Catboy

by Benji Nate

The adventures of young-adult Olive and her best friend Henry, turned from cat into a real human cat-boy after a poorly worded wish upon a shooting star. This graphic novel collects the hit ongoing weekly comic series from VICE..com along with all new exclusive and unreleased material and sketchbook pages. This contemporary series is cute, fierce, funny and adventurous!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Cats

138 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2017

About the author

Caroline “Benji” Sweater, also known as Benji Nate, is an American cartoonist and illustrator living in the Ozarks mountains. She is best known for the comics Catboy (2017), Hell Phone (2022) and Girl Juice (2023).

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who hasn’t dreamed about what their pet would be like as a human? Catboy from author/illustrator Benji Nate turns this into a comedic reality when 20-something artist Olive’s wish comes true and wakes up to discover her cat Henry in not-quite human form. What follows is a series of humorous episodic adventures where normal events of early 20s living is made all the more amusing with a human-cat who still acts like a cat despite walking and talking with all the locals.

This is a very cute collection of cartoons, and I very much enjoy Benji Nate’s loose style with excellent pastel color palates. There is a bit of an overarching story, but for the most part it is told in short episodic bursts with continuity of previous details, such as Henry’s pet sitting business (he has a knack for business and makes far more money than Olive, much to her annoyance). The episodes are separated by single panel illustrations of the duo’s fashion choice, with another constant gag being that Henry only wears Olive’s clothing and they often dress to match.

This book is brief but very fun and funny. There are a few jokes that really land, and I was constantly amused by Henry continuing to act like a cat even while living in the human world. Olive buys him a present and he is more thrilled by the box, they attend a party of stray cats where the food is dead rats, or Henry picking out furniture by scratching the various chairs (and then having to buy them all). Henry also being better at making friends and art is also quite comical. If you are a cat lover or need a quick pick-me-up, Catboy is a winner.

4/5

[Joce (squibblesreads)]

This was super cute and quirky! It doesn’t really have an ending but it was a great way to spend an hour :)

[Cindy Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute and quirky. I enjoyed the subtle humor and pastel color palette. Breaking up the sections with the characters' fashion styles was a nice touch. I would've appreciated it more if there were an ongoing storyline and some depth, but it's still a nice light read.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Silver Sprocket collected comics colume, 146 pages, of recent art school grad Olive and her cat, Henry, who is basically her best friend. So she makes a wish that Henry can be her for real roommate and it works out. So he can talk and is now upright, wearing clothes, but he's still more cat than human. For instance, they go to a pet store and can't get dogs cats, mice... so they buy a snail. Olive buys Henry a present and Henry loves... the box the present came in. They go to a cat party and the snacks are rats.

But when Olive takes Henry to her art class his first drawing is amazing, which irks artist Olive. Henry, who is hired as a dog sitter (yes, it gets complicated), makes more money than Olive.

The jokes hit more than miss. Cute!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

strange, cute, clever, and with a distinct sunday funnies vibe, i really enjoyed catboy!

it's about a girl and her cat, whom she wishes could become human, and then he does. they have short lil misadventures together as olive navigates everyday life and henry navigates being a catboy in a human world.

a lot of the humor is up the same alley as benji nate's lorna, but much less dark. it's odd, but in a way that only enhances the humor. i really like nate's cute art style and knack for fashion. each lil story is divided by a page of henry and olive's outfits, which are always fantastic.

[Mabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is pure joy. Beautifully illustrated, hilarious and a cat lover's dream!

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olive makes a wish that her cat, Henry, could hang out with her all the time like a real best friend. When she wakes up in the morning, he is the size of a human and can speak English- though he's still covered in fur and afraid of water. Olive lends him some of her dresses and they start figuring out how to make this new roommate situation work. He and Olive both work part time jobs, eat pizza, go to parties, and just try to get by. Each chapter is a short story, with new outfits and a new problem to solve. Is the cute boy texting Olive asking her on a date, or is he just a friend? Will Olive ever be able to sell any of her paintings? What will Olive's parents think of Henry? Will Henry ever learn to read, or take a shower? This book is silly, sweet, and charmingly illustrated. I wish I owned half as many cute jackets.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olive Branch makes a wish on a shooting star, and suddenly her cat Henry can talk, walk upright, and share her wardrobe as he's instantly promoted from pet to roommate. Some gentle cat humor and lots of fashion pin-ups follow.

It's not bad, but it just didn't do anything for me. I cared not a jot for the characters or situations. Keep in mind, I'm a dog person

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic is so cute and perfect for cat people! 😍

I went to Benji Nate’s page on vice.com and found even more Catboy comics that didn’t make it into the book, and found that the book has a couple exclusive comics that weren’t online! So that’s cool!

Anyway, I’m in love with the art style and the quirkiness and everything about this. It’s just so cute! I ❤️ Henry!! 🐱

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Catboy! It's sweet and weird and refreshing

[abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE benji nate’s art!! and these characters are just the cutest 🫶🏽 i’d love more comics of them and their shenanigans

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welp, this is a thing that exists.

The pacing is stilted, and nothing happens beyond her cat turning into her roommate.

Both characters are adults but they seem much, much younger. There are some genuinely funny moments in this, but I mostly just feel uncomfortable.

