Grumpy Cat: Grumpus, by Ben McCool, et al.

You may have seen Grumpy Cat memes on Facebook or elsewhere on the internet.  You may not know (as I didn't) the back story.  Introduced to the world by her owner in 2012, her uniquely grumpy face became an internet sensation.  She has made media appearances and is featured on calendars, clothing, books, and the subject of this review, a comic book.

Grumpy Cat: Grumpus is a collection of seven comics featuring Grumpy Cat and her little brother Pokey.  They live a typical cat's life, and have typical cat adventures.  Of course, the atypical adventures are the more memorable ones.  The flea circus manager recruits Grumpy Cat to join the circus as a sideshow attraction, the world's grumpiest cat.  The humans all disappear and the cats decide in their post apocalyptic lifestyle that humans are pretty useful after all.  (It was only a nightmare, though.)  A grumpy cat is conned into being Santa's cat-elf and turns into the evil Grumpus.  A magical lamp opens up all kinds of possibilities for the cats' imaginations.

The stories are somewhat clever.  The art is somewhat attractive.  But the whole project seems sort of unnecessary, like maybe the memes were the extent of the humor that one cat can produce.  I can't blame the purveyors of all things Grumpy Cat for capitalizing on her sure-to-be-short-lived fame.  Kids who like animal comics and Grumpy Cat's internet fandom will enjoy these comics.

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