Feral vol. 2: Cat Lady

Elsie, Patch, and Lord Fluffy Britches were housecats who found themselves struggling to survive an outbreak of super-rabies.  By the end of the first volume, Patch was infected, Lord was lost, and Elsie had met up with Gigi, who managed to survive giving birth to three kittens.  Months have passed and this latter clutter of cats are back in the woods after being violently evicted from their barn.  It’s not long before they find food and shelter again, but once they find out what’s inside the title character’s home Gigi, her kittens, and Elsie may wish they were back in the wild again.  Where Patch is still trying to get back to his family.

Vol. 1 was a fun riff on doing the infectious disease turns everyone into killers setup with pets and I was looking forward to seeing what writer Tony Fleecs, and co-artists Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriguez would do for an encore.  Their answer, after an interlude that’s alternately peaceful and disturbing to get us into Patch’s headspace, is to crank up the intensity and make this a proper horror show.  Threats by rabid rats.  Cats who have formed their own cult.  An old lady who can’t bear to let any cat go – no matter how bad.  The things desperate animals will do to survive.  They’re all here making the main story an intense experience from start to finish.

…and beyond that.  Unlike the previous volume, vol. 2 doesn’t end so much as come to a crushing stop – figuratively and literally.  I imagine that’ll read better once vol. 3 arrives, but it makes for a cliffhanger that’s more frustrating than exciting.  Also, it’s good that the creators keep the intensity so high as it helps to distract from the inherent predictability of the story being told.  Which isn’t a dealbreaker in the end as there are lots of fun cat-related details to appreciate here and the cats feel more like cats here (especially the kittens) rather than small furry humans.  I do want to see where all this goes, so it’s a good thing vol. 3 will be out this August.