Brillaint stuff, a lovely juxtaposition of the mundane and weird. Alas not quite suitable for the magazine.

'Manfried the Man' by Caitlin Major with art by Kelly Bastow is a graphic novel about cats and men trading places.

In this world, cats are human sized and walk on two legs. Men are naked and as small as the house cats we know and also walk on two legs. Steve Catson is proud of his man, Manfried, but the other cats he knows think he might be a bit overobsessed. One day, Manfried goes missing, and Steve must rally friends and strangers to help him find his missing man.

I don't know that I would describe this story as hilarious, but it's fun in an odd ironic way. I like the strange touches, like the pet men eating cheeseburgers and fries, or that the men have markings a bit like cats. The art was fun.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Quirk Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

A bizarre yet charming take on the relationship between cats and humans. In an original twist. Manfried is a stray man taken in by a humanoid cat named Steve. While Steve negotiates the difficult world of dating and the desire to settle down, Manfried keeps him company by taking on the usual role of cat, often lazy but wonderful company.

Sweet and funny, a great gift for any cat lover.

This book was so fun and cute! I really enjoyed reading it and sharing with the adventures. Thank you for hosting quirksgiving and making this possible for all of us :)

I loved this book. It was a great, funny subversion of how we perceive humanity and its relationship with animals. The anxiety and monotony of life is made more clear here because it is embodied by a cat, making it more jarring in a way. Turning humans into pets was very clever - their behavior didn't seem all that different from how they behave in real life, which says something about how we hierarchize ourselves but are really just as unpredictable and irrational.

Manfried the Man by Caitlin Major and Kelly Bastow features a simple concept. Humanoid cats have little men for pets.

It started, as you might expect, as a gag comic. It’s adorable seeing the roly-poly balding ginger Manfried get tied up in his leash, for example, and realistic that he always wants to be on the other side of a door. (Note that, as the pet men are naked, there are tiny little cartoon private parts visible, but they’re incredibly un-detailed, basically a U shape.) But soon enough, the story gets deeper in surprising ways, to justify the length of a graphic novel.

Steve, Manfried’s owner, struggles at a job he doesn’t enjoy and has trouble socializing. Many of his friends are parents and don’t want to hear about his pet. He needs to learn to clean up after himself and his man.

Steve winds up pet-sitting for a neighbor, despite her concerns about his ability to take care of himself and other living creatures. Then Manfried gets lost, and Steve learns to take responsibility and to avoid jumping to conclusions about other man-owners. During his adventures, Manfried also finds out how to get along with other men.

The translation of man to cat has been thought through well, with cans of “man food” that resemble little hamburgers and the way the men only say “hey!” instead of meow. The underlying story is very familiar, in terms of quarter-life crises and accepting adulthood, but it feels fresher due to the cat-person art, and the way Steve’s emotions come through to the reader.

Hilarious and unique! Will definitely buy for my adult comic collection. Teens will like it too but the (non-sexual) nudity might scare off teen librarians.

This comic is well written and the art is high-quality but unfortunately I couldn't finish it because it was too sad. I tend not to like reading books or anything from the point of view of an animal, particularly a pet, but I thought that this comic would be ok because, hey, it's a funny comic about a small man being kept as a pet by a cat. JUST KIDDING. THIS COMIC IS TRAUMATIC. I couldn't finish it I was crying so hard, I only skim-read the majority of the book to make sure that Manfried came home again, and then I nearly started crying when he did. The whole experience was quite the emotional roller-coaster. As a result, I will not be purchasing this comic, but might keep my eye out for future titles in the hope that they are less sad.

Manfried the Man was an incredibly funny and clever book. It takes a look at the classic crazy cat person and makes it so cats own pet men. It was clever how they made men say hey in lieu of meow and eating tiny burgers from a can. As someone who has read the original tumblr single page comics it was nice to see it made into a fully formed story with a lot of heart.

I just got this book completely. It's exactly the sort of dark humour I enjoy. Showing the mundane happenings and realistic relationship between man and his pet, and then reversing it was a perfect setting for a graphic novel. I hadn't heard anything about the book before requesting, and I'm glad I went into it blind. It was a really pleasant surprise and I read it in one sitting.

Nothing spectacular had to happen in this book. It's the little details that anyone who has a pet knows. The way everyone keeps commenting on how much you talk about your pet, yet at the same time don't stop talking about their kids/themselves. The mundane day to day tasks and jobs that we have to do even though we don't want to.

Absolutely brilliant.

A really fun idea that was nicely done, although it did feel a touch dark at times. There were some confusing bits, would have been better if all or none of the traits had transposed. And also a disturbing lack of female cats. But overall quite good gun.

You've probably seen that comic with the mansize cat and the mansize cat sitting on the key board. This is a whole graphic novel with that concept. I was intigued to see what they would do with a full novel of this idea.

The concept is interesting, but not much after that. There's just a not a lot of comical room for cat like creature doing cat things. Attempt is made to do more than just goofy gags.

The plot is quite standard to most Webcomics. Lovable misfit that needs to figure out his life, while friends are more together and judge him, with a cookie twist to get your attention. For those sort of things, this does it well enough. Steve's affection towards Manfried does play a major plot points, mostly him scared he will be a crazy man person.

Some funny moments and gags, mixed in with relatable life stuff.

The art style is nice and the colouring is done well to match scenes. It is a bit disturbing at first to look at tiny penises all the time, and none of the cats wear clothes, their balls are ignore though.

