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Looshkin
Looshkin: The Maddest Cat in the World
The comics in this book were previously published as Looshkin and The Big Number 2. Looshkin might look like a cute blue cat, but you've never met a cat like Looshkin before. If you look away for just a moment, your house will be full of foamy bubbles, there are pigs on your roof, and a portal to a hell-dimension has opened in your loft. And there are bees, everywhere! Life is never going to be boring while Looshkin is around, but one thing is for sure - it will be very, very funny!
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2022
About the author
Jamie Smart
107 books95 followersJamie Smart is a British comic artist and author best known for his 10-issue comic series Bear and his popular children's comic series Bunny vs Monkey running in the Phoenix magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 24, 2025
“A graphic novel?” I enquired as I noticed my little cousin reading a “Bunny v. Monkey” book. But I was promptly corrected by the words “A comic!” I nodded, of course …
“I really like these!” she enthused, so I made a mental note to track down a similar series, if I could find one. Looshkin: The Maddest Cat in the World seemed a potential candidate, and I deduced that although she goes to a “nice” (i.e. middle-class) school, comics were not out of bounds at home.
Looshkin: The Maddest Cat in the World is subtitled on Amazon as “a Phoenix Comic Book, from the million-selling Jamie Smart, Illustrator of the Year”. “Phoenix” is a weekly comic aimed at youngsters of 7-14, although 14 is pushing it a bit. I would have said 12 is the top age who would enjoy it, and Looshkin is targeted at 7-10 year olds. But what do I know? I started having “The Beano” delivered by the local newsagent when I was 21, already married for a year or so and at Art College full time. It arrived wrapped in The Times, which a fellow house-mate also had on regular order.
We did wonder if this was somehow a comment by our newsagent, who probably did not deliver many comics in this swanky area (5 of us rented a detached house in need of “doing up”) but my copy of The Beano was usually nabbed by my fellow Art Students too. Strange how potent cheap music is, as the great Noël Coward observed ...
But I’m waffling … for which you can either blame my immense age, or the random absurdity of this comic. So how about this “Looshkin” series? It certainly is highly praised:
“Outrageously fun … in a class of its own for silliness!” ― BookTrust
“Jamie Smart is a comics genius!” ― Philip Reeve
“You will cry with laughter” ― Stephen L. Holland, Comics Laureate
So I settled down to “discover the hilarious hijinks and astonishing adventures of Jamie Smart’s most extraordinary creation”. It has to be said though, that unless you regularly read comics, it’s not actually that easy to understand.
The cover shows that it is very influenced by Manga, with highly stylised creatures and objects, and not as easy to interpret as the more realistic comics used to be. The speech bubbles, capital letters shouting at me, lurid colours and one word interjections all seemed familiar, however. Were there separate stories? It was hard to tell, although different coloured paint blotches on the page edges seemed to indicate there were. The pages are, surprisingly, paginated. There are 208 of them - WOW - some comic, this! In fact this book comprises the first two titles: “Looshkin” and “Looshkin: The Big Number 2”.
Here we have a big clue as to the type of humour. It’s wacky, over-the-top, and a little bit naughty (kids will think) with cute farting pigs, exploding toilets, and plenty of references to weeing, amidst grins and giggles. The teacher in me clocked this as “will appeal to reluctant readers” ...
Looshkin is, of course, the feline equivalent of a naughty child, and we have the common tropes of hopeless or stuffy parents, eccentric older relatives, annoying younger siblings, and cute but weird animals/friends/aliens. As the blurb says:
“Looshkin might look like a cute blue cat, but you’ve never met a cat like Looshkin before. If you look away for just a moment, your house will be full of foamy bubbles, there are pigs on your roof, and a portal to a hell-dimension has opened in your loft. And there are bees, everywhere!
Life is never going to be boring while Looshkin is around.”
These madcap adventures might not be my cup of tea, but Looshkin does seem to be very popular with those a little younger. It’s firmly set in the 21st century with a neighbour so glued to the internet that she never gets out of her dressing gown, celebrities on daytime TV, kids who take photos on their phone and post them online (“nerds”, apparently), references to “sell-by” and “best before” dates and all kinds of other delights of contemporary English social culture.
Looshkin is the natural great-grandchild of “Beezer,” “The Dandy” and “The Beano”. Though when my husband saw me reading it, he sighed, and said with his tongue firmly in his cheek:
“Come back Enid Blyton! All is forgiven.”
Everything considered, this had better stay at my default of 3 stars. I’ll be grateful not to have to read any more, but there’s no real harm in it, even if the evil squirrels do eat the stitching on the teddy bear’s head. And surely laughter - silly or not - is always good value.
“I really like these!” she enthused, so I made a mental note to track down a similar series, if I could find one. Looshkin: The Maddest Cat in the World seemed a potential candidate, and I deduced that although she goes to a “nice” (i.e. middle-class) school, comics were not out of bounds at home.
Looshkin: The Maddest Cat in the World is subtitled on Amazon as “a Phoenix Comic Book, from the million-selling Jamie Smart, Illustrator of the Year”. “Phoenix” is a weekly comic aimed at youngsters of 7-14, although 14 is pushing it a bit. I would have said 12 is the top age who would enjoy it, and Looshkin is targeted at 7-10 year olds. But what do I know? I started having “The Beano” delivered by the local newsagent when I was 21, already married for a year or so and at Art College full time. It arrived wrapped in The Times, which a fellow house-mate also had on regular order.
