Cat Dad: King of the Goblins (Family Comic Friday)

   This whimsical children's graphic novel appears suited to become the first in a series. However, there isn't any indication that it is, such as a volume 1 on the cover or a to be continued. The book written and penciled by Britt Wilson was sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts, a fantastic organization that has some great love for public libraries and has even published a Free Comic Book Day edition or two . It may very well be that more books will be forthcoming should this 2014 tale achieve a wide enough following.

   So what's Cat Dad about? At the beginning of this book, sisters Miri and Luey are doing their homework along with their buddy Phil, who is a giant frog. When mom accidentally turns dad into a cat, the trio must chase him down in order to change him back. But in a nod to the Chronicles of Narnia, dad runs into the linen closet which is a portal to a secret garden world. There, dad is kidnapped by goblins that look a lot like Man-Bat from the Batman series. But instead of a rescue attempt, the kids may have to kidnap the goblins new king!

   Cat Dad had some highs and lows and for me this read was mostly positive. The book was very funny and the characters were quite enjoyable- especially the goblins! Mom may or may not be a witch and I like the mystery behind trying to figure out if she is or just really unlucky enough to turn her hubby into a white fluffy feline.

  The art itself is quite whimsical too. I thought it looked familiar and upon further research about this book, I learned the reason why is because Britt Wilson was for a while an artist on the Adventure Time comic from Kaboom! Studios. The magic and hilarity of that series has obviously been carried over here.

   Okay, so what didn't work. In a short phrase: transitional plotting. For example: when the girls and Phil get lost in the goblin lair, they spy a spider crawling on the floor. The youngest girl runs after the spider, slips in a puddle, and then finds a map of the caverns while Luey yells "Get it? Get It?" First of all- I didn't get it. Secondly, the puddle. Did Miri smush the spider or did she discover an underground spring and really a map just appears out of nowhere? This book is geared for children aged 7-11, but I doubt even they would overlook such oversights!

    This is just Wilson's second independent work. So, maybe plotting is something she needs to work on. This also could be a fault of the editor. Even so, I'd gladly read more of this series if ever further sequels were published.

   Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.