Looney Tunes meets Luis Buñuel in this graphic novel debut. Petey and Pussy, John Kerschbaum's debut graphic novel, reads very much like a Loony Tunes cartoon - if all of the anthropomorphic animals were kvetching, balding, foul-mouthed misanthropes. Each character is articulate, but still recognizably have the traits associated with their respective species: Petey, the dog, is happy-go-lucky; Pussy, the cat, is self-centered; and Bernie, the bird, is high-strung. Together, they are the pets of an oblivious, repugnant old lady. The trio engages in slapstick adventures that are simultaneously given an edge and made hilarious by a twisted combination of mundane realism and insouciant gross-out humor. Kerschbaum cheerfully includes all the blood and guts that are left out of the cartoons, and lovingly renders his motley crew in a densely textured urban setting.