- Comedy
- Graphic Novels
- Ages 7–10
The shape of it
The shape of this universe.
Tom McLaughlin's gleefully silly two-colour graphic novel series starring Alan, a house cat blessed with opposable thumbs and an unshakeable conviction that he was born to rule the universe. Between teatimes, Alan hatches gloriously overcomplicated schemes for world domination — founding his own country, Alanland, or cloning himself into an army of Alans — while his slobbery, endlessly loyal dog Fido tags happily along. Built for newly independent readers, the series pairs a clean two-colour palette and big, expressive panels with joke-per-page energy, making it an easy, confidence-building step up from picture books. Beneath the daftness is a warm comedy about an unlikely double act and the gap between a very big ego and a very small cat. A natural home for fans of Dog Man, Bunny vs Monkey and Investigators.
A chaotic, joke-per-page two-colour graphic novel series about a megalomaniac cat with opposable thumbs and his devoted dog sidekick — perfect confidence-building fun for newly independent readers.
Primary themes
Tone palette
- Funny
- Silly
- Absurdist
- Irreverent
The series
One way in.
Cultural footprint
A shelf of evidence.
Cultural ubiquity
2/ 5A working classic for readers in the know.
Sensitivity
Low, and collection-wide.
Across the collection
All 3 books.
About the creator