A Cast of Cats

Click the cover to read Clowder Chapter 2!

(read Clowder Chapter 2 first before reading this entry, click the cover on the left to do so)

A cat’s perspective. That’s all there is to it. Yes, everything you’ve read on this issue is true, we hunted cats as kids. And it really felt like we were hunters in a city where there were more buildings than trees. As kids we just did things, we seldom really thought about the consequences and just go with the flow of  things we wanted to do as children. Our primal instincts naturally kick in and we forget all the preaching grown-ups taught us. We didn’t behave, we were noisy and we broke a lot of rules growing up, basically I was the “Problem Child” of our neighborhood, burning water meters, ringing neighbor doorbells and setting up pranks. But killing cats stuck with me like the stench of death.

I grew up never really forgetting all those innocent cats my group and I killed back then. I’m  against killing, but  I eat meat and at the same time I have a concept of preserving life as well. I mean, I’d kill for survival, for food. But back then I killed for fun. I liked killing as a child, and that’s not normal to say. To say the least, I eventually changed while I was growing up, it wasn’t easy to tame yourself not to kill. I still have this darkness in me which is safely tucked away, controlled and calm. Haha! No not really, I’m just saying that to make you feel better! Just kidding hehe. Anyway these are thoughts of mine can be surprising to hear or read, and I don’t want you to stop reading. This summary at the end of each chapter explains a lot about what’s really happening behind the comic book. It can help you to understand my point of view of why I killed cats and how innocence isn’t always something sweet. 

That’s how I see it anyways, and how about the cats? What could’ve they been thinking as I tortured and killed them? And in that instance, I thought of this world, the world of Clowder in a cat’s perspective. Originally I thought of just telling the story of how I killed cats and how good we were at hunting them as kids and then maybe an unexpected ending for you readers. But man, I never thought that  I’d actually be creating a world unseen by humans. I actually got the idea after finishing the first chapter, I thought it’ll take everyone by surprise if I suddenly mind fucked readers  with a different protagonist (and cast) altogether and turning my main protagonist to be the main antagonist, oh what joy! I love writing and story telling, and doing stuff unexpected like this is really something else! It inspires me to move forward and shake things up, maybe even shaking it up to a point of no return. And if you’re reading this and you want to put out your own stuff out there, do it! No one’s really stopping you, we basically have original ideas, some stories or comics are inspired by other artworks and other stories, but everyone has their own unique experience. 

Nothing really is the same, and if you have a story, an idea or anything you want to express, and you haven’t seen it out there in the world yet (and especially for that reason)  go ahead and do it. Because we need diversity, yes unity still, but a group of people full of the same thoughts is no fun. For me that actually promotes war.  So go ahead and be different and tell your own story, it doesn’t even matter if your story looks or sounds like someone else’s story, it’s going to be different when you yourself tells it.

As for the cat’s perspective, this is my way of letting people who still torture animals for fun know that they have their own lives, for them to see it in the creature's perspective. And maybe let them see how a cat or an animal lives their life, albeit a funny or dark fantasy story but that's just how this story is, what's important is we know how the protagonist and the antagonist see the world. It's up to you who's eyes you wish to see it with.

Marius Black

Manila, August 28, 2014