black-and-white, full-sized comic book, 24 pages, $2.50.
I keep wanting to equate these 4-panel comic strips with Scott Adams'
Dilbert, but it's difficult. Office politics and cynicism are both on
display here, but Tony isn't defined by his occupation like Dilbert is, and
his innocence is refreshing, while Dilbert's detached resignation from
sanity, although still pretty funny, seems a bit stale after all these
years. But the incorrectly named strip, collected here in large form (these
aren't the microscopic panels crammed into a few pages between the personals and the car dealer advertisements, these are full-page strips, two panels on top of two panels for the most part), shows Jamie Cosley's solid grasp of the medium. It takes about half the book until he devolves into mildly
scatological humor (his final strip is especially prescient), and even then
the collection doesn't spiral downward so much as dip at points. Cosley
truly does know how to deliver the goods, with the only "dead space" being
the cover, and even that is awful purty (the uncredited design talents of
trusty sidekick, I mean, 'frequent collaborator', Josh Alves on display).
Cosley gives inside-front-cover and inside-back-cover one-panels both with
good gags and a back cover color strip. Nothing but comedy.
All that having been said (or written), this is not an evangelistic attempt
by any stretch of the imagination. The main body of the book touches on
biblical themes a few times but never to get a message through to any
supposed audience, just to add a spiritual dimension to our equine
protagonist. The one-panels brush the subject once again each, but Jack
Chick this ain't. Cosley sticks to what he knows best, which is 'funny with
a touch of the pre-adolescent', but the strip works best when he sticks to
defining the cast's quirks, and the visuals for each character work very
well, keeping within his well-established forte. Those enjoying the
art-style but wanting a more serious and/or overtly Christian story need
look no further than Cosley's own More Than Sparrows, which personally comes with a high recommend. But suffice it to say that somebody must like Tony Pony, or else Nobody Likes Tony Pony would never have seen the
light of day.
Review by Steve MacDonald
jamiecosley.blogspot.com/
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