Heathcliff: First Prize

Title: Heathcliff: First Prize!
Date: 1981
Publisher: McNaught Syndicate (current site is heathcliffcomics.com)
Writer: George Gately
Artist: George Gately

I hadn't read more than the occasional Heathcliff cartoon in the newspaper before I picked up this paperback book format compilation. There are some pretty funny jokes in here, although most are on the obvious side.

The cartoons featured in this collection are from the early 1980s, before Garfield became the standard for feline humor. Heathcliff is a bit of a different character. He's definitely the boss of all he surveys. He gets into fights and wins. He goes out tuna fishing. He plots against the milkman.

Of course, the more of this you read, the more obvious it becomes that there are only a few jokes here which are cycled with minor variations. But they are, in many cases, pretty funny, so the collection makes for a decent read the first time through.

Rating: 6/10