cover image Patty Cake and Friends Color Collection

Patty Cake and Friends Color Collection

Scott Roberts, . . SLG/Amaze Ink, $12.95 (96pp) ISBN 978-1-59362-034-9

A pleasant surprise in an unlikely place, Robert's joyously noisy strip is a kind of millennial Dennis the Menace. It's a kid's comic unafraid to make a little mischief. Or a lot. Patty Cake is an irascible, bossy, smart-alecky and utterly charming little girl who pals around with her best friend Irving and slick Jose, and hangs out with her patient (up to a point) Dad. She berates Irving for watching TV, enumerates bad smells, plays gross tricks and even meditates, in one hilarious sequence, on the pitfalls of growing up. Each adventure is a self-contained romp in the best tradition of Little Lulu. Author and illustrator Roberts accomplishes all of this in a drawing style best called gonzo, with limbs akimbo, words the size of panels, and a general talent for the best in unhinged cartoon exaggeration. This volume presents Patty Cake's early, black and white adventures in full, vibrant color for the first time. The color makes Patty's yelps all the louder, and the entire affair that much more fun. This book should be of great appeal to mischievous kids and the parents that love them. It's a truly fun funny book. (June)