We did wonder if this was somehow a comment by our newsagent, who probably did not deliver many comics in this swanky area (5 of us rented a detached house in need of “doing up”) but my copy of The Beano was usually nabbed by my fellow Art Students too. Strange how potent cheap music is, as the great Noël Coward observed ...
But I’m waffling … for which you can either blame my immense age, or the random absurdity of this comic. So how about this “Looshkin” series? It certainly is highly praised:
“Outrageously fun … in a class of its own for silliness!” ― BookTrust
“Jamie Smart is a comics genius!” ― Philip Reeve
“You will cry with laughter” ― Stephen L. Holland, Comics Laureate
So I settled down to “discover the hilarious hijinks and astonishing adventures of Jamie Smart’s most extraordinary creation”. It has to be said though, that unless you regularly read comics, it’s not actually that easy to understand.
The cover shows that it is very influenced by Manga, with highly stylised creatures and objects, and not as easy to interpret as the more realistic comics used to be. The speech bubbles, capital letters shouting at me, lurid colours and one word interjections all seemed familiar, however. Were there separate stories? It was hard to tell, although different coloured paint blotches on the page edges seemed to indicate there were. The pages are, surprisingly, paginated. There are 208 of them - WOW - some comic, this! In fact this book comprises the first two titles: “Looshkin” and “Looshkin: The Big Number 2”.
Here we have a big clue as to the type of humour. It’s wacky, over-the-top, and a little bit naughty (kids will think) with cute farting pigs, exploding toilets, and plenty of references to weeing, amidst grins and giggles. The teacher in me clocked this as “will appeal to reluctant readers” ...
Looshkin is, of course, the feline equivalent of a naughty child, and we have the common tropes of hopeless or stuffy parents, eccentric older relatives, annoying younger siblings, and cute but weird animals/friends/aliens. As the blurb says:
“Looshkin might look like a cute blue cat, but you’ve never met a cat like Looshkin before. If you look away for just a moment, your house will be full of foamy bubbles, there are pigs on your roof, and a portal to a hell-dimension has opened in your loft. And there are bees, everywhere!
Life is never going to be boring while Looshkin is around.”
These madcap adventures might not be my cup of tea, but Looshkin does seem to be very popular with those a little younger. It’s firmly set in the 21st century with a neighbour so glued to the internet that she never gets out of her dressing gown, celebrities on daytime TV, kids who take photos on their phone and post them online (“nerds”, apparently), references to “sell-by” and “best before” dates and all kinds of other delights of contemporary English social culture.
Looshkin is the natural great-grandchild of “Beezer,” “The Dandy” and “The Beano”. Though when my husband saw me reading it, he sighed, and said with his tongue firmly in his cheek:
“Come back Enid Blyton! All is forgiven.”
Everything considered, this had better stay at my default of 3 stars. I’ll be grateful not to have to read any more, but there’s no real harm in it, even if the evil squirrels do eat the stitching on the teddy bear’s head. And surely laughter - silly or not - is always good value.
August 8, 2024
This book was amazing! I loved every page! I’d recommend this book to anyone!
March 19, 2026
just like bunny vs Monkey so just brilliant
December 29, 2022
My 8yo son LOVES this book, we’ve read it countless times at bed (it’s not exactly a calming bedtime story!)
It’s one of the few books he’s willing to pickup and read himself.
If you like Big Star Farts then this is the book for you! I’m
It’s one of the few books he’s willing to pickup and read himself.
If you like Big Star Farts then this is the book for you! I’m
July 26, 2025
Um livro construído numa série de pequenas histórias sobre a vida de um gato. Vão encontrar humor, irreverência, "no sense", situações divertidas a rondar a loucura que nos remetem para os filmes cómicos mudos.
A melhor personagem : o urso.
A melhor personagem : o urso.
June 5, 2022
Fantastically funny!!! 🤩🤣🤣🤣
December 30, 2022
Joyful anarchy
February 1, 2023
Hilarious!!
July 15, 2023
Naught cute cat
August 10, 2023
Very amusing and a truly amazing book!
May 6, 2024
Looshkin is a MAD CAT and he doesn't take no for an answer! I would recommend this book to someone who loves comics!
July 16, 2024
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD!!!!!
Looshkin is the most HILARIOUS cat EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looshkin is the most HILARIOUS cat EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 3, 2024
JUST WILD. NOTHING BUT WILDNESS BUT STILL SO GOOD
GOOD WORK JAMIE
GOOD WORK JAMIE
May 29, 2025
It was very funny and amazing
March 31, 2026
Apesar de não ter adorado, quero continuar a ler
May 6, 2026
I like the cat and he is a bit strange but this is so weird.
I'm not convinced but maybe the next one has a better story.
I'm not convinced but maybe the next one has a better story.
June 10, 2026
It’s so silly and funny and pants and ice cream van. (Chase) 7 years old
September 21, 2026
Está genial es mucha locura lo que pasa es que es muy corto
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2026
When I read this book I found it very funny and liked it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews