After being enamored by this beautifully darling cover of a Tom Turkey being the guest of honor of a Thanksgiving made up of peanut butter and jelly, I was tricked into an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with giving thanks!
In 1989, Felix the Cat was to experience a brief resurgence with audiences thanks to an animated feature film. However, as is the case with many films, financing with distributor, New World Pictures, fell through and the movie ended up being shelved. Then in 1991, Don Oriolo, the son of the creator of the 1950s cartoon TV series starring Felix, was able to work out a direct-to-video deal with Buena Vista Home Video for the movie to finally see the light of day. Despite great efforts by Oriolo to market the heck out of the film with t-shirts, posters, calendars and pins, Felix the Cat just didn't connect with audiences like reigning fat cats of the day Garfield and Heathcliff were doing at the time.
This comic book series was one of Oriolo's attempts at returning Felix the Cat to his days of greatness. Oriolo self-published a full-color comic, with assistance from Harvey Comics (Richie Rich), starring Felix and other characters such as comedic foil The Professor and his nephew Poindexter and Felix's gal pal Kitty.
While there is not anything Thanksgiving related in this book, there are a trio of fine quality stories starring Felix and friends. In the first story, Felix gets a job at a soda factory. As a result with a mishap with the carbonation machine, the gato becomes the first feline on the moon. But he's not the planetoid's only inhabitant.
Story #2 has Felix becoming the owner of a magic treasure chest. But instead of finding lots of great things, Felix discovers that the chest can make things disappear. Cue the money making opportunities that await!
The last adventure involves Felix and an Inuit character named Vavoom. He's looking for a job and Felix is willing to help Vavoom with his employment search. Only Vavoom's thunderous voice causes him great trouble finding a job!
I couldn't tell you who was behind the stories or artwork. There's no credits posted for anyone other than Oriolo as presenter. However, the artwork is crazy clean and the stories, while a tad far fetched are smartly written. I know that early versions of Felix had the character carrying with him a bag of tricks. While he's not carpet-bagging here, the magic element is front in center in every story.
As for the character of Vavoom, I know some of you might think having an Inuit/Eskimo in a cartoon could be problematic. However, based on his costume, I thought he was a squire from medieval days having come to stay with Felix from some adventure through time. It wasn't until I researched some for this review that I learned who the character really was. I'd say based on my assumptions and the fact that Vavoom doesn't come across as being from the Great White North at all, I don't think there's anything to be afraid of in this department.
Issue #3 shows Felix standing out in the freezing cold looking at island getaway pamphlets in a travel agency office window. A good rule of thumb is that an issue with snow/ice on the cover without a superhero/villain with cold powers on the cover, is going to be Christmas themed. Based on this book not living up to the cover, I am a bit hesitant to fork over a couple of bucks to find. However, the quality of the contents of this issue does assuage some fears of throwing my money away.
Maybe we'll see in the near future. But I am going to grade hard now on my seasonal disappointment.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
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