This world has left me with questions. Like they are no tiny female humans so how do they reproduce. It doesn't really matter, but it just a thought in my head. Especially as there are packs of them. I have questions, but I don't think there actual answers to them. I want to see the dogs which exist in this universe but the men are hybrid of both cats and dogs with what they do and how they behaviour. They're lazy, fight like cats but you can train them to do tricks.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for canned hamburgers. I like this well enough, but I don't think I'm invested enough to pick up the sequel. I think it more we're not the right matches for each other, as they nothing I can point to say what wrong with it. If you're interested by the idea, I would say pick up and give it a chance you're self. Maybe not the sequel to this, but I would check out more works by Caitlin Major.

Everyone who has pets knows how important they become to you. Sometimes they can be annoying, take a lot of work, or get under foot. However, mostly they make you happy. They make you laugh. They cheer you up when you’re feeling depressed. They keep you company when you’re feeling lonely. Simply put, they make your world go round. But what would happen if you lost your pet? How would your life change?

In this hilarious tale of a role reversed world where cats are human sized and humans are cat sized, we get to see just how far cat, Steve Catson, will go to recover his best friend and pet man, Manfried. Every panel tells the story of this perfect role swap between cat and man, and it’s a total laugh. The story, the illustrations... It’s all brilliant!

So, if you read only one graphic novel this year, read this book!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this early review opportunity.

Manfried the Man is a graphic novel by Caitlin Major and Kelly Bastow that reverses the roles of cats and people. It is currently scheduled for release on May 1 2018.

Manfried is a stray man taken in by Steve Catson, a slacker with a dead-end job and nonexistent love life. Soon Manfried becomes the Garfield to Steve’s Jon Arbuckle: lazy, selfish, and sometimes maddening in his weird human behavior. Yet the pair depends on each other to get through life’s troubles. When Manfried runs away, Steve musters his meager resources to find his best man-friend and bring him home safe. Ultimately, both Steve and Manfried realize they’re capable of so much more than they thought.

Manfried the Man is a clever idea, that I am surprised has not already done. The art is very well done, and tells a story that is not all sunshine and roses. Steve has a dead end job, and even that does not last. He doubts himself, his worth, and worries about how others see him. I think most single adults, and most cat lovers (single or not) can relate to many of the conflicts, thoughts, and wackiness that happens around pets. I found that there were times my heart broke for Steve, times I worried for Manfried, and other times that the action made me smile or giggle. I think most cat lovers will get something from the read, and I think it will resonate with many readers as well. I enjoyed the read, even the less happy moments, and found it very much worth my time.

I’ve been a fan of the Manfried the Man comics for ages, so when I saw that there was a book coming out with the same title; I knew I had to give it a try. For the sake of honesty I’m going to tell you that I was expecting this to be a compilation of the comics I’ve seen online. It wasn’t. It was so much more than that.
I should probably take a moment to explain the Manfried comics a little bit. This is a world where cats are anthropomorphized and humans are pets. So Manfried is basically this naked little dude (a tabby one, to boot), running around acting in manners that we would expect from a normal cat; while his owner, Steve is a cat the goes to work in order to afford his pet the best man food he can get. The flip is pretty hilarious, and I’m impressed by how far Caitlin Major and Kelly Bastow are willing to take it at times.
Manfried the Man is the story of Manfried and his cat owner (Steve Catson). Instead of being a series of short stories or one-shot comics, this is a full-fledged story about these two wonderful and adorable characters. I knew it was going to be cute and funny, but I honestly wasn’t expecting the level of emotions I experienced while reading this graphic novel.
I love the point behind this whole story; I won’t ruin it for you, you have to read it for yourself. But there actually is a moral to the story, and it’s really sweet and as an animal lover myself I’m so happy that it was included.
I’m so happy this graphic novel was created and is being published. I sincerely hope we see more along this vein from Caitlin Major and Kelly Bastow – they are seriously talented creative team. If you’re a fan of the comics you’ll enjoy this read. And bonus, if you pick up a copy you’ll be supporting an artist you love!

I enjoyed this comic. It has such a unique concept where the role of man and cat is reversed. It is a story of both man and cat growing up, accepting responsibility and making new friends. Would love to read the next comic when it comes out.

Super cute. It’s a fairly simple story, with most of the comedy coming from the inversions.
But it’s still charming, sweet, and shows both Steve and his pet man growing from their time apart, and being able to open their hearts to new people.

Manfried the Man is the example of how most cat's perceive themselves; as tiny humans. For many cat owners, our pets are small people to us. Seeing the frustration at the Manfried's antics on the owner's face mirrors the feelings of many owners. It is refreshing to finally see a cat experience their own antics. If you own a cat, read this next to them and you will create another cherished memory with your beloved pet.

What works in small, six-panel doses doesn't work as well here. Whereas the Tumblr comics are cute at flipping the cat/human script, with the world expanded in the book I kept feeling like I was reading a dystopian comic - Planet of the Apes, but with cats.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I enjoyed the book as an easy, entertaining read. I felt connected to the main character because of the subtle hints of his sloppiness possibly being connected to depression or a directionless feeling. The wordless content with Manfried did "show-don't-tell" well. The visual style was pleasing to me and I look forward to reading the web comic. I give it 3/5. I follow the Goodreads rating system so 3 stars= "I liked this".