December 12, 2005

Nothing for everyone

That little epiphany occurs to Mooch the cat, who wants to show his best friend, Earl the dog, how much his friendship means. Mooch ponders why his people grouse about nothing on TV, nothing to do, nothing in the stores. But everywhere he looks, "nothing was not for sale."

McDonnell fans will recognize the characters from his Mutts comic, drawn in quick, black penstrokes with a dash of Christmasy red. He manages to be both mushy and funny, sweet and disarming, and while you can more or less sense where the story's headed, there's a surprise on every page.

This simple fable about the gift of friendship, while technically non-denominational, might go far to appease those thin-skinned types screaming about the True Meaning of Christmas. Or at least it might get them to lighten up a bit.