Todo es gato

by Seo Kim

Un cómic diferente e irreverente. Un compendio ilustrado de historietas autobiográficas de la autora, Seo Kim, que sabe que en la vida de una "catlady" todo es gato, cuando tienes un gato. Sin embargo, no solo de gatos se trata este cómic, sino también de verduras, arañas, o palomas. Un retrato de la vida diaria de una ilustradora que desprende humor con cada trazo.

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

Seo Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and then immigrated to Toronto, Ontario just a few months later.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeah, yeah, yeah, ANOTHER cartoon book centered around cats, go ahead and groan.

and now stop groaning, because this title is a tricksy one and it's only the first part of the book that is cat-centric. the rest focuses on the author/illustrator and her day-to day-life, romantic relationship, and it only occasionally returns to her cat.

i was cross about this discovery and i shouted my cross feelings, which woke up my cat and she yawned and her mouth was soooo big and triangle-shaped, i melted a little and returned to my reading.

the drawing-style varies from the very colorful and detailed:



to … this:



and i didn't understand why until i realized that this book is a collection growing out of a self-imposed challenge - to draw a cartoon each day, no matter how busy/tired/uninspired. and since i am someone who loves a good challenge (or even a shitty one), i stopped crying over being so grossly misled and betrayed by this not being a "true" cat book, and i learned that sometimes people can be interesting, too!



or maybe i'm just narcissistic enough to relate to all the snacking, not-sleeping, social awkwardness and disproportionate feelings of triumph over reaching very small goals that pepper the book.

it's not perfect through-and-through; when you set parameters like this, obviously there are going to be days where the well is wetter than others, but for fans of Adulthood is a Myth: A "Sarah's Scribbles" Collection, this frequently covers the exact same ground.

i.e:



and



and on and on.

she has a knack for making the most mundane things seem fresh and funny, even though they definitely shouldn't be.



and by "funny", i obviously mean "tragic" because that was cheese, man! CHEESE!

but again - narcissism means i have to support anyone with bird-frustrations





and there's just so many trooooths in here, mostly involving those little fuzzy bastards we love so much.

like apologizing to your cat when you walk in on them using the litterbox. i do that! and it's weird! why do i do that?



and suffering through uncomfortable positions so you don't have to relocate a peacefully sleeping kitty who is also a bed-or-chair-hog.



and how the best way to make a cat endure your affection involves stealth and some light choking



these are troooths!

also explored - the mystery of how adding two pellets of dry food turns this



into this



why, cat, WHY???

and here's a fun game to play along at home:



slug





drumstick





croissant





boat





otter





chicken nugget



this is the advanced chicken nugget, where the tail covers the face entirely.



and, as always, it is hard to argue with science:



and



so, basically, it's Adulthood is a Myth: A "Sarah's Scribbles" Collection with MOAR CATS.

and better endpapers



and that's never a bad thing.

does she have a tumblr??

don't ask such silly questions

does she have an instagram??

what did i just say??

any other links you're gonna have to track down yourselves. try the internet.

here are four more maggie-charades - feel free to play along at home or submit your own:









come to my blog!

[Sarah Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this as a gift for my mom but it's so hysterical and cute that I'm now mourning the fact that I have to give it away. Might go buy another copy....and so should you!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the illustrations weren't anything special but the parts that focused on Seo and Jimmy the Cat were laugh out loud funny.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read lots of contemporary indie comics like me, you’ll probably notice that Seo Kim’s Cat Person is a lot like them - A LOT. Checklist for an indie comic these days: cats, your slobbish self, and your other half.

Kim loves her cat Jimmy and plays around with him in her place. Besides the cat, she makes comics about eating too many oreos, texting too much, and lots of other mundane activities. And finally she makes comics about her boyfriend.

In subject matter, Cat Person is near identical to Liz Prince’s comics, and shares a lot of common themes with Claire Belton (she of Pusheen the Cat fame), Philippa Rice, Kate Beaton and Julia Wertz (who, like Kim, is also on Koyama Press). That’s not to say her book is bad, nor is it just female cartoonists’ who focus on their feline pals - Jeffrey Brown’s done two books on cats alone and James Kochalka’s work frequently features his cats Spandy and Nooko (though I think Spandy might’ve passed on at this point).

