Davenport Author-Illustrator Has New Pet Project in Book Series
In the criminal justice system, there are two typically sworn enemies who put aside their differences to solve curious misdeeds. The detectives’ names are Purrlock the cat and Marlowe the dog, and these are their stories.
The prolific Davenport author and illustrator Jason Platt launched his new graphic-novel series, “Paw & Order,” this past August with the first book, “The Grilled Cheese Caper,” and the second, “The Case of the Sleeping Artist,” will debut nationwide on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
It’s the latest in a new graphic-novel series following the adventures of cat and dog crime-solving duo Purrlock and Marlowe and their detective agency, Paw & Order. The series (with a third volume scheduled to be released in June 2026) is published by Papercutz with distribution by Simon & Schuster Distribution Services.
Purrlock and Marlowe at the Louvre art museum in Paris, summer 2024.
“I remember seeing my mom read Agatha Christie books when I was little. I was really intrigued by the cover art and by the idea of the detective solving the crime,” Platt said recently. “But those books were too big for me at the time. I’ve since read just about everything she’s written, so my love of the mystery genre stems from an early age. The thrill of the unknown, the challenge of piecing together clues, and the satisfaction of solving the puzzle have captivated me ever since.”
“I’ve always loved mysteries; it’s my go-to genre when I read, or watch TV,” the theater veteran and author/illustrator said in a Wednesday interview. “I’ve always wanted to do a mystery series of some sort.”
Platt is a graduate of The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a degree in illustration. In 2015, he was accepted by unanimous vote into the National Cartoonists Society, the world’s largest and most prestigious organization of professional cartoonists whose elected membership roster includes over 500 of the world’s major cartoonists working in many branches of the profession, including comic books, editorial cartoons, animation, webcomics and other online platforms, newspaper comic strips and panels, gag cartoons, greeting cards, advertising, magazine and book illustration. Platt also is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
In addition to “Paw & Order,” he is the author/illustrator of the award-winning middle-grade Middle School Misadventures series (2019-2022), including Middle School Misadventures, Middle School Misadventures: Operation Hat Heist, and Middle School Misadventures: Dance Disaster.
Jason Platt’s dog-and-cat detective duo, Purrlock and Marlowe, at the world-famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, summer 2024.
That series has been translated and published worldwide, including in Portugal, Israel, Poland, Amsterdam, Norway, Finland and Turkey.
Platt has been working on the new series since late 2023, and submitted the first book in August 2024. The last “Middle School Misadventures” book came out in 2022.
While he was doing “Middle School Misadventures,” the second two books (“Operation Hat Heist” and “Dance Disaster”) concerned mysteries. In the second, someone steals Newell’s hat, and the last one there’s a school dance that someone is trying to disrupt.
Platt was interested in constructing logic puzzles in his stories. “I really wanted to do something with animals this time, and I thought it’d be funny to have a cat and dog mystery-solving team,” he said. “A little bit of Scooby Doo in that aspect, but everybody’s an animal.”
In the first book, “The Grilled Cheese Caper,” Purrlock and Marlowe go to a grilled cheese festival to find that all the sandwiches were stolen. They look at the crime scene, the clues, and interview suspects, and (just like in classic Agatha Christie), they get everybody in a room and reveal what actually happened.
The cover of the new “Paw & Order Vol. 2: The Case of the Sleeping Artist.”
That first detective graphic novel has been described as “A quick, bright tale with a fun, interactive investigation for young readers,” according to the online book review site Kirkus Reviews with a “Get it” verdict.
Each “Paw & Order” book gives the young readers (targeted to ages 6-10) something to solve, and characters occasionally break the fourth wall, to speak directly to the reader.
“I wanted to make this series really interactive like a logic puzzle, so readers get multiple chances to carefully review the clues with our main characters before turning the page to solve the mystery,” explained Platt. “This way they can go back and look at a suspect in-depth and perhaps identify a new detail they may not have considered the first time they characters interacted.”
“Middle School Misadventures” were still aimed at elementary-grade kids, but a little higher level.
“When you’re a kid, you’re wanting to read the next step up,” Platt said. “Kids in elementary school don’t want to read about elementary grades; they want to read about middle school. When you’re in middle grades, you don’t want to read about middle grades. You want to read about high schoolers.”
The cover of the first “Paw & Order” graphic novel, “The Grilled Cheese Caper.”
“Paw & Order” is at that sweet spot, since its characters aren’t a specific age, he said, and can be more universally appreciated.
