What can you say about a book that is titled, Monster Cats Vol. 1? Well, you can say it is by Pandania. You can say it is fun, cute and silly. It is an easy to read manga comic that talks about, in a conversational format, about the “narrator” and their particular monster cats. No, they are not cats who have monster personalities, but are actual monsters: vampires, invisible man (woman?) cat, a yeti, sirens, and even mimics and moving chests. To be read in the manga style, it took me a minute to remember how to read this genre and figure out how the extras worked (as it looked like the list at the end was actually introducing things, but wasn’t…)
But once I got into the groove of things, it was all good. A few pages will cover the story/introduction/that monster cat. They are short and made with a handful of simple panels that make up each section. Sometimes things are funny and silly, sometimes a bit more serious, but always light and meant to be entertaining. The details are minimalist, the colors felt a bit muted, but not lacking. It is what it is and that is all it is.
I was not jumping up and down saying “Best book ever” but I enjoyed it and want to find more volumes. This is meant for kids of most ages (nothing is inappropriate, but the concepts are not always 100% under aged 8-10 friendly) up to most adults. I would recommend reading it before giving it to a younger child just to make sure it is okay. There is no real action (more of a diary entry situation) making the action kid maybe not interested, but it works for kids who like cats and/or cryptids.