I'll be honest... cats freak me out a bit. I'm not scared of them, per se, but suspicious. There's a kind of devious quality one can see in their eyes, as though they know something you don't. They're too damn quiet, too; when I'd visit friends with a couple of cats, invariably, they'd sneak up on me and just be there, startling me with the sudden presence. Hey, I've enjoyed the company of a cat from time to time as well; there's something soothing and pure about a purring cat. In this issue, Ted Naifeh explores the mystery, savagery and even the cuteness of the cat, and it makes for yet another thoroughly entertaining read.
Courtney's stuck over at the strict Ms. Crisp's house for a tutoring session, but when her hated teacher slips out for a little while, Courtney ends up conversing with her cat, Quick, and the dark-furred Boo turns up as well. They decide to let Courtney tag along with them as they make their way into the forest for a convention of cats, where an important decision and test lie before the gathered felines. Meanwhile, Courtney also an unusual creature who's being hunted through the thick bursh of the forest.
The strong influence that Dan (The Nocturnals) Brereton has had on Naifeh's style has never been more apparent than it is here. The linework that converges to form Ms. Crisp and Skarrow are thoroughly reminiscent of Brereton's style. Of course, his own unique approach still shines through. Courtney and the various cats boast the vague design quality that odd serves as one of Naifeh's strengths. Still, there are detailed moments as well in which Naifeh captures the agility, grace and even the violence of felines.
Naifeh grants the feline characters some pretty flowery prose, but as always, Courtney serves as our gateway into the world of the supernatural and mysterious. As a result, the lofty dialogue and almost alien plot of a society of cats comes off as surprisingly grounded. I remain thoroughly pleased that Courtney is, primarily, a clever but rotten brat whose heart is in the right place in times of crisis... when she's can't think of a smartass remark instead.
Though it didn't occur to me as I thumbed through these pages (I was pleasantly lost in the story), upon reflection, a comparison to Neil Gaiman's "Dream of a Thousand Cats" from Sandman is unavoidable. Like Gaiman, Naifeh captures the mystical quality of the cat nicely, and the story also revolves around an elder cat telling something of great importance. He taps into a sense of stoic personality and makes these furry figures into real characters.
