Advance Review: `Hairball’ #1 Will Creep Out Even Cat Lovers

In this world, there are two types of folks: dog people and cat people. If his latest series is any indication, Matt Kindt is a cat person.

Told in flashbacks during a series of visits to a therapist, the first issue of Hairball centers around Anna, and a black cat that her adopted parents take in the same day the girl arrives. Anna’s parents have their struggles. They’re both cheating on each other, and alcohol and violence are part of their everyday lives. Anna is quiet but takes refuge in her friendship with Bestie, the cat. She even lets Bestie bite her, which produces some worm-like creatures from the holes in Anna’s arms.

Anna’s dad isn’t too keen on the situation with the cat, nor of the hairball that ends up on his divorce papers. And Bestie clearly isn’t a big fan of dad either, gazing at him with a literal side eye. Anna, meanwhile seems caught in the middle. Is Bestie making life more miserable for her parents because of Anna, or was her role to create chaos from the beginning?

Those of the questions Kindt has readers asking as the first issue concludes. He’s going for creepy here, and he excels at it. Anna’s dispassionate sessions with her therapist contrast nicely with the crazy events at home – and make them all the more sensational. It’s a kind of psychological horror you don’t often find in comics.

Artist Tyler Jenkins, with colors by Hilary Jenkins, mixes the grounded and the surreal. Often the drawings are intentionally imprecise. Anna’s mom has a run in with Bestie in the bathtub. Mom’s formed form seems almost inhuman. Other times, particularly when depicting the cat, the detail and colors are almost too close to reality. The series of panels where Bestie is licking then biting Anna’s arm is deeply disturbing.

Kindt and the rest of the creative team seem to have another hit on their hands with Hairball. Dog lovers, beware!

Hairball #1 will be available for purchase on April 5, 2023.