Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc. for this E-arc!

The Cat from the Kimono is a imaginative adult fairytale that starts off with a woman and her cat kimono. One of the cats escapes the kimono and we follow it as it ventures to different areas of London. I think this story is an interesting combination of fiction and horror but I felt the stories were a bit jumbled and lacked cohesion. The set up was good but I felt the stories of the cat in London were a bit random and didn't help with the overall narrative . If you like gothic fiction regardless of the plot, this story will be for you.

The Cat From the Kimono immediately grabbed my attention with its beautiful art and subject matter. I am a huge fan of cat comics so I was excited to dive into this. This was ultimately an odd mixture of fairytale and folklore about a cat pattern kimono with an escape artist cat among it. It becomes a real cat that travels around a meets an array of people while it tries to find its home - the missing kimono. I did enjoy how it all wrapped up but I found several of the stories to be lost among the narrative.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this creative tale inspired by Japanese folktales about the adventures of a black cat who escaped from a kimono. The black and white illustrations made this story more intriguing to follow. All in all, I liked this book a lot and I'm happy that I discovered the art of Nancy Pena that I've never read her works before this graphic novel.

The Cat from the Kimono by Nancy Peña is a gothic, surreal, amalgamation of fairy tales told around the story of a Japanese lady wearing a kimono of cats. We end up following the cat as it escapes the kimono, journeys around the world meeting popular characters like Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland.

I absolutely loved the art style - eerie and creepy and very Laika studios Coraline-esque. The contents of the novel are outerwordly and dark and I'm honestly not too sure if it made sense as a whole but I enjoyed flipping through the pages. I truly loved all the scenes with the kimono but the cat's journey through the world felt disjointed and confusing.

Also the ending edged into what felt like a scene in Haunting Adeline and that was just very strange to me....

Thank you to Humanoids, Inc. and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book needs much more than five stars.
This was superb, beautiful and wonderful.

The story grew into the visual through the illustrations, which with their simplicity in color bring strength through contrasts. And each illustration and drawing alone is beautiful.
I loved following the cat and getting to know the characters he met throughout the adventures he goes through.

I really loved the book, from the graphic style to the melodious words.
Reading this book was a fantastic experience.
Something that filled my heart and soul.

This book is cute, dark, & whimsical. It's definitely for adults (or teens, in my opinion). I didn't read the description so I was surprised & delighted to see bits of classic literature that I'm familiar with. I love the Japanese tale & art style.

The Cat from the Kimono is a surreal fantasy that takes several surprising turns and tangents along its way. It contains two distinct styles of illustrations and lettering: traditional Japanese and European. The transition between them is pretty abrupt and probably meant to disturb your flow of reading. The plot is confusing for the first time, and a second reading can be more rewarding, as you may find a lot that you missed during your first perusal. It takes hardly an hour to read it anyway.

While I enjoyed the premise of this story, I don't think it was well thought-out. While the idea of having a cat wander through a historically fictional story, with characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Watson involved, the story itself didn't hold up. I think it would've been best to either stick with the legends to which Peña was referring and having a straight line with that storyline. I loved the artwork of the cats, though.

Most certainly not for the age demographic of my library, but I certainly enjoyed The Cat from the Kimono. I had never seen anything by Nancy Pena before, and the artwork here is actually like how I'd imagine if Tim Burton directed a Studio Ghibli film. I liked all the clever nods to the fantastical London-based stories, while explaining how tales from Japan made it over to Europe. Very original and I've already recommended to a few friends teaching a East Asian Studies class next semester. There's surprisingly some well thought out history here and I got a few head nods going as I read.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC. The above is my honest opinion.

I liked the art style well enough, the mix of like more traditional Japanese art styles with something closer to Edward Gorey's style was an interesting way of delineating the setting's location. That being said, I really did not enjoy this book, it was a much different story than I was expecting, and was so confusing I didn't really understand what the point was. I don't think the narrative should've ever left Japan, taking it out of that setting and into England was very jarring and weird. The inclusion of Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland were similarly weird, I know the summary calls this surreal but it was more just baffling instead. There's no explanation of what's going on, either than what I think is an exposition telling the legend of the kimono cat while the comic shows the real (?) story. I just didn't understand what the author was going for with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc. for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.


