REVIEW: One Cup at a Time: A Cat's Cafe Collection (graphic novel) by Matt Tarpley

One Cup at a Time is a collection of strips from the Cat's Cafe webcomic. I bought my copy of this volume brand new.

Review:

I don't really have a lot to say about this collection, other than that I enjoyed it. As usual, the characters and their interactions are enjoyable, and readers will probably be able to relate to several of the characters and situations depicted. There's lots of mental health-related rep in this comic: dealing with stress, depression, over-stimulation, not knowing what to do when friends are going through a rough time, etc. This particular volume also touches on the pandemic a bit.

If I had to pick, I'd probably say that I liked the first volume more, if only because of the COVID-19 strips. They weren't very frequent and were most noticeable to me for what they didn't cover as what they did. I was surprised that feelings of isolation didn't come up more - then again, this series is so focused on the value of community and supporting others that I suppose there were things it couldn't really do without becoming...not itself.

Overall, this is a largely comforting and enjoyable series.

Extras:

Some pages at the end for readers to write down their thoughts and feelings (nice idea, but if I'm going to do that, it will be in a notebook I've devoted to that purpose), as well as two pages of stickers featuring Cat's Cafe characters and designs.

REVIEW: Cat's Cafe (graphic novel)

Cat's Cafe is a gently humorous slice-of-life graphic novel.

Review:

In this full-color collection, Cat runs a cafe that's intended as an emotional refuge for the other animals in the area. Rabbit is Cat's anxious new assistant. Penguin is a regular at the cafe, and utterly addicted to coffee, and Kiwi is Penguin's friend. Armadillo seems grumpy but is actually more grumpy-nice. Axolotl is cool. Snake is lonely and appreciates when others include them. Gator is an artist with imposter syndrome who's nursing a crush on Cat. Hyena has depression but tries to hide it. And so on...

I believe this started off as a webtoon. Most of the comics in this volume are 4-6 panels, and the whole thing functions as an emotionally gentle warm fuzzy blanket. Some of the characters are struggling a bit more than others, but everyone is supportive in their own way. I was reminded, a little, of Winnie the Pooh, although this was more direct about its mental health aspects.

As I was reading this, I repeatedly got the urge to show various pages to people in my life. There's something for just about everyone, whether you're here for the coffee, the emotionally supportive pep talks, or the coffee shop moments. Although this was overall a very gentle collection, there are a few strips that may hit a bit harder depending on your own experiences - the one on page 130 made me wish for a happier moment for Hyena immediately afterward.

I enjoyed this. The artwork was cute and the topics were relatable. There's another collection, called One Cup at a Time, that I plan to read at some point as well.