Review by Ian Keogh

Jean Bastide’s cover for Symphony in Buddy Major is designed to encapsulate the themes of the single page strips within. The title alone suggests music has a large role, and several strips have Billy learning to play the flute, while one features the entire family on instruments as per the cover. It also shows Buddy using his ears as supplemental hands, a joke introduced in the sample strip, and once conceived it recurs throughout.

As ever, Billy & Buddy features charming variations on the idea of the likeable kid and his pet dog for gentle humour, not manic activity, although Buddy can work himself into a bit of a sweat. One of the jokes is Buddy understanding a whole lot more than he lets on, preferring the easy life. While Billy and Buddy have always featured in separate strips as well as appearing alongside each other, Christoph Cazenove seems to find individual roles simpler for most of the book, and it’s only toward the end that the team predominates.

The drawing looks simple because Bastide follows strip creator Jean Roba’s principle of making good use of wide views and space, but there’s considerable skill in the composition of the friendly cast. There’s even a slight twinkle to the allegedly stern neighbour. Bastide’s especially good with uncontrollable hair, although for all the jokes about Buddy’s hair, he continues to be drawn with just a tuft on his head.

Billly & Buddy is set to the level of generating a smile rather than being laugh out loud funny, but it’s rare that Cazenove and Bastide drop below that quality line.