Longtime Peak cartoonist Wendy Brown is well known for her statements on local politics on our editorial pages every week, but her new comic book features entirely different subject matter.
Edward the Kat: King of the Kondo is a tale of the cartoonist and her cat’s move a couple of years ago from living in a house with a yard to a fourth-floor condo with a balcony. The 30-page collection of comics is a humorous romp through the life and times of the two companions and is meant for a mature audience.
“I actually do have a cat called Edward and he’s been my only housemate for the past six years or so,” says Brown. “Artists always draw the things around them, especially cartoonists, so I started drawing him when I lived in the house, then this idea came up after we moved to the condo. It’s a comic memoir more than anything.”
A much different process than her weekly cartoons, Brown found the task of putting together a book of comics a lot less deadline-driven.
“It was fun. I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself to get it done by a particular time; I just started drawing it,” says Brown. “I just did it whenever I felt like it, and it was done fairly quickly. I enjoyed it so much that I’m doing another one. Now I’m in the midst of a more serious, longer graphic novel that is much heavier in subject matter.”
Inspired by comics such as Felix the Cat when she was growing up, Brown says she has become disillusioned with most modern-day comic strips.
“There are a couple I still read, but I find most of them to be insipid,” she says. “There’ve taken all the fun out of comic strips, for the most part. They used to be a lot more hard-hitting and cartoonists could get away with a lot more.”
A special book signing on Saturday will give Brown the chance to talk to those interested in her comics and cartoons, as well as chat about her plans to leave the condo and move back into something more suitable for her and Edward.
“It sounds like I’m just moving because Edward doesn’t like the condo,” says Brown with a laugh, “but I just feel the condo life isn’t quite right for me at this time. It’s been almost like a holiday for us, but it’s time to get back out there.”
Wendy Brown’s Edward the Kat book signing
When: 2-5 pm, Saturday, November 12
Where: Artique Gallery
Price: Books $20
Info: 604.485.4837
