Catians
is a fantasy comic book series by Cortney Cameron and Luyi Bennett. Issue 1 was published in November 2023 by Scout Comics under their Nonstop! Imprint, with additional issues scheduled for 2024.
Cats have been disappearing in the wake of a ravenous monster borne of forbidden magic, and the Council of Cats tasks three teens with stopping the onslaught. Spirited from their homes in the Appalachian hills, Chicago suburbs, and California Bay Area, hardworking Riley, gamer Alex, and booksmart Sidney find themselves talking to cats in the Florida Keys, granted magical powers, and asked to save the world. Assisted by a motley cast of purr machines, from the stout-slinging King of the Cats to the falconry aficionado Master Cat, the trio embarks on a global quest, battling villains from real-life cat folktales in order to recapture an ancient cat god’s powerful relics. Along the way, they must cultivate their powers to control the elements, ally with a secret order of wizard-historians, juggle jobs, deal with parents, make sure the cat’s food bowl is still full…and maybe, just maybe, learn to work together.
Catians contains examples of:
- Almost Dead Guy: Felix holds on to life long enough to give a memory-containing object and instructions to another cat who discovers his body.
- Ancient Artifact: Felix explains that the tail he gave to Rose is a holy relic of the Great Cat. It grants her magical abilities.
- Animorphism: Rose gains the ability to transform into a humanoid cat.
- The Assimilator: The monster that Rose creates fully absorbs her and absorbs knowledge from Felix, of the existence of another magical tail, before Felix escapes.
- Cats Are Magic: Felix teaches Rose magic and speaks of a magical cat deity. The white cat at the end apparently can sense memories from a strand of hair.
- Death by Origin Story: Jason's death results in a series of events that sees Rose with powerful magical abilities and the creation of a monster. Rose herself may be dead, although it isn't clear.
- Downer Beginning: The first issue focuses on tragic events that sets up series’ overarching plot.
- Grave-Marking Scene: Rose visits Jason's grave to leave flowers before she enacts her vengeance.
- Heroic B So D: After Jason's death, Rose lays outside for hours, incapacitated with a vacant stare, until roused by Felix.
- I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: The gangster responsible for Jason's death says he was only trying to "teach him a lesson", not kill him.
- I Know Your True Name: Felix's magical teachings to Rose invoke the concept of a "True Name" to understand a physical object and be able to create it.
- Instant Expert: Rose quickly masters her magical abilities, able to create gravestones, rock walls, and "lifeforms" within weeks of obtaining her powers.
- Memory Jar: Felix's strand of hair contains his memories of the attack and is used to transmit that information to another cat.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Rose has a moment of realization right before the monster she created absorbs her, as she begs Felix to forgive her.
- Protection Racket: Gangsters attack Jason and Rose after financial difficulties make them unable to pay.
- Seeks Another's Resurrection: Rose tries to resurrect her husband, Jason, but fails.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: Three major characters are apparently killed in the space of the first issue.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: After Rose dispatches the gangsters that killed Jason, she tells Felix that "it didn't work" and she still feels empty.
