A day in the life of mischievous 7 year old boy who goes on a quest to find his missing report card. Set in the 1970’s it takes place in a resettlement camp and Kowloon walled city. It was interesting learning about this time and place, the only time I ever heard of Kowloon was Kowloon Generic Romance. This is raged as ages 10+, but there are mentions of gambling, and drug use.

The book had a fun, lighthearted vibe and the art style was nice. However, the book made light of the main character’s mother hitting him a couple of times, and that made me uncomfortable.

This manga is so cute and whimsical.

In Cat Mask Boy, we follow Tiger - a 7-year-old boy who always wears a mask with a cat face. He hates school and prefers playing and pretending to be a superhero. He loses his report card and has to venture into the dangerous Walled City to get it back. Thankfully, he meets another Cat Mask Boy, Dragon, who lives there and can show him around.

Firstly, I love the art style here, especially the character design of the Cat Boys. Some people are drawn a little funky, but it works really well, it feels like we're seeing it through child's eyes. And the colours are amazing. The whole comic book uses only a few colours, but it makes it look even more interesting.

The story is fun, and very child-like. I'm not sure what message it passes to the readers, but I still had enjoyed reading it.

at first glance cat mask boy is a silly, playful comic about a boy, tiger, having trouble in school and wanting to be a hero.

i personally love the art style and color scheme. it feels alive and is full of movement and variations of perspectives.
to me it’s drastically more aesthetically pleasing than story construction and dialogue wise.

it has the energy and character age focus of something for children but there are inappropriate moments scattered throughout, so i’m not sure who the intended audience actually is.
for example there is mention and graphic portrayal of people being hit and threatened and not just by bad guys but tiger’s mother as well. i didn’t like the portrayal of her at all. the only things she did was hit tiger and tell him he had to level up in school.

also the allusion to predatory behavior from adult men felt unnecessary.
in my opinion authors generally shouldn’t include rape-y subtext or violent depictions if it doesn’t serve the narrative in a meaningful way. don’t simply be weird for shock value or whatever.
and i’m saying this as a person who’s interested in consuming and producing media with dark topics.

the plot and stakes were sort of nonexistent. there was no promise, progress, payoff working together to create satisfaction for the reader.

i think this comic has potential. with clearer goals that are more strongly delivered upon and some of the meandering scenes and strange characterization optimized it would be a really fun read. if that was the case i’d try another work by this author/illustrator.

I really liked the main character, both in terms of character design and his personality, as well as the scenario in which the story takes place. However, I found everything else a bit too plain, from the dialogue construction to the art style and the way the short scenes were connected. Anyway, in a way it is entertaining, and I thought the ending was adorable. Thanks to Netgalley and Nakama Press for the ARC!

Cat Mask Boy is perhaps manhua? It's set in the 1970s and in Hong Kong, which is super great. The main character is Tiger, a boy with a cat mask, since he wants to be a superhero of sorts. He's not so good at school and ends up losing his report card in the lawless Kowloon Walled City and gets help from a boy named Dragon. He too has a cat mask. I enjoyed the time and space a lot! Tiger is such a normal weirdo kid and it was so much fun to see him being idiotic. The societal background too was interesting as I know nothing of Hong Kong at that time. The aloofness, strange depth and the atmosphere were wonderful and fit the story very well.

The art looks great and it works nicely with the story line. The story is heavy and light at the same time. It takes time to see the beauty of it all - you need a keen eye to see what is behind this. I'm glad stories like this are told, since a realistic childhood with cultural spices is so wonderful. I love actual child's perspective and this one nailed it!

The art was quite whimsy and funky and added to the overall mood of the story. I was a bit excited about reading this in the beginning but it quickly trickled down to indifference further into the book. What I think happened here is the translation coinciding with the fact that this is written to be from a kid's perspective. The simplistic nature of the language and dialogue appropriate to the age, translated into English, came off a bit clanky and awkward.

I can see why this book is the way it is; on some days, it might come off as whimsical. But it was not today.

Thank you to Nakama Press and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cat Mask Boy is a coming of age story about a kid named "Tiger," an aspiring superhero whose most pressing foe is his grades. After losing his report card, he tracks it down to the infamous Kowloon Walled City, meeting friends and foes along the way.

Linus Liu does a great job of making us want to root for Tiger, who is just trying his best to stay out of trouble and help his friends. He has that sort of shounen protagonist charisma (think Naruto) that people can't help but love. I thought the character designs were good, and the sepia skies color palette achieved a retro look. (Definitely want a cat mask of my own!)

For most people, this is probably their first introduction to the Walled City (a very real place), and while Tiger doesn't know the history, I think the reader could have benefited from a short informational blurb at the end. This would have grounded the story in reality, provided some needed historical context, and allowed for an educational moment for young readers.

Overall, I enjoyed this, and I am curious to see what Linus Liu does in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, Mad Cave Studios, Nakama Press, and Linus Liu for the ARC!

Cat Mask Boy is about a 7 year old boy named Tiger who's not doing well in second grade, while being at his cousin's house he loses his report card because it accidentally fell into a man's bag and he has to go on a dangerous adventure to get his report card back.

Personally i liked the art style and the simplistic color choices, however im not sure about the age demographic for this grapphic novel? The style and start of the story feel more childlike while it later turns darker with talk about drugs and gambling.

all together it was a decent enjoyable story!




