Catman Sketches

Deciding to take a break from Dave this week. Partly due to work, partly due to prepping for WonderCon and also because I desperately need to catch up on my buffer :(
To use terribly geeky term, I've been "top decking" for awhile now.

But let me tell you about this little guy, Catman :)

I know, i know, I seem to not be able to help but draw cats. Honestly, cats are the funniest animal, I would go as far as to say they're the BEST animal! Remember that episode of Futurama where Fry was trying to buy a present for Leela, and he winds up in the pet shop? He asks the shop owner "What's your best animal?" and the owner says "Best? Well that's a matter of opinion!" What he SHOULD have said was "Cats! Cats our our best animal, and also, THE best animal, period!"

So yeah, I think cats are funny, but apart form that, they're also interesting to draw. Over the years, I've probably drawn over a dozen comics which feature feline main characters. Dave the Punk Rock Cat was easily the most well received, but before that I had done a short lived strip called Zao the Cat about a hellbound demon imprisoned in a cat body, attempting to wreak havoc on the planet but always fouled by his kitty form. Before that, I had Oswald the Oddball, which evolved from a comic series that I did when I was just a boy called "Weirdo the Cat", which was co-created by my friend Jia Liu, who left the comicing world to become a teacher.
Even before that, when I in grade school, I did a whole series of comics called "Small Bear" about a whole world of talking animals, and cats were features heavily!

So as you can see, Cats are a big part of my cartooning history. Catman is exactly what he sounds like, a superhero with a cat theme. However, in the vein of Batman and Spiderman, Catman doesn't exactly DO all the things that cats do. I mean, when you think about it, what does Batman do that a bat also does? He doesn't fly, he doesn't suck blood, he doesn't use echolocation to find his prey. The only thing Batman does that is bat-like is have ears and a cape that sorta looks like wings, oh and he's black. Spiderman shoots webs, but that's out of a device of his own design. He also climbs walls, but that's something a lot of animals can do, not exactly exclusive to the spider race. If I had it MY way, Spiderman would eat the criminals he catches in his web, and have eight arms!

In short, Catman is a parody of animal themed superheroes in general. He is also a parody of the modern day advent of the "behind the mask" archetype that has been crawling its way into superhero literature ever since Watchman in the 80's, and very eloquently retold in this most recent decade's "Kick Ass".

Catman is just a boy who used to pretend to be a superhero when he was playing with his friends. In his teen years, he randomly decides one day to revitalize the character he created in his youth, and become a real live crime solver! His day to day life is somewhat auto-biographical, but his adventures will be fueled by sheer wackiness. One of his arch rivals will be Kanye West. In a botched attampt at time travel, Catman tries to stop Kanye from interrupting Taylor Swift at the MVA's, and finds a lifelong enemy in him, who he will battle on and off throughout the series.

I have not gotten any more specific than this yet, but I am thinking this is a project I will be taking up very soon.

That's just what I need, another project :P

I can never be satisfied with what I'm working on, but at the same time, I think Dave very much needs a rest after this book is done. I've not forgotten about Blood Will Tell and Abyss Stares Back though! you will be seeing those before you see Catman! I promise!