Great Comic Cats

Many cans of tuna have been opened and emptied since the collection’s first mostly black-and-white edition, in 1981; the revised edition adds more color art as well as coverage of classics including The Cat in the Hat, Bill the Cat, and pets penned by B. Kliban and Edward Gorey. The volume covers cartoon depictions of the cat dating back to 1100 B.C., though the bulk of the images date to the 20th century. Brief essays about printing, literature, contemporary society, and other historical facts are interspersed with the goods selections from the comics themselves. Editor Whyte is a publisher who founded the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)