Friday, July 21, 2006

Super Paws by Missy Kulik
Cats have a rich comics legacy. Sure you’ll find a lot of dogs in comics, but cats are king. You can do so much with the character of a cat. They’re mysterious, malleable, a little neurotic, and damn cute.

With Super Paws, Missy Kulik adds to that tradition in a John Porcellino style. Her Nilla is drawn a lot like Porcellino’s Masie, while Kulik’s art feels a lot like King Cat. Her prose is breezier – more cheerful. In this 16-page Super Paws mini-comic, she introduces us to Nilla, who she found at the local shelter.

Kulik bounces from little slice of life observations centered around Nilla, to the story of finding her at the shelter, and finally to the fantastic, as Nilla assumes her “Super Paws” identity. This is one example of what I like about mini-comics. It’s personal. It means something to the artist and connects me the reader with her through the art and the subject. The last page has a picture of Nilla enjoying her “birthday cake” celebrating her adoption from the shelter. That’s pretty cool, considering the alternative to adoption that shelter animals face.

Three cheers for Super Paws!

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