It’s Oola!
Less than a year in their household, and Oola already has her own comic. I see big things ahead for this cat! If you’re not familiar with Lighthouse in the City (Karl’s ongoing daily strip series), Oola came onto the scene in November of 2021, several months after both of the cats who had been with them for many years passed away. She made an instant and gigantic impact in their (the other half of “their” is Kelly, his partner) lives, so naturally Karl decided to put together this collection of strips where she was the star of the show. Is it technically kosher for me to review a book where I’ve probably already read half of the strips in other comics? Well, since I don’t have a boss, the only one to decide that is me, and my answer is: when it comes to cats, all rules go out the window. Reviewing something like this, as is the case with the vast majority of comics involving cats, my objectivity goes out the window, so if you’re looking for a detailed, erudite review about the linework and the meaning behind certain strips, move right along. What does that crazy cat get up to in here? Without giving too much away, there’s her introduction to the house, some odd leftover behaviors from her early life on the street, her Halloween cat arched back (the same thing my old cat, Sassafrasquatch (20 year mascot of this website), used to do), the futility of their trying to sleep when she wanted to play, her great escape, her SECOND great escape, what always happens when glass items on a mantle and a cat come together, and several strips based on great comics artists from when Karl was overdosing on comics with just himself and Oola in the house. I was also fascinated by the single image strip of her sitting on a hardcover collection of comics with one of those fabric bookmarks attached to the spine. Somehow she was just sitting there and NOT attacking the bookmark, so I can only assume that he was taking some artistic liberties with that strip. It’s a funny and adorable comic, what more do you want? Check it out already! Unless you hate cats, in which case I can’t believe you read this far into the review. Oh, one last note for Karl and Kelly: I noticed a small continuity error. In the first strip, while you two were discussing whether or not the time was right for another cat, you mentioned getting a pair of cats. But (as of this writing, anyway) you still just have the one cat. Any plans to rectify that? $6
