Alias the Cat!

Alias the Cat is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Kim Deitch, published by Pantheon Books in 2007. It originally appeared as a three-issue comic book in 2002 as The Stuff of Dreams from Fantagraphics Books.

Alias the Cat!
Cover of the hardcover first edition of Alias the Cat from Pantheon
Date	2007
Page count	136 pages
Publisher	Pantheon Books
Creative team
Creator	Kim Deitch
Original publication
Published in	The Stuff of Dreams
Issues	3
Date of publication	2002
ISBN	978-0-375-42431-1

The metafictional book stars Deitch himself and his best-known creation, Waldo the Cat. It's about a character named Alias the Cat who appeared in 1915 in a comic strip and a serial film, as well as in real life as a freedom-fighting superhero, but who mysteriously disappears. As Deitch researches the character, the story keeps getting more and more involved.

Synopsis

"Concerns my wife's big flea market passion, old stuffed cat toys"

Stuff of Dreams: Part 1

So one day, Pam and Kim take a trip to the flea market, discovering of a precious collectable black cat toy. The owner, known as Keller, suggests going to the bar to discuss prices, though instead begins his story of how he came into possession of the toy. Shifting to Keller as the narrator, Keller introduces Frankie, a fellow seaman who was the original owner of the toy. The story shifts narrators again to Frankie's point of view, describing how he was shipwrecked on a paradisaical island until Waldo appears. The island inhabitants worship Waldo, making toys of his likeness, until inhabitants rebel against Waldo's cruelty and a volcano destroys the island. The story continues to shift perspectives until Keller is ultimately gifted a Waldo toy leading to Kim, Pam, and Keller sitting in the bar together in the present. Kim and Pam return home to discuss the validity of Keller's story. The story ends by Kim and Pam breaking the fourth wall and asking the audience if they have seen Waldo or a Waldo doll and if they'll deliver the toy to Pam.

Stuff of Dreams: Part 2

Following Pam's expansive collection of black cat paraphernalia, Pam finds an ill-kept cat costume for sale with unknown origins. The rest of the book follows Kim and Pam researching Alias the Cat, the costume being from a 1915 feature film.

Stuff of Dreams: Part 3 No Midgets in Midgetville

Kim encounters Waldo the Cat.

Characters

Kim Deitch

The cartoonist metafictionally appears himself as a character in the story. The opening portions of the book have the flavor of Harvey Pekar's autobiographical American Splendor, as Deitch details aspects of his and his wife's lives in a seemingly autobiographical manner.

Pam Butler

Deitch's wife and obsessive collector of cartoon cats of the 1920s and 1930s.

Waldo

Deitch's best-known recurring character, a talking cartoon cat whom most people cannot see.

Publishing history

Originally Alias was published as a three-issue series of comics, called The Stuff of Dreams, published by Fantagraphics Books in 2002, 2004, and 2005. It was collected by Pantheon Books in hardcover form in 2007.

Reception

When serialized as The Stuff of Dreams, the story won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue or One-Shot in 2003.

Greg McEllhatton called Alias the Cat! one of the stronger pieces of metafiction he'd seen in comics.

See also

• The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

External links

• Product page at Random House's website