What's Michael? Vol. 11: Planet of the Cats
This eleventh and final volume of Michael the Cat's graphic-novel adventures starts with a few slice-of-cat-life comic strips that, despite a few clunky jokes, segue nicely into the meat of the book, "The Planet of the Cats." This Michael mini-epic is a hilarious send up ofPlanet of the Apes, in which the human exo-biologist Hanako and her spaceship crew crash land on a planet run by house cats. After Hanako is captured and mistakenly labeled an elephant seal, she ends up as the headlining act in the circus. Michael helps rescue her, and the result is comic genius. Hugely popular in Japan, theWhat'sMichael? books translate well into English and provide all-ages fun. The art has a clean, open, friendly feel that makes it very accessible, and Kobayashi does a good job giving his cat characters human traits while still allowing their cat natures to shine through.Tina ColemanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved