Silly About Cats

SILLY ABOUT CATS was edited by Marbeth Reed. It's Copyright 1959 Doubleday & Co., Inc., and features "The Best Cat Cartoons from American and British Periodicals." So, if you do not find these too funny, I am very sorry. These are the best and you can't do better.

Above: a clearer version of Herb Green's cover cartoon, originally published in the Saturday Evening Post. That's the biggest dang cat I ever saw. Noted: husband and kitty have matching smiles.




Henry Syverson manages action, humor and, ultimately, a little bit of sadness, in this epic cat & mouse tale in 10 drawings. The book, as you'll see, is heavy on Syverson. He's a fellow who knows his cats. Click to supersize and really enjoy.


Al Johns (above) with a wordless cartoon depicting the cat/milkman struggle with the cats mounting a surge.


Mort Walker, he of the gorgeous pen line, gives us a cartoon that, once you see the cat with the bean bag musculature held by the Mrs., gives one a smile. The cartoon is funny, the goofy looking cat makes it funnier.



Above: Henry Syverson with an 8 panel wordless cartoon (read the four across the top, then the bottom four). Once again: another Syverson mini-graphic novel of a story.



Vahan Shirvanian composes a ballet of man v. cat. The cat wins, of course. I like his triumphant trotting pose in the final panel.


Above: more Syverson, one of the unsung heroes of cartoons. He was a mainstay at the Saturday Evening Post. If you described this cartoon to someone, I don't think they would find it funny. But seeing the cat's expression and the mouse peering over the corner, all zestily done to perfection by Syverson, makes this one a rowser.

Above: Gustav Lundberg. Dig the 1950s table & lamp detail. Even though most of those lines in the table do not meet, it still "reads" as a table.

John Gallagher with a usual doozy. Look at all of those doggy noses are bee-lined at the unaware cat. Adding that little bow on the kitty kicks this up a notch.



Henning Gantriis was a prolific cartoonist in his native Denmark. Virtually unknown in the States, here is a rare peek at one of his cartoons. It requires no caption, and is therefore accessible to people worldwide.


Above: we finish up with more Syverson. Just look at that silly cat and the way he washes each foot. I said if before and I'll say it again: the man knows his cats!

 

-- This is an edited version of a blog entry originally published on March 19, 2008.