Scene but Not Heard

K-Gr 3—This collection of silent strips featuring Guy and Bear, a nearly naked man and his upright ursine friend, was originally published in Nickelodeon magazine. While there's nothing outré or scandalous in the work's content content, which tends to concentrate on simple surrealist gags involving stealing Bear's nose or the essential, simplistic nature of the drawings, the aesthetic isn't particularly different from the graphic novelist's "The Magic Whistle" volumes (Alternate Comics). The protean nature of the gags resemble a low-impact Chuck Jones or I. Freleng ("Looney Toons" animators), playing with a fluid reality in a way that may be deliriously inventive to very young readers but that fall short of breaking any new ground. Still, as whimsical juvenalia, one would be hard pressed to find anything wrong here. Playful, fanciful, and clearly influential, these strips may continue to inspire and charm children.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH