading it, and thank her for being my friend.Buy this book!