Moran Cartoons Vol. 1, by John Moran

John Moran must be a strange and funny guy.  His cartoon collection, Moran Cartoons, Vol. 1 is full of odd, quirky humor that strange and funny guys write and draw.  I enjoyed this collection, which must mean I'm a little strange and twisted.

No disrespect to Mr. Moran, but I couldn't help thinking of Gary Larson's The Far Side.  Many of Moran's cartoons look like they could have been drawn by Larson.  The fat guys in lab coats, the lady with the cat-eye glasses, the deer standing on two legs are familiar to The Far Side fans.  I would be very surprised if Moran did not say Larson was an inspiration and influence on his work.

Even though Larson's influence is evident, Moran has his own voice and his own humor.  Moran does, at times, take things to a darker, grittier place than Larson typically did.  He's willing to step on some delicate toes with his cartoons.

I must say I enjoyed every page of Moran Cartoons, Vol. 1.  You can find some samples of his work at morancartoons.com, but, of course, I'm sure he'd rather you just bought the book.  I hope that his fount of off-beat humor will not run dry for a long time.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!