Major and Bastow have put out another endearing graphic novel about a world where cats are the people and men are the pets and I am happy to report that Manfried Saves the Day is just as charming as the previous book! The art is clean and cute, the plot is good, and the characters are great! Definitely recommended!

Manfried The Man was a quirky graphic novel about cats and humans having their roles reversed. In this second graphic novel Steve, an anthropomorphic cat, and his pet man, Manfried return to save a man-shelter from being closed.

Steve’s cartooning work is taking off, as his drawings of his pet Manfried are becoming popular. A former slacker, he still struggles with work deadlines and life responsibilities, but his romance with his neighbor Henrietta is promising. When a rich developer puts Henrietta’s man-shelter in danger, the two of them plus some friends band together to raise money to save the shelter. An upcoming pet show with an unrealistically high money prize seems to be the answer to their prayers. Will Manfriend save the day by winning best in show?

The artwork is clean, simple and attractive; always with a six panel layout per page. I am so used to graphic novels having layouts that vary from splash pages to atypically placed panels that this setup is refreshingly simple. The juxtaposition of the roles leads to clever sight gags with the little men. Seeing the men dressed up in adorable Halloween costumes, to aid in their adoption at the shelter, was by far the best part.

The first book was more nuanced than I expected, but this second outing was a bit trite and had a Hallmark movie feel. Yet, if you are a fan of Manfried from the first graphic novel or the author’s Tumblr page, you will enjoy this sweet story about the men’s adventures. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read an advance online copy.

(Aside- How do these men reproduce? No women or children pets have been shown. Curious minds need to know!)

I think it's cute and funny but the concept is kind of a one-trick-pony and the number of penises (absence of female pets?) is unsavory to some.

The few times I encountered Manfried the Man on Facebook left me with a feeling of amusement mixed with the uncomfortable feeling of how I don't want to see naked men being owned by cats .... although the very idea was full of hilarious potential. Doubly so when the men (no women?) here says "hey" (rather than "meow").

Manfried's owner Steve Catson has a job making comics and a girlfriend Henrietta Catface who runs the local man shelter. Things were looking rosy, until a fat cat arrives in the neighbourhood wanting to develop the area, including the land where the man shelter is. Henrietta refuses his offer to relocate. She and her friends enter their men into the Manflower Show, aiming for the prize money to buy the land so they won't be run out. Meanwhile, Manfried struggles with having to share his home with a new stray man named Garfield.

To be honest, the man antics (man-tics?) on the side were more interesting than the cat drama carrying the story forward. Maybe older people like me are prone to rolling our eyes when asked to choose between work and helping the friend/SO's cause; not the kind of thing I want to think about when I just want to LOL at a chubby man trying to one-up a younger competitor while hey-ying for attention.

Perhaps what this comic succeeds in doing is making me think about how we treat our animal companions and vice versa in a "Things that your cat does that would be creepy if you did it" way, or "things we do to cats that we won't do to people".

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Manfried Saves the Day is the second book to follow the adventures of Manfried, the pet man. In a world where cats are sentient humanoids and the have pet men, Manfried seems to always find a way to get himself into trouble, much to the chagrin of his owner.
I’ll be honest here: I really struggled with Manfried Saves the Day. The core joke is that cats and people have switched roles, so that men are pet cat analogues. If you find that funny, then this book will be for you. However, if that on its own doesn’t carry a book for you, then you’ll likely struggle to enjoy this title.
There really wasn’t a whole lot to the plot here, beyond a slice of life story with a pet that is a little out of control in a manner that is intended to be charming. But the role swapping didn’t add anything to the story. I didn’t find myself either rethinking the roles we play with pets or even just getting much of a chuckle out of the idea. Manfried Saves the Day fell completely flat for me.
Content Warning: At first glance, this appears to be an all ages-friendly book. However, there is a chubby naked man on just about every page, and there are depictions of male genitalia. Nothing here is anatomically explicit, but generally cartoony depictions of the size and shape of genitalia are found within this book. Consider skimming through this title before passing it along to younger readers to make sure that you are comfortable with the age-level of the content.

Will appear at the below link on 2/7/19.

Love this series.
Being a self-confessed cat lady, this is just hilarious. The pictures are cute, warm and friendly, the dialogue is quick, witty & moves quickly. and the storytelling is very enjoyable.
My only criticism is that it ends way too soon!
I would definietly read anything else in this series.
Caitlin - please write more!

The second installment of the Manfried the Man series is still totally adorable. This time the Catlanta Man Shelter is in danger of being bought out and demolished by a fat cat.
No, really, he's actually a big fat cat.
So the gang decides to enter the annual Man Show in hopes of winning enough money to keep the shelter afloat. Adorable man-cat and cat-man high jinks ensue.

I absolutely adore these drawings. I've loved seeing these all over social media in small snippets.
Caitlin Major does a great job at capturing relationships between humans and pets perfectly. As a cat owner I can completely relate to these.

A thoroughly fun and enjoyable read!

5/5 stars

Manfried is back! And just as adorable (albeit mildly NSFW) as ever! In this new adventure, things are starting to work out for Steve Catson. He’s got a popular web comic series about his pet man, Manfried. He’s dating the Catlanta man shelter runner Henrietta. It’s not too bad. But then the man shelter is threatened by a skeevy land developer. Mr. Meows has made an offer on the land that our cat protagonists can’t seem to match. However, there’s one hope: the Manflower Man Show. With the cash prize, the crew should be able to save the shelter. Manfried is the shelter’s best shot due to his notoriety from his last adventure. But Steve’s success is starting to catch up with him. His workload is increasing and he’s struggling to juggle all his responsibilities. However, with a little reflection and help from his friends, Steve and Manfried just might have what it takes to save the day!

Aw, I really do love Manfried. He and Steve have such a cute, realistic pet-owner relationship. Still a little odd for me to see little naked men running around, but still worth the read.