Tagged: Castle Catula

Out yesterday was Angel Catbird: To Castle Catula Vol. 2. Now, you might recall that I mentioned this series once. OK, twice. Well, maybe three times. OK, I may have gone overboard. In case you forgot, the Angel Catbird series is by the genius writer Margaret Atwood, who is behind the ever-relevant The Handmaid’s Tale and fantabulous artist Johnnie Christmas.

At this point in the story, Strig (a.k.a. Angel Catbird) and his friends are moving to regroup at Catula’s castle (hence the title). As they walk, they tell stories about their past, and meet up with some new friends. We also get to see the dastardly plans of the evil Dr. Muroid and his rat army.

The pulpy nature of this story just makes you feel good when you read it. Plus, it gave me a great opportunity to use the word “dastardly” to boot. It’s got its own dark moments, to be sure, but overall it is a lovely break from the dystopian stories that have become more popular. Like for example, the nightly news. It reminds me of reading old school comics as a kid. This is something that feels more like old school Batman or Spider-Man. Plus the puns!! You laugh and groan at the same time for all the puns!

Through all the pulp, puns, and groans, Atwood builds a new universe that we only glimpsed in Volume 1. This time, we get a nice sized history on some of Angel’s companions, while meeting new friends like the half-owl community. The owls and cats, two communities on opposite sides, untrusting but willing to come together to protect each other. It sounds so important to today’s time, two different groups getting along.

A valuable but overlooked part is the fundraising and awareness aspect of this series. It continues to share cat and bird facts to enlighten the readers to the struggles of the animal population. All proceeds are still going to Nature Canada, a preservation organization in Canada. Today’s society is filled with causes, all deserving of attention and funding. It is important for comics to be a part of that. Using this platform to educate and help others, whether human, feathered, or feline is important.

I believe that comics are a great educational tool that appeals to all ages. Everyone should take a moment to learn, and learning can be educational too. But when learning also contains a 1000-year old vampire half cat, half human, it’s f*cking fantastic.
Until next time, same bird time, same cat channel!