The Dog Is Not a Toy: House Rule #4
by Darby Conley

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Book Reviews of The Dog Is Not a Toy: House Rule #4

Book Review: Makes for good restroom reading.
Summary: 5 Stars

It's really an age-old question: Do you read on the john?

If so, what do you read?

I have friends who take children's books into the bathroom with them. Others have been known to drag something the length of "War and Peace" in there.

I think one of the best offerings for when nature calls has got to be a collection of comic strips.

"Fox Trot," "Calvin and Hobbes," "Zits," "Bloom County" - you name it, there's a collection for it. You might as well have some funny business to read.

Except for "Doonesbury." With that, you're probably better off reading "War and Peace."

One of the newer, and most hilarious offerings is Darby Conley's "Get Fuzzy" comic strip.

The strip plays like a fresher, funkier version of "Garfield." It even has the same stock characters: Smart-aleck cat, none-too-swift dog, frazzled human owner.

But where the big orange cat has sadly grown stale and predictable (spider smashing, yawn; hating Mondays, been there, done that), "Get Fuzzy" has enough comedic antics to last a while.

The cat in question isn't an overweight lasagna-loving feline, but rather a black and white hellion named Bucky. Arguably the star of the strip, Bucky drives his roommates nuts by, really, just acting like a cat. An obnoxious cat who can speak, sure, but a cat nonetheless, as Bucky ignores them, rips the apartment apart and charges $1500 to his owner's credit card for suede sheets.

The role of man's best friend is filled by Satchel. But while Satchel isn't very bright, he's no moron. He does most of the cooking, and is the earnest worrywart of the group. In fact, he probably parallels Telly from "Sesame Street" more than he does Odie. The strip that best sums up Satchel is probably where he finds out his pet bug is really a peanut. That's just the way Satchel is. There's a moment of quiet reflection, and then Satchel eats the peanut.

Finally, the brains of the group is owner Rob. Whereas Jon Arbuckle slowly disintegrated into a foil for Garfield, Rob very much has a life. He works to feed his pets, he tries to date, he has friends.

Bucky goes on a three-day nap, Satchel gets rejected by the Purebred Dog Club, Rob has to go out of town and gets his dad to sit for the animals - These are just a few of the great storylines in the first collection, "The Dog is Not a Toy (House Rule # 4)."

In playing with the familiar formula, Conley has come up with a winning comic.

The only bad thing about it is that those people in the stall next to you are probably going to wonder why you're giggling.

Summary of The Dog Is Not a Toy: House Rule #4

Comic Strips Books

• Subjects > Comics & Graphic Novels > Comic Strips
• Graphic Novels
• Humor & Entertainment > Humor