CLOWDER #2

I present to you Clowder Chapter 2!

(This book is not for kids)

     (click the covers to read chapter 2)

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. 

CLOWDER #1

I present to you Clowder # 1

(This book is not for kids)

     (click the covers to read the comics)

The Glaring

Clowder #1

(read Clowder Chapter 1 first before reading this entry, click the cover on the right to do so)

“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE CAT?!”

A woman shouting in disgust when she saw some test print pages of Clowder.

I was at a photocopying shop printing the first chapter of Clowder when all of a sudden I hear a woman  shriek in pain as her eyes glanced the artworks of the book. She added, “What did you do? It's bad to kill cats!!” I just smiled at her, I mean what could I say? Do I explain to her that, “Oh no miss,  it’s going to get better wait ‘til you see the succeeding chapters of the series”. But that would be a lie,  from here on end the series would just get darker. So scratch that, I just entertained her by showing the beautiful artworks also inside the book, after all, death is beautiful isn’t it?

Everyone knows that appearances can be deceiving, same goes for images. Yet only a few really understand what an image really means when one looks. Suffice it to say that we all are confused at what we see at times, some don’t actually get it at first glance or at all. We know nothing (thanks, George R.R. Martin!). That’s why some artists make comic books, because separate from the comic book art we need words to convey a message far from what we draw. So it’s equally important to read and to “see”.

It’s easy to be misunderstood when you’re discussing a delicate topic. Sex, violence, drugs, addiction,  life and death. And what do we know about life and death? Only a few survive death when we face it, and sadly not all of us live our lives to the fullest. No one really knows the answer, we observe life as we live it and as it is being lived by others as well. And as for death, well it’s the great unknown.  So this  here comic book you hold dearly in your hands, who probably thinks that the cover page is “cool”, “awesome” or “cute” that’s why you bought it, has now (after reading the book) most probably bitten off more than you can chew. Which is a good thing, I only wish to leave you in awe because it’s the only way I know how. Unless you know what dark goodness a guy named Marius Black has to offer already, but let’s say you don’t… I ask of you one thing. I would like you to trust me.

Trust in me that the story has got something good to say at least, in the beginning or up to the very end it doesn’t really matter  but there is sense to this unspeakable chaos. That even if a woman (in her mid 40’s) did shriek in horror, there is beauty and sense behind this that one can easily fail to grasp by just glancing at a couple of pages. I do not blame her reacting that way, she was so shocked, the “life” parts of the book was overshadowed. She only saw the death side of it, and one cannot  really tackle life without its counterpart. And in a way I actually wished she saw me (and yes even lectured me) years ago when I was a kid doing these horrible things. Maybe you’d be holding a different book and reading a different story right now, but that isn’t the case. The point is, we all need lessons, and we learn them in random, out of age, because there are way too many lessons to learn in this life time. This book has enabled me to share mine.

What’s the lesson you ask? I can only say, YOU HAVE TO KEEP READING! On to the next chapter!

Marius Black
Manila, August 1, 2014

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