Like you know that moment where someone tells you something super weird and uncomfortable as if it's the most normal thing in the world and you don't know how to react because they don't seem to realize they've said something weird? This is like the comic version of that.

[Rhiley Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'M IN LOVE
I'M IN LOVE
I'M IN LOVE

[Iben Frederiksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

★ 4.0 Stars ★

Makes you go "awww" every time you turn the page.

[Ari (Books. Libraries. Also, cats.) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute book for cat lovers. It was adorable, quirky, funny, and super weird. I also loved all the ridiculously cute outfits that Olive & Henry were drawn in. This book also subverts a lot of gender and sexuality roles, which was awesome. A super quick & fun read that I'll definitely recommend to other cat people.

More of my bookish thoughts here: Instagram | My Blog | Twitter

[Kapuzenmann ヾ(`ヘ´)ﾉﾞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute outfits, cute girl, weird cat, amazing art-style- i enjoyed the illustrations after each short chapter so much, there is something about a girl and her strange human-sized cat wearing pretty dresses that is just plain adorable xD

i feel like the tone might have been a bit lost in translation (i impulse-purchased the German version of this yesterday because,,, come on) but it still worked.

The humour did not resonate with me 100% of the time, but i enjoyed it nonetheless, and there were some genuinely funny moments.
(The cat ordering an empty cardboard box to sit in? Please. I… may be too easily amused, but...)

i loved the premise. i loved little starving wanna-be artist barista Olive and her human-sized best friend, cat and flatmate, Henry.
This was just the kind of light read i needed.

I don’t want my cats to turn human, ever.

[sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was very cute n short n sweet and i liked it a lot!! i would’ve liked an Ending ending but that wasn’t the point of the book so i wasn’t upset by it at all. i had a great time reading it!!

[Myranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so cute I loved the art style so much!!!

[Nathan Bartos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am such a fan of Benji Nate's art style and color choices and will continue picking up what they publish. This is a lot of small vignettes following Olive's wish on a shooting star to make her cat her friend, transforming him into a fashionable anthropomorphic cat. The fashion and stylistic elements were the best parts of this graphic, but the short scenes also had a lot of quirky and funny moments. Extremely quick read that I recommend for a fun ride.

[akacya ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 reads: 113/300

this collection of comics follows olive and her cat-turned-best-friend, henry. this was so cute and is great for a light read. though some heavier themes, such as depression and bullying, are discussed, the tone remains hopeful. i’d recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet comic collection.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can honestly say I am disappointed. I have been looking forward to reading this for a long time. Finally have a chance, and this was underwhelming. Given the blurb I had thought this would be a cute book about a girl and her cat who turned big and can talk/do human stuff and them connecting. Instead I wasn't too big of a fan of either character, especially the cat-thing was just aggravating. I was thinking that since he became what he did he would be less cat, instead throughout the book (and the seemingly months that pass) the cat still doesn't seem to grasp basic human stuff (still murders everything small, pees in a litterbox, scratches coaches, cannot eat or drink anything other than sardines and pizza and water) though one thing he does best is getting money.
Also I wondered how Olive ever managed to have a freaking apartment. She barely can pay rent, she only has a bed in her house. Which just weirded me out. She is what? 18? 21? Old enough to at least do something.
The one thing I loved was the art and the fashion parts in between all the slice of life comics. That is why I am rating it 2 stars.

[Chantaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

usually i love slice of life, but this was just. so weird? and it didn't feel intentional. this just felt like the creator thought "what if cat big and girl clothes and lol cat doesn't understand human problems" and ran with it for however long this comic went on. it feels so off kilter.

[Cubierocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Fantastic art with a cute premise! I liked the characters, but I wish there was more of an overarching story or sense of continuity in the plot.

[Aida · Rating 4 out of 5]

End. 1401/3/30

It was an interesting story. It was funny and beautiful and cute🧚🏻‍♀️🥺
A good thing I saw in the story and I was very happy: This is what the author was researching about cats, Or he had information and used it in his story.
Many people write stories, anime, movies, manhua, manga ...... and use it on a specific topic, and I saw some people who do not research on that topic at all, but use their own feelings and thoughts, and even scientific background. And have no intellect. And that's why I was glad this story wasn't like that. It was researched and there was knowledge.
This book is great for reading and free time for reading🤍🤞🏻

[bee ✩ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5? the art was beautiful, and the fASHION omg they had so much style, but it really fell a bit flat?

[Amélie · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai passé un très bon moment c'est très mignon et drôle

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too cute.

[raani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quirky and funny

[Candii · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
it was cute, it was more nonsensical and vignettes that a overarching plot, which was a bit hard to read at times, so do wish that it flowed a bit better than just random scenes put together, but it made me laugh, especially when henry went "full on cat" and who can say no to a humanized cat in cute clothing?

[Radwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

ummm, how can this comic be this perfect? give me another 10 volumes please!!!
we follow the antics of olive and her cat henry, who she wakes up one day to find has become a full-sized human with a cat body, and she dresses him in the cutests clothes (the clothes in this series are just too adorable).
it was funny seeing her cat having more success in social life, work, saving money, and other things more than her.