And I can understand why - cats are cute (I had 2 growing up and loved them dearly) - but also cartoonists are inside most of the time working on their comics. There aren’t many opportunities to go out and have adventures with others so a cartoonist’s experiences are going to be mostly ordinary stuff in the house with their pet.

I do wish though that cartoonists like Kim and the others I mentioned would produce books that weren’t quite so similar. Kim’s art is competent but not particularly accomplished or intricate - many strips look thrown together in a rush and drawing hands and feet well is something that eludes her.

But I did more or less enjoy Cat Person. Not for the dumb cat strips but for her everyday ones. Little things like rushing to an appointment and swearing at some pigeons who talk back to her are quite charming, and social networking/gadgets do get in the way of life while supposedly enhancing them. I’m not saying these observations are revelatory in any way but they’re entertaining - Seo Kim does have some fun snapshots of modern life here.

That said, many of the strips in this book are too forgettable for me to say that this is must-read. One strip has her burning her grilled cheese sandwich; another has her accidentally spraying granola over a table. Yup. So…?

I suppose if you’re into cat comics (I do think this is now a sub-genre of the medium!) you might get something about of Seo Kim’s book, or if you enjoy indie comics and don’t mind reading stuff you’ve probably read elsewhere. But come on guys, do we need any more cat comics? Cats are delightful but they’re all the same - get over it and stop putting slices of bread over their heads!

[Anne ✨ Finds Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that made me smile but overall wasn’t a ‘laugh out loud funny’ experience for me. I appreciated the drawing style, and the cat cartoons were amusing and relatable, but the rest of it was just ‘ok’.

[Athena Shardbearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only a cat person can understand another cat person, its this weird in-sync feeling you get when you talk about how weird your cat is, how different they are and their personalities.

I’ve been a cat person since I was a kid. The first being a black cat name Shadow, later when I was 13 a tabby name Oliver, and then much later when I was 21 and was surprised with 3 month old Sphinx that I named Attila. Now I’m mommy to Jezebel and Shiboo as well! The love of cats is like a love hate relationship with chocolate. You know you need to stay away and you want more but anymore can be bad for you. I recently had to put down my baby Attila, he contracted a disease that is common for Sphinx, and I needed a way to help remember him. This book reminds me of my little cow.

Seo Kim, I love your sketch/art work, I have never heard of your work before but consider yourself stalked!!! I laughed my entire way through this book and a few tears were shed but all in the name of silly kitties.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud, a LOT.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a cat person.
Still enjoyed it.

[Peter Derk]

It's a quick read and a good laugh. Maybe like Hyperbole & a Half, but a bit more out there in terms of what happens and the illustrations.

Can I ask something? Who decided that in the world, there are cat people and dog people? How are those the two options? What about a lizard? That seems a lot more different. Or a parrot. If someone owns a dog or cat, that doesn't necessarily tell me a lot about them. If they own a parrot? It tells me the one thing I need to know, which is that we will never hang out at their house.

Also, when are we finished excusing that thing where a cat brings you a dead bird? That's crazy. And where did that cat even learn to do that? That would be like if my mom did something really nice, and as a reward I went out, broke into the museum, and brought her a tiger pelt so that she would stay warm all winter. It's like a million thousand years since we did that. You say the cat is just showing its appreciation, I say the cat is kinda dim. I mean, hasn't this guy noticed how much time I spend making the place nice and clean? And I'm a human. Obviously, if I want a bunch of bird corpses around, I can make that happen. I have not made that happen, which I think is a pretty good indicator that I don't want it to happen.

Finally, can someone invent a pill that makes cat pee not smell? And by that I mean either a pill to change the chemistry of cat pee or disable a very specific portion of my sense of smell. Because that would really change lives.

[Melissa Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG so funny. Just random comics by this author. Some of them have cats in it. Things cats do a lot that other people can find funny. Things you do on your own that people can find funny. Things you do with your significant other, sometimes with cats that people will find funny. The End.

[nuzha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, I think... I went into this expecting more cats, but only half the content revolves around them... I think I was just disappointed in that regard but the comics were really cute and relatable!!

[dathomira]

I love this and also Alex ghost wrote this

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This speaks to me on an essential level of my being. I miss having a cat in my life ):

[Tatiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be about Seo Kim and her cat but that was only a small portion of it. This is just a series of slice of life comics, which was kinda disappointing. I wanted all cat comics! :/

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly not all of the comics in this book are about cats...which was kind of a bummer since the cat comics were really the ones I loved. In general the comics consisted of the cartoonist, her cat, her boyfriend, and the procrastination involved in the creative process. Some of these were laugh out loud funny, others were very relateable, but some were a little confusing or just a little too simple to the point where I was unsure of what was happening.

