Manfried Saves the Day

The sequel to Manfried the Man, an eccentric online comic strip adapted into a graphic novel, continues the day-to-day adventures of humanoid cat Steve Catson and his pet man, Manfried, in a world where human and feline roles are reversed. This time, it’s up to Steve and his man-loving friends to save the local man shelter from destruction via real-estate development, prove nonpedigreed men can win the Manflower Man Show, and make a hit out of Steve’s pet project “man comic” (a Garfield allusion), all while adopting out as many adorable men as possible. Like the first volume, this installment is less comedic than the premise suggests; despite the cartoonish art, the narrative gives a surprisingly straight-faced treatment to the cat characters as they go about their daily work, struggle to make ends meet, and care for their pets—tiny naked men that nap, bat, and preen like (real-world) cats and say only “Hey!” The sequel is also inconsistent in the level of realism it grants to its high-concept universe, shifting from gritty plot threads about financial problems, relationship woes, and illness to melodrama about stopping a scheming “fat cat” and winning the big competition. What makes this unusual series a hit, though, is ample canny drawings of men and their antics for the man fanciers out there. [em](May) [/em]