My journey with 'The Cat from the Kimono' started well... but the end was abrupt and not satisfying. At all. The story based on Japanese folklore promised to make readers fall in love with quite a bizarre twist on a legend. Why did I not love this graphic novel?


-what is it about-
Love does not choose. However, a young woman's fate changed when the finest Japanese weaver took notice of her beauty. A crimson kimono with black cats was his confession of love to her. When she decides she loves the cats more, the weaver tricks her and separates her from the kimono. Now, the cats need to find a way to become together again while they travel through London, voyages and unexpected encounters.


-what I loved?-

→ I completely loved how the Japanese legend carried the whole storyline. I am devastated that Nancy Pena could not hold the vibe and tone of it for the entire graphic novel. It would become better that way! The art in that part was also more pleasing - I believe it was linked to Japanese art and culture!
→The Japanese folklore. I adore authors who try to include the culture and traditions of different countries to mix them with their ideas for creative stories.



-what did I not love?-

→ Creation of characters. I could not understand what aims led to their behaviour. So sad.
→ The storyline that happened in between the Japanese kimono folktale. I wonder why Nancy Pena decided to change the style of illustrations. The bland way of presenting the events (especially in England) was why my will to continue the journey with this graphic novel suddenly decreased.
→ Chaotic narration. Including multiple characters (like Sherlock Holmes, for example) did not help with plot development. I felt like the usage of some themes and their aims changed throughout the graphic novel led to nothing.

rating: 2/5 ✮✮
genre: adult graphic novel, fantasy
themes: love, dark tone, Japanese folklore

Thank you, NetGalley and Humanoids, Inc., for the chance to read and review The Cat From the Kimono by Nancy Peña.

"The Cat From the Kimono" is a mesmerizing graphic novel that weaves a surreal tale of beauty and adventure. It's also a compelling tale about how love pulls us home when our adventures are done. Nancy Peña, renowned for her unique artistic style, takes readers on a visually stunning journey through a fantastical world that is both whimsical and deeply moving.

The story begins in Japan, where a young woman, the daughter of a silk mill owner, possesses a profound affection for her crimson kimono adorned with soft, purring black cats. However, when the weaver's love for the maiden goes unreciprocated, jealousy and dark intentions lead to the woman's demise and the escape of one of the black cats.

What follows is an adventure that takes the black cat on an extraordinary journey across the world. The cat's path often intersects with Sherlock Holmes and Alice (you know whom I'm talking about), adding a delightful twist to the narrative. As the cat becomes a figure of folklore and legend, readers are transported into a world where the line between reality and imagination blurs, much like the intricate patterns of a kimono.

This is not to say that the book isn't dark; it really is. And one should really be sure to read the trigger warnings before getting into it, especially when it comes to the drug use. Sherlock Holmes uses cocaine quite openly in the book, and Watson has to forcibly stop him when he hallucinates (which may just be the cat messing with him) that the cat is changing shape and smiling at him. Alice eats a mushroom and goes on an adventure with the cat with her neck becoming long and thin, quite like that of a snake. There is also a small allusion to the tale of the Prophet Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale (although the cats response to this is its own).

The graphic novel is one worth reading and collecting. In an age where I've personally become a bit bored of really ugly or HD graphic novels, this one was a welcome change. At 105 pages it's also quite a short read, that can serve as a welcome break from the drudgery of life.

One day, a cat escapes from his mistress's kimono, chasing a bird (or maybe a fish) painted by the man who wishes to have the girl's heart. The cat ranges all over the world, meeting characters from art and legend, but finally, he realizes he wants to be with his brethren in the kimono. So he journeys some more and unknowingly changes the course of more than a few human lives.