The art aesthetic is not really my cup of tea but it had a certain charm.

Overall this was a cute fast read.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hilarious! And stupid, as many cat comics/crappily-drawn comics are. My husband and I both read it and would burst out laughing at the same ones. I especially liked when he said from the other room, "Why are all cats the same!" If you think it's going to be a serious book please take a look at the cover.

Also my man and I both lolled at the burnt sandwich. Glad I'm not the only one.

[Basmaish · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part that's about her cat and the second part about herself are my two favorite parts. It's sad that it isn't all about cats but it's still adorable!! I really enjoyed this.

[Kate (Lillytales) · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved this set of comics by Seo Kim. Hilarious, clever and very cute!

[Sarah Menezes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Some days I eat two Oreos.
Some days I eat fifteen.
Some days I don't even eat any Oreos.
My life is just chaos".
- Seo Kim

I feel seen.

[Sarah (booksargram) · Rating 3 out of 5]

not enough cats.

[Chelsea Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing.

[Alejandra Arévalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me hubiera gustado que todo fuera sobre el gato pero en general me hizo sonreír varias veces.

[Hollowspine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a cat person, but I loved this awesome graphic novel. From the hilarious cover image to the profound thoughts on oreo consumption and forgotten utensils I loved them all.

I hope that Seo Kim continues to challenge herself to create daily, because in that scenario we all win! Her cat Jimmy is hilarious to read about and I loved her depiction of him as the greatest cat living, we all feel that about our pets.

I could definitely see that she is an artist involved in Adventure Time, but for me that was the smallest note in a much more complex orchestra, her comics although short were truthful, funny and revealing!

I read this at the same time I read the comic memoir Over Easy, and though Kim's comics were much shorter, I found myself sympathizing much more with her and finding her comic much closer to the truth of life than Pond's overly dramatic memoir. Not that it was bad, it was good. It just didn't have Jimmy or the awful truth of carry all your food to the computer chair only to realize you'd forgotten a fork.

I wish Kim would be in the Sunday paper here so I could look forward to a dose every week!

[Fiery Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's cute and clever but mostly meh. The collection made more sense when I read that she challenged herself to make a comic a day for an undisclosed amount of time. Certainly explains the inconsistency. I like her style so I'm curious about her work with more thought and time put into it.

2.5

I feel guilty that this will go toward my book challenge because I read it in like 5 minutes. Eh, whatever.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book in a comic shop and had never heard of it before. I opened up to a random page and wound up laughing out loud, making everyone in the quiet shop look up. I read half the book standing there in the store before I should buy it. I wound up going back and getting two more copies because it's a book I've wanted to gift to so many friends. Seo Kim's everyday comments on mundane internet habits, crappy food consumption, and cute pets reflect my life maybe way too much.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay... My favorite tended to be the ones with jimmy (the cat). Also had a few that made me feel a little less weird; like the one where she balances a plate of food, cups, etc in one trip only to sit down and realize she forgot utensils. Kinda wish it had been more carefully curated instead of including comics that said stuff like " what should my comic be about?"

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was very relatable and the comics amusing, I was sad that only half of it involved cats.

The art style didn't bother me too much (because the main focus is the humor in the situation), BUT, what was up with her nose? That was the most distracting thing in the whole book and it loses a star just because of that. (The other star lost for not enough cats).

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute! Kim has a lovely, casual, dashed off art style that's wonderfully expressive. These strips vary in length, and seem to be mainly autobiographical, not that that's a bad thing. The book is a touch on the light and fluffy side, but very fun. Definitely worth a look.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isnt it unfair that to create a comic you have to be funny AND good with arts?! Well Seo Kim has it good cause she got both.

So as the title describes - I anticipated much more comics about cats. Because CATS!
Mostly insightful, funny and cute af. Some I didnt understand but eh thats art.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comics with Jimmy the Cat were funny and very relatable if you have any sort of furry animal. The illustrations weren’t anything to brag about but were extremely different.
What made me laugh the hardest was the miscellaneous comic about jam. That girl don’t know shit about jam!!