In Paw & Order Vol. 2, Purrlock and Marlowe have been invited to Paris by Marlowe’s Aunt Foo Foo to see the unveiling of M. Henri Porcupine’s painting. It’s his first painting in ten years and highly anticipated. But, when the detectives arrive, they find out that the painting has been stolen only moments after its reveal!
To make matters worse, Marlowe’s Aunt Foo Foo has been arrested for the crime. But if it wasn’t Aunt Foo Foo, then who? The only other suspect is Hugh Manatee, M. Henri’s artistic rival. And what exactly did M. Canard, the arts reporter for the newspaper, see and hear the night of the theft?
Reflecting recent news by chance
The second book – “The Case of the Sleeping Artist” — is coincidentally perfectly timed, to recent news events, since Platt set it at an unnamed Paris museum. In real life on Oct. 19, four thieves broke into the Louvre art museum in Paris and made off with royal jewels (valued at $102 million) once worn by France’s queens and empresses.
“They go to Paris and there’s a theft at a museum,” Platt said of his detectives. Marlowe’s Aunt Foo Foo is the artist’s benefactor in Paris. The painting was stolen right after it was revealed, and Aunt Foo Foo was arrested as the main suspect.
The author-illustrator sold his concept as a three-book deal. For the first book, he finished the full script – 10 pages were illustrated in pencil, five of those were inked, and a few of those in color.
Jason Platt of Davenport is the author/illustrator of five published books.
“Then they’ll get an idea of what the whole package will look like,” Platt said of the publisher. It was up to Papercutz how many books to order; he knew it would be a three-book deal from the start. He submitted the second 88-page book this past March.
Platt is kind of unusual in the industry for doing both the writing and illustration; some publishers hire a separate artist for the pictures.
“What I love about doing for kids, I love chapters, because whenever a kid gets done with a chapter, they feel accomplished,” he said, noting the “Paw & Order” books average about 10 pages a chapter.
The cat Purrlock is named after the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, and the dog Marlowe recalls famed detective Philip Marlowe (created by Raymond Chandler). Purrlock is more an excitable character, and (similar to the actual Sherlock) his arch-nemesis is named Meowiarty, a big, menacing tiger. Aunt Foo Foo is a French poodle.
Marlowe is more even-keeled and mellow, Platt said. “He kind of keeps Purrlock in line.” Unlike Holmes and Watson, his detectives are equals and true partners.
Research in Paris
Platt and his wife Erin took a vacation to Paris in summer 2024, where he researched some settings for the book. Jason was penciling the book at the time, studying the architecture.
“There’s a shot in the second book with Marlowe walking on the street, and being there, I could see traffic, what the city life was like,” he said. “Actually experiencing that helped with the book. I changed a lot after I got back.”
One place they also visited was the main police station. “Aunt Foo Foo has been arrested, and she’s at the police station. There’s a scene there of her leaving the police station,” Platt said, noting he wanted it to look accurate. “It was a perfect example of looking at my reference photos to change my pencils. It was amazing.”
Purrlock’s arch-nemesis Meowiarty.
The first two books have already been sold in Turkey, to be translated. It would be ideal if the Paris book was translated into French, Platt said.
Hugh Manatee (another play on words, “humanity”) is Henri’s artistic rival. “They push each other for better,” Platt said.
He’s already turned in his third book, Paw & Order Vol.3: The Night of the Comet, which will come out in June 2026. It’s about a turtle scientist, Dr. Tortuga, and she’s going to a discover a new comet coming into our solar system. The night of the comet, she’s riding her bike to the observatory, and she falls off the bike, breaking every bone.
“It comes to the question of, did someone mess with her bike on purpose?” Platt said. “Purrlock and Marlowe are hired by none other than Meowiarty, who owns the observatory, to figure out what happened.”
He’s only contracted for three books, but he’s exploring ideas for more, and it’s up to Papercutz whether to pursue them.
“The main thing for me is the characters, Purrlock and Marlowe,” Platt said. “I always want to make sure the characters are engaging enough, so the kids are like, ‘What are they gonna do now?’ Or like, ‘That’s Purrlock.’”
“I want to entertain kids with my books, of course, but I also when I do a school visit, I want to inspire them,” he said. “I show them artwork of what I drew when I was seven years old. I didn’t start at here; I had to work to get here. And I do drawing demos for them.”
The new 88-page full-color book is available for pre-order in both paperback and hardcover through various retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Hudson Booksellers, Target and Walmart. For more information, visit the Papercutz website.
For more information on Platt, click HERE.
