We Are Here Forever and Manfried Saves The Day

What in the world!?  What exactly am I seeing?

I’ve always considered myself a lover of conventional comic strips and comic books.  Oh sure, some of them have odd and quirky characters and the art styles that range from ultra-realistic to minimalist.

But...the two new graphic novels I recently acquired, published by Quirk Books, have collectively boggled and befuddled my oh so traditional mind!

At first I was a little take back by the art and stories.  I was unprepared for the unusual art styles and decidedly unconventional stories.

But, the more I looked at and read them the more intrigued and captivated I was by them.

I mean, what’s not to be drawn to?

Manfried Saves The Day completely reverses the roles of man and his pet theme.

In a strange world when humanoid felines have humans as pets Manfried is a lazy, pampered and spoiled human pet.  Kind of a pink, hairless Garfield-only worse.

In Manfried Saves The Day, web comic creators Caitlin Major and Kelly Bastow continue their much-loved Manfried strip in a brand new graphic novel adventure.

In it Manfried must take first place in the Manflower Man Show if a local shelter can a have prayer of staying open.  If not, stray men will be forced on the street.  Any you know what that means!

Talk about a role reversal!

In Michelle Gish’s After You Are Gone We Are Here Forever graphic novel the Puramus are curious, emotional and complex, short, purple, blobby-body creatures that populate an Earth without people.

As they struggle to cope with their newfound emotions and tackle concepts like war, famine, hate and the like they begin to question their existence and to wonder where they came from.

Why is the human race gone?  When did it happen?  Where did the Puramus come from?  What is their purpose?  Are they doomed to follow the same destructive path as humans?

For a unique examination of the human condition using non-human creatures We Are Here Forever tackles the many strengths and weakness of the human species as experienced by a new race. 

Will they make the same mistakes as humans or rise above their pettiness and prejudices to become worthy successor to the human race?

Only time will tell.