I Would Have Brought You a Cat, But... »

Darby Conley earned a fine arts degree from Amherst College, where he drew cartoons for the daily newspaper. Before beginning his career as a professional cartoonist, he was an elementary school teacher, then an art director at a children's museum in Massachusetts. He has loved dogs all his life and is a great animal watcher. He hangs out with stray cats and other people's dogs, not to mention the rats in the subway

Indeed, Get Fuzzy has rocketed to the top of the list of syndicated newspaper strips. It now appears in 300 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Detroit Free Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Seattle Times. Readers can't get enough of the goofy trio that populate this hilarious strip: Rob Wilco, the single, mild-mannered advertising executive, and his two rambunctious pets, Bucky, the sharp- fanged, self-absorbed cat, and Satchel, the easygoing mixed-breed dog who ends up on the receiving end of Bucky's mischief. The combination creates Get Fuzzy's astutely witty take on relationships between the species.
Now, in a size and format that's perfect for die-hard fans and those looking for the perfect gift, I Would Have Bought You a Cat, But... will become the must-have little treasure for everyone who craves a bit more of the trademark Get Fuzzy foolishness, or just enjoys a good chuckle.

Publishers Weekly

This palm-sized gift book by the author of The Dog Is Not a Toy and Groovitude presents an amusing look at the life of Bucky, a gregarious house cat and star of the syndicated comic strip "Get Fuzzy." Each spread matches a cartoon panel with a pithy aphorism regarding the flaws and foibles of the domestic feline and his relations with owner, Rob Wilco, and cohabitating dog, Satchel. "Cats are paranoid," Conley writes, and presents Bucky opining about Satchel's murderous intentions, much to the gentle mutt's chagrin. "Cats have bad breath," he reports, next to a picture of Rob roused by the stink of Bucky's tuna fish breath. "Cats have overinflated egos," Conley notes, and shows Bucky clawing the air saying, "Ha! Ya! Fa-tang! Fa-tang! Ole! This movie rocks! I would make such an awesome gladiator! All I need is a good gladiator name!" Often, the book presents jokes like this-sort of amusing but not fully fleshed out, and dependent on fairly intimate knowledge of the comic strip's rhythms. It's not enough to be a cat fan for this one-enthusiasm for Bucky specifically is required. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.