Squeak the Mouse

Squeak the Mouse #1-3

by Massimo Mattioli

Il ritorno in scena di Massimo Mattioli, lo sfuggente genio fondatore della storica rivista Cannibale e poi tra i protagonisti del gruppo Frigidaire insieme a Stefano Tamburini, Andrea Pazienza, Filippo Scozzari e Tanino Liberatore. Coconino Press presenta il fumetto più celebre, irriverente e pop di Mattioli: Squeak the Mouse, feroce parodia dei cartoni animati per bambini, che vede protagonisti il gatto e il topo più violenti di sempre, ha riscosso fin dalle prime apparizioni un successo fragoroso, diventando l’opera di riferimento per tutta una genia di autori underground. Le sue avventure vengono pubblicate ovunque nel mondo, fino a divenire secondo molti la fonte di ispirazione per due famosi protagonisti dei Simpson, Grattachecca & Fichetto.

Da molti anni fuori catalogo, con questa edizione torna disponibile nella sua versione definitiva il capolavoro di Mattioli, con una grande sorpresa: ai due libri originali, pubblicati nel corso degli anni ’80, si aggiunge in questo volume un terzo capitolo del tutto inedito, mai dato alle stampe prima. Ed ecco Squeak The Mouse: The Trilogy.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2019

About the author

Massimo Mattioli (1943-2019) was an Italian cartoonist, illustrator and screenwriter.
Born in Rome, Mattioli debuted in the middle of the 60's with the comic Vermetto Sigh for the magazine 'Il Vittorioso'. After some cartooning experiences in London and Paris, in the early 70's he returned to Italy and created the character Pasquino for the newspaper 'Paese Sera'. He also began a collaboration with the comics magazine 'Il Giornalino', that lasted more than forty years. Therein, he published Pinky (1973-2014), a whimsical and surrealist strip about a pink rabbit reporter.
In 1977, together with Stefano Tamburini and Marco D'Alessandro, Mattioli founded the seminal underground magazine 'Cannibale'. He remained a frequent contributor to both 'Cannibale' and its successor magazine 'Frigidaire' throughout the 80's. In this period, Mattioli adapted his surrealist cartooning style for a mature audience, most notably with the series Joe Galaxy (1979-1983) and Squeak the Mouse (1982-1984). The latter remains his best-known work internationally. A sequel Squeak the Mouse 2 was published in 1992, and a third volume appeared in 2019 in the collected Squeak the Mouse by Coconino Press.
Mattioli was awarded several prizes, including the Yellow Kid Prize at the Lucca Comics Festival in 1975 and the Attilio Micheluzzi Prize at the Napoli Comicon in 2010 and 2011.
As an illustrator, Mattioli worked for advertisement and music album covers. Additionally, he wrote short stories and screenplays for cinema and television.
Massimo Mattioli died in 2019, at age 75.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok - read the trilogy. More killing, zombies and sex. Glad to say I finished this series; a close friend suggested that I read it. Again - nothing really wrong with the story - it is just the same mix of violence and sex that were in the previous two issues. Not for children or those who are offended by pornography.

[Jordan West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember the Simpsons episode where Bart and Lisa get chased out of the comic book store after walking in on an adults-only screening of R. Crumb's underground Itchy and Scratchy movie? This is pretty much that in the flesh, and then some - the cartoon animal cycle of violence taken to its logical conclusions, copiously punctuated with graphically depicted orgies; an entertaining execution of a one joke premise, but the frenetic rush of nonstop sex and gore starts to burn itself out somewhere around the nth massacre/threesome.

[John “Hoss” · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, perverted, but hysterically funny all the way. This is Tom and Jerry meets Itchy and Scratchy with influences of the dirty hippy comix of the 60s. The art is really hypnotic and reads like an old cartoon of years before. Just imagine if Tex Avery went further away with his innuendos and had really raunchy jokes. I’m really glad Fantagraphics put this back in print, and I’m really glad to have finally read this grotesque, absurdly funny collection.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy exempts five pages of material:
->see comments of my review for the link if same for you

*!*->10.5" x 13.5"<-*!*

This is absolutely bursting at the seams with GRATUITOUS violence and triple-x sex scenes so be prepared...

[ComicBookCult Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always loved the style of this book, the art and the promise of gore galore.

This book fully delivered, I love underground comics and this truly is one of my favourites, the lack of words doesn’t detract from the content, fun, easy reading with all the guts left in.

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great slasher, just jolly ghastly gruesome fun & precursor to Itchy & Scratchy!

In my Top European Horror Comics, right on top !


https://youtu.be/qFi_ZKUfgEg

[Denis Saganovich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Это определённо НЕ то, чего я ожидал

[Sean O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom and Jerry and Itchy and Scratchy. The eternal battle between Cat and Mouse.

"Squeak the Mouse" is an X-rated Underground Comic take on that battle. With lots of slapstick gore, an unusual amount of movie and record references, and some extremely explicit casual sex between anthropomorphic animals.

It is for children? NO. Is it extremely gross and funny? YES. In the 80s this book was once considered obscene by the U.S. Customs. It's still pretty transgressive today.

Itchy and Scratchy have a big debt to Squeak the Mouse. Highly recommended, if this is your thing.

[Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've spent the last six months or so really into Golden Era cartoons so this slasher riff on Tom & Jerry hit the spot. So-called "trash" can be surprisingly artful when it comes to comix, and this oversized edition is a perfect way to soak up its chaotic visuals. Yes, there are porno interludes in each of the three issues included. Also everyone dies, over and over. The comic leans into this, playing with the idea that these cartoons are desensitized, stuck in an endless loop of life and death and sex. A wild piece of pop art and comix history.

[Zioluc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le due serie di Squeak the mouse, più una inedita.
Una sarabanda di gore, zombi, pornografia (nel senso più letterale), inseguimenti alla "Tom & Jerry", citazioni da film horror e slasher e soprattutto umorismo irresistibile.
Il cartoon di Grattachecca e Fichetto (The Itchy and Scratchy show) nei Simpson è evidentemente figlio di queste strisce.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember how transgressive this felt when I first saw excerpts in the mid 80s. Feels a bit old hat now, and suffers for having it all collected. Individual chapters once a month or so would pace it out and not dull the impact. And “pop cult characters fucking” really doesn’t impact like it does to a 13 year old.

[John Esse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quality definitely does drop a bit on this one, especially because for some reason it takes place in space...? The 'purity of the wordless storytelling gets tainted by some ideas that are not fit for this series.

[Ezma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ludicrously gory and outright pornographic. It has quality gagwork, though, not just resting its laurels on being as absurdly gory as possible but it is that too! Easy to see how it paved the way for Itchy and Scratchy.

[Denisse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quizás si lo hubiese leído en su época lo encontraría bueno, pero se me hizo pesado (a cada rato revisaba cuánto me faltaba para terminarlo) y repetitivo. Creo que si lo hubiesen sacando en tres tomos también me habría gustado más, porque me habría aburrido menos.

[Carlo Bugni · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPLAT!

[Fabio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto divertente, estremamente nonsense. Ricorda Itchy & Scratchy dei Simpsons.

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como Rasca y Pica pero más bestia. Combina humor, sexo y gore. La historiesta del ratón volviendo convertido en zombie es mortal x)

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skimmed through it again this morning. (Excellent late late night reading).
My favorite part might be the horror movie kill scenes.
Demented.

[Eric Orchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really fun cartooning but man…..

[Carlo Gnutti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colori acidi
Pieno di cit: Videodrome, Non aprite quelle porta 2, la bambola assassina, l’uomo invisibile sono i più evidenti
Ogni capitolo termina alla stessa maniera, in modo circolare.

[Javier Campos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se deja leer, muy ironico

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gag gets old really fast but at least it's a good one in its brutally demented way.

[Mingo Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tan subversivamente divertido como siempre

[Stefano Sotgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un gatto e un topo si rincorrono e si uccidono: una parodia splatter, slapstick e pornografica dei cartoni animati per bambini. Oggi sembra persino banale, tante ne abbiamo viste, ma Mattioli fu il primo. Libro che avrebbe secondo molti ispirato Itchy and Scratchy dei Simpson: possibilissimo. Quest'edizione della Coconino raccoglie la prima storia, comparsa su Frigidaire nei primi anni 80, il sequel del 1992 e un terzo capitolo finora inedito. Mattioli (morto quest'anno) era un grandissimo.

[Mirko, "Chel dai libris" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natale 1990 (o forse 1991). I miei zii mi regalarono l'abbonamento alla rivista per ragazzi "il giornalino". Nella sua bontà, tra i tanti fumetti presenti, "Pinky" di Mattioli e "l'Ispettore Perogatt" di Carlo Peroni riuscivano a shakerarmi e mandarmi fuori di testa per la loro verve comica. Gli unici che riuscivano a strapparmi una risata, senza offesa per gli altri fumettisti, s'intende.
Ero ancora un bambino ingenuo e buono come la casa editrice di questa nota rivista. Ma qualcosa stava sbocciando in me, qualcosa di deviato che cambiò il mio modo ironico di vedere le cose e che non riuscivo a tenere a bada nel corso del tempo...

Erano anche gli anni dei primi Simpson, e ricordo come mia madre mi vietava di guardarli perché giudicati "ai tempi" violenti. (Furbo anche io... Durante lo zapping cambiavo canale e trovavo puntualmente gli sketch di Grattachecca e Fichetto!).
Cosa c'entrano ora i Simpson? È risaputo che Matt Groening s'ispirò alla serie splatter italiana Squeak the Mouse di Mattioli per realizzare i due protagonisti animati.

Black humor, splatter (o gore pop)...chiamatelo come volete: Una delle violente chicche da tenere in casa con orgoglio!

(Piccolo "cameo" in una delle vignette allegate una citazione di altri suoi protagonisti: Pinky il coniglio fotoreporter e Joe Galaxy).

[Euler Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personaje que supuestamente inspiró a Matt Groening para crear a los personajes de Rasca y Pica... sucesión de gags violentos entre un ratón y un gato intercalados con escenas de sexo explícito del todo innecesarias, vamos, igualito a "Rasca y Pica".

Nada nuevo en lo que a peleas entre gatos y ratones de los cartoons se refiere. Lo mejor: el macarrismo y una excelente edición.

[Искандер Булатов · Rating 4 out of 5]

Старое доброе ультранасилие. И порно. Звериное. Мультяшное. Было забавно, жутко, изобретально и непредсказуемо. Строго для любителей трэша

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/10. Добрее только новости по телевизору!