If you never really got Green Wing, don’t read the graphic novel Fluffy by artist Simone Lia. You won’t be taken with the left-field daftness of the style and might complain about the lack of conventional plot, just as the flake of dandruff does in the epilogue (told you it was daft). However, those who revel in quirkiness and relish the freshness of unconventional genres in storytelling will applaud Fluffy as more compelling and original than much new literature currently on the scene.

Single parent and working-from-home architect Michael is depressed, struggling to cope with the demands of parenthood and in an unhappy relationship with an obsessive nursery-school teacher. So far, so familiar territory. Except middle-class Michael’s ‘child’ is a small, genderless rabbit called Fluffy; it’s Fluffy’s teacher who Michael is too weak to stop bonking, and narration of the tale is intermittently taken over by two warring guest narrators: a dust particle and the unimaginative flake of dandruff. Weird, but remember: this is a graphic novel, which, to re-educate those of you with scummy minds, isn’t a porn cartoon book but a comic for grown-ups (we’ll leave the word ‘adult’ alone). The graphic novel allows for impish intersection between style and subject matter, which results in a book both poignant and playful.

Actually, the opening scenes proved initially too overwhelming for me; where I should have been crying tears of laughter, I just cried. Put this down to over-sentimentality about cute animals and memories of childhood rabbits which insisted on copping it with monotonous regularity.  Fluffy certainly has the most expressive ears of any two-dimensional wabbit. The tuneless musical interlude having brought me to my senses, it soon becomes clear that Michael is a bit of a bad daddy. The telling behavioural details of neglectful parents and neglected offspring are wonderfully realised; Fluffy swings from the light-bulb with joyful abandon, ripping library books to pieces, dressing up in loo roll and painting on kitchen units with enthusiasm, while Michael offers the odd ‘no’ and ignores the mountain of emails from his teacher-stalker. His abrupt interjections of ‘Fluffy, I’m not your real daddy’ and ‘You’re a bunny’ result in irate denials and small indignant piles of rabbit poo from the perky toddler. Potty training is clearly another thing Michael hasn’t got round to.

It would be easy to rabbit on about the myriad enjoyable episodes in Fluffy and easy to give out too much of the story; there’s so much to relish. The baby bunny joins a history of cartoon rabbits – Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit spring to mind – except this is the first 2-D rabbit to have such an individual family set-up, Jessica Rabbit notwithstanding. And if you’re wondering, bunny boiling does get a mention but not a practical demonstration, although there is an incident with a German girl who’s scarily fond of animals. The perfect belated Easter present, and far better for the figure than an egg, plus no one will have to clean the hutch out.

Random Rabbits: famous bunnies of the Western World

Bugs Bunny: created by Walt Disney in 19--, Bugs chewed the same carrot all the way through each of his XXX episodes. Uttered the infamous ‘that’s all, folks’ tag-line at the end of each instalment. Still shown on Sky channels around the world.

Roger Rabbit: 2-D star of the 198X film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the movie cast cartoon characters alongside real actors. Jessica Rabbit: a cartoon like her husband, except she was human. How the hell did that work?

The Easter Bunny: no idea. US advertising gimmick? Pre-Christian symbol of fertility (see OED for synonyms)? Credited with carrying a basket full of Easter eggs which are distributed around the gardens of deserving children. Odd idea.

Miffy: toy rabbit star of a series of books, cartoons and regulation merchandising. Slightly sinister cross for a mouth, like the devil’s eyes in Rosemary’s Baby. Not a good post-joint read.

Watership Down: terrifying cartoon film from the book by Richard Adams. Terrifying, except for the reassuring voice of John Hurt.

Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: Aardvark Animation feature film starring the eponymous Anglo-plasticine protagonists; a piss-take of King Kong, neatly timed to coincide with the release of the remake of the 1930s Hollywood original.

The Lindt Chocolate Rabbit: Easter staple. Cuter than an egg, plus has a ribbon with a bell around its neck which can be tied onto phones/friends/animals etc.