Thanks so much to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tiger is just like any other ordinary 7-year-old, wants to focus on fun rather than schoolwork. He also thinks it’s a neat idea (which it is) to wear a cat mask and be a sort of superhero. Its all fun and games until he accidentally loses his report card, must follow the old man that supposedly has it, and trace him to another city entirely. He runs into all kinds of hijinks and meets a new friend, Rocky! This would be a definite read for my nephew who really loves cats!

#ThxNetGalley #LinusLiu #CatMaskBoy

We follow a boy in a cat mask called “Tiger”. He isn’t doing too well in school and has dreams of becoming a superhero. When he gets his report card, he’s moved up from last place to third from last, he’s proud, and he has to get his mom to sign it. He loses it on the way home and has to get it back, searching through the “rough” area of town, he finds another boy with the same dreams.

It has a simple but charming art style that really matches with the story it is portraying. Probably more suited towards a young audience.

Thank you Net Galley and Mad Cave Studios for the eARC.

Cat Mask Boy follows the adventures of a boy, who wears a cat mask, as he searches for his lost report card. I found the story to be a bit forgettable and meandering. The art style and use of color was fantastic though!

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this graphic novel.

It was not a bad read about a young lad who wanted to play superhero instead of studying in a poor area located in China. Now it’s not deep but just a simple enough “child’s play” kind of story.

Sadly, this comic was not for me. I didn't really understood nor care about the motive behind wearing cat masks. I also didn't really understood why the report card was so important as to go into Kowloon City just to get it?

I did enjoy the talks between Tiger and Dragon and while it is sad what Dragon has had to (implied) gone through living in Kowloon, the comic did say some nice things, like the fact that knowledge doesn't come from report cards and studying, but from experiencing life. Especially since asian countries seem so focused on studying for hours and hours I think it is a nice message.

Cat Mask Boy is about a boy name Tiger who is constantly in trouble. He wears a cat head everywhere to pretend he is really a superhero. At school, he doesn't do his work, and when he receives his report card, it is not good. But on the way home, he loses it, and it ends up in the nearby Kowloon Walled City. He travels there to get it back, and runs into another kid his age. Together, they search for his report card, and easily find trouble in this dangerous area.
This book is probably best for the 8-14 year old boy who loves manga and trouble.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the eARC copy ! 🙂‍↕️✨

It started off light-heartedly but as the story progress, it dwells with dark, heavy topics that made my heart aches and worries for Tiger’s safety ! The art style suits me, albeit with minimal colouring, it had still make an impact. The plot does feel a bit rushed and on a cliffhanger, like the mystery of Dragon’s whereabouts at the later part. Could have been better imo, but still a wonderful read !

“I don’t know for sure if I’d go astray if I don’t get good grades. What I do know is that my ass’ll get beaten if I get bad grades.”

The story follow little vignettes of a boy named Tiger who isn't doing well in school, has an ambition to become a superhero- the cat masked boy while his peers aim to become doctors or police officers. The story is set in 1970 in Hongkong where there is a lawless Kowloon Walled city, and Tiger somehow ends up there to find his lost report card without his mom knowing.
I'm kinda torn about this manga as I can see that the author really tried to include a lot of impactful topics despite the mundane life of 'tiger' a high school kid, but I felt like the vignettes were quite distorted and didn't quite work together somehow. While the pacing was fine, the dialogue was unfortunately really a case of bad writing and that may have been the reason to be why I felt absolutely nothing after reading the book.
While I love the art style, unfortunately, this book is not for me. Maybe the manga gets better as it goes on but based on this volume alone, I could not appreciate it.
Nonetheless, I want to thank #NetGalley and #Mad Cave Studios for a free copy. I wish #Linus Liu good luck!

A whimsical story set in 1970s Hong Kong with soft, charming art about a boy wanting to prove to his mom that he’s doing better in school, going from last place in class to third from last. And he’s so proud of it! He doesn’t care that others might mock him for still having low scores because he knows he’s improving, that he’s doing better and it makes him happy. He’s optimistic, cheerful, brave and foolish in equal measure and finds a kindred spirit in Dragon — another boy wearing a cat mask in the walled city of Kowloon which … yes, has its dark alleys and dangerous areas, but is also a place where a variety of people live, where people care for their neighbors, raise their children, and do their best.

This is cute, and fun, and I think this would be a great book for younger readers. (Though some parents might not be fans of the literal bathroom humor, or a toddler not wanting to wear clothes; these are universal childhood moments.) Anyhow, thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me have an ARC!

This may just not be the graphic novel for me. We follow a boy with a cat mask on called "Tiger" who gets bad grades and has to get his report card signed by his mom. But he loses it on the way home and ends up searching the "rough" part of town to get it back.

I found the story to be really disjointed, the dialogue super simplistic, and I'm not really sure who the target audience is. Because it's written so simplistically, you'd think it would be good for kids, but there were a lot of heavy topics discussed such as drug and gambling dens. I didn't enjoy it as an adult, and I'm usually super down to try books out of my age range, but I'm just confused what age this is written for. Maybe something was lost in translation? The art style was not my favorite, but it was clear what was happening. The artist used 4 drab/dull colors for every panel, which worked fine, but was unexciting. There wasn't much character depth or world building - I don't really know why the kid wore a cat mask, or why the other 2 kids he befriended wore cat masks.

While this didn't work for me, I'd say give it a try if the story sounds intriguing; it's a standalone and takes maybe 3o minutes tops to read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.