Tagged: Catbird

It’s been a long week in comics, for me at least. Frankly, I’m already behind on reading all the “Best of 2015” lists and my inbox is totally overflowing. So I when I saw the latest announcement from Dark Horse Comics, I was super surprised, definitely excited, and a little anxious.

It was announced yesterday that Margaret Atwood is writing her very first graphic novel series. It is a superhero tale called Angel Catbird, who is a half-cat, half-owl hero with a bit of an identity crisis. The first book in the series of 3 will be out in Fall 2016, with more announcements to come. The best part is the comics are being published with support of Nature Canada, a conservation charity.

Her comic sounds very lighthearted and fun, which is not at all the descriptors I personally think of when talking about Margaret Atwood. To ma at least, she has always been a serious and deep writer, warning the world of lessons it needs to learn. If you’ve ever read The Handmaiden’s Tale, you know exactly what I am talking about. When I read that novel, I was (and still am) terrified of that world.

Right now, that story has more in common with today’s reality then anyone would like to admit. We are living in a time where we are turning against each other out of fear and misunderstanding. Literature is here not just to entertain, but to pass on knowledge and lessons. With each passing day, the path towards The Handmaiden’s Tale becomes a little clearer, which should scare all of us.

I’m not sure if Dark Horse’s Angel Catbird will have a lesson to learn. I can make a guess that it will considering the involvement of Nature Canada. I will just sit here and hope that its readers and the world will be there to listen.