Angel Catbird, Vol. 1

If Cats the musical was a graphic novel it would be this...

This graphic novel seems more like a gimmick type gift to give to a friend that likes cats than a serious series. It has poor characters, plot holes (like where did Raven man come from? Why should I care? ok, now there is a bat-cat VAMPIRE man? Why are half-cats both human and cats? Shouldn't cats be called half-human and humans be half-cats?), and VERY clumsy story telling. This isn't very good but I can see where someone could find it amusing and the art work is nice and obviously someone took some time and effort to draw it out. ~Ashley

Okay, here's the thing.
If you pick up this comic expecting it to have the emotional gravitas and depth of most of Margaret Atwood's work, you're going to be disappointed. I completely understand all the low reviews.
But that's not the point of this story. This story is fun. It's silly and it doesn't make much sense. The main character falls in love with a woman he's literally spoken like 6 words to. It's absolutely ridiculous, and I love it.

I expected something sharper, sexier, but this was just not very exciting.

Delightful throwback to earlier days of comics with intentional camp and cats!

If you come to this graphic novel expecting anything like the award-winning Atwood novels lining your (my) shelves, you'll likely be disappointed. If, however, you come to it with an open mind and an appreciation for the didactic content and throwback style, it's a cute little book. Personally, I can't wait to see Vol II and more of the the count.
The rats are drawn just as comic book rats should be; our heroes are a little too angular for me-I prefer fluffier cats, I guess.

As much as I love Margaret Atwood, I did not love this. It felt like she was trying to capture the feel of the Golden Age of comics (when she was reading them), but it felt too hokey and contrived to me. People don't talk that way. The art was pretty cool, I enjoyed following the the story through the illustrations, but the story itself was kind of meh. I mean, if I was Margaret Atwood I would definitely write a lame graphic novel to push my pet activism and not give a shit about it, so it doesn't even matter that I'm giving it 2 stars. I like that she keeps experimenting with style and format too, despite this one falling flat for me.