Portly & Mutt - Chimney Potty

Summary

Portly and Mutt.
The Laurel and Hardy of the Pet World?

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy gave pleasure to millions in their on-screen guise as bumptious, over-bearing fat man and his skinny, long-suffering, slightly dim sidekick.

The tale is given an added twist in the case of Portly and Mutt by the fact that the larger half of the partnership is a cat and the put-upon half, a dog.

Thus the normal dog-cat relationship is reversed to humorous effect, and, a little like Captain Manwearing in 'Dad's Army' the self-important cat often receives his come-uppance, albeit inadvertently, from the Sergeant Wilson-like Mutt.

Although usually at odds, like Laurel and Hardy, the two are inseparable and, in reality, rather dependent on one another. They get into a series of scrapes - usually of Portly's devising - and Mutt usually acts to achieve the denouement, however unlikely.

The stories are set in Brighton, but are not dependent on location. In my experience, a real setting enhances the believability of the story - and may prove to be advantageous later in merchandising terms.

Graham Butler - an illustrator of 26 years standing, has drawn the six illustrations and the Portly & Mutt logo. These are just a representative sample of the pictures in the book. Another half dozen will be needed.