TW for drugs, nudity, suggestive content, death, kidnapping, and gambling. This isn't a comic book for kids, nor is it a modern fairy tale. If anything, it's like the old fairy tales where everyone dies at the end, but The Cat from the Kimono has a more satisfying ending. It's told in a series of short vignettes that are loosely related and find their ways to one another in the end. Some of the scenes are definitely inspired by drug use, and there are some shocking moments of death and passion. I wasn't a huge fan of the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, but I enjoyed piecing together the various references to art and literature. The art style ranged from silky to something a bit like Edward Gorey. It's a bit of a tangle, and I think I'll enjoy reading it again just to see what I might have missed the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

A Japanese story that feels like a fairytale of a cat. Following the story of a beautiful woman who captivated the heart of a weaver and created a beautiful silk kimono with cats on it for her. But when the woman showered all her love on the kimono she bought and paid no heed to the weaver's advances, it simmered him with rage. Driven by anger he created another kimono to chase those cats away to upset the women. Guess what? One of the cats did escape and then began the journey of this cat.

The plot was interesting but the transition in the story wasn't managed well. After the brief introduction, the story follows the cat's journey, so it would have felt smoother if they showed a transition page in the story rather than just a black page. Other than that the cat does appear to have some additional powers, which were definitely funny (with the elevated neck things). What I did like, was that the story was left open-ended for the reader to think about and drive to their own conclusions.

Thank you @netgalley @nancypenadessine @humanoidsinc for the ebook.

Genre: #japanease #folklore #graphicnovel

umm.. that was weird!!!! 🥴
The first few pages were DARK so i thought the whole book was going to be like that but the rest of the story was very peculiar and the same goes for the illustrations! In short, this book didn’t work for me!!

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the copy!!!

A story intertwining love and folklore. The Cat From the Kimono takes you on a surreal journey. Full of toxic characters and a lonely cat.

The Cat from the Kimono
By Nancy Pena
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy for an honest review.
'The Cat from the Kimon' I found a little surreal to read, the art was nice but I didn't really enjoy the story.
Rating: 2 Stars

Distinctive, eccentric, thought provoking with phenomenal illustrations, I love everything about this imaginary ADULT tale! Fans of Lewis Carroll will surely love this book!

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review "The Cat from the Kimono” prior to publication. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

I’m not entirely sure what I’ve just read, to be honest… It’s starts off and closes with a beautifully rendered Japanese legend, executed with a lovely art in keeping with Classical Japanese ink paintings, and for the most part veers into a mashup of Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland and iconic Parisian le Chat Noir, all of it generously on drugs. Literally and on the page as well. ??? I also would have preferred to spend more page time with art influenced by Japan than depressing engravings on 19th century England - which I feel is a reasonable expectation, given the cover art. But oh well. It’s a case of a mismatch between the book and my expectations.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advance copy of #TheCatfromtheKimono

I have received a digital copy of this Graphic Novel ARC, in exchange for an honest review, Thanks Nancy Pena and Humanoids so much for this opportunity.

This will come out 31 October of 2023, Tune in for a Surreal journey through a legend of ancient Japan, mixed in with literature figures like Sherlock Holmes, and Alice!

For me The Idea and the original legend itself are just fabulous, the way it was done? not so much!
It's really one of the few times i am ever conflicted on a rating, was this the full potential of this tale?
Or was this a bitter sweet outcome?
Did we win? or Did we miss out that it didn't go a different way?

The Legend of the cats on the Kimono is just awesome i love it, i keep calling it legend, it might be just a folks tale or something, but you get the idea.

The way Nancy expanded on that legend was amazing, Did you ever see an open ending to a famous tale and think like, okay what happened after?
Nancy didn't think she made up a tale for our amusement of what happened to the cat after she left the kimono of her mistress, and it was really a great success on so many place, the lack of cohesion between the tales at the start, was just a little off putting, but they do come together full circle in the end, but not in the most poetic of ways i am afraid!

The Art was just amazing, I loved Nancy's style so much, i loved the Kimono's she drew so much, i want one of these in my life!

Overall rating 3.5/5 because this is one of the rare cases where i couldn't decide 3 or 4?!