Clan of the Cats

ComicStripFan.Com

Clan of the Cats, by Jamie Robertson

Clan of the Cats started out as a gag-a-day strip, and has evolved into a beautifully rendered serial strip about the supernatural. Jamie now has big, full-page, full-color incredible art, and I have no idea how he finds the time to create such masterpieces on a regular basis. You can see examples of what I'm talking about below.

Excerpt from the Clan of the Cats web page:

"Clan of the Cats is a cross over between the serial and gag-a-day comic strip, with a twist of the supernatural. The main story deals with Chelsea, a witch who is plagued by an ancient family curse. Whenever the moon is full or she gets really mad at someone, Chelsea transforms into a Panther and stalks the night. Chelsea must deal with the curse and try and live a peaceful existence among her family and friends. She is not completely sure which is worse."

Example of Clan of the Cats dailies by Jamie Robertson, September 23 and 24, 1999. The background behind the daily for September 23, as described by Jamie: "This is the third strip in a sequence that introduces Chelsea/panther to Jubal. In the strip Jubal wonders what is taking Chelsea so long to change back to human form. In his mind, he goes back to old monster movies and 'assumes' Chelsea must first kill before changing back. However, being a nonviolent kind of guy, Jubal asks Chelsea if she wants to try and "kill" a cheeseburger. This strip alludes to old monster movies of the 30s and 40s like 'The Wolfman' and that's where COTC ultimately comes from. I thought it was very important to make that connection in some way."

The background behind the daily for September 24, as described by Jamie: "This strip helps to define Jubal's character further. It's a gag strip, basically and sets Jubal again as the wisecracker, but it goes further than that. Instead of freaking out and running away, Jubal actually brings back Chelsea a cheeseburger. This underscores both Jubal's honesty and his love for Chelsea. He's with her no matter what. Of course, Chelsea being a cat uses her right to turn her nose up at the burger. Anyone who has had a cat can attest to that kind of behavior."

Example of Clan of the Cats Sunday by Jamie Robertson, October 31, 1999. This is two parts of the three part Sunday comic. The background behind this Sunday, as described by Jamie: "This strip is two parts of a three part Sunday comic. When I started COTC I could only do two strips per page, so Sundays were always separated. In order to help Chelsea to tame the beast within, her grandmother and a coven of witches perform a ritual to incant a charm that will control the panther. During the ritual, Chelsea passes out and in so 'dreams' that her father comes to see her. Her father had died only a couple of years after she was born. He gives Chelsea only a hint of what she is to become and reassures her that everything will be alright. It also plays on the link between the living and the dead. It is no accident that the ritual is on Halloween as that is the time of year when the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest. This strip also sets the importance of family in the comic. That link cannot be separated, even by death and that no matter what we may face, we are never really alone."

Original art for Clan of the Cats daily by Jamie Robertson, March 19, 2004. Beautiful art. The background behind this daily, as described by Jamie: "The Vengeance of Dracula: The Dracula War: Sisterly Love. This comic was almost a throwaway. It depicts Chelsea, Corrine, Diane and Jacob departing from Corrine's space Island. The plot point may not be much, but for character I really like it. We see in a few panels the petty feud which separates Chelsea and Corrine and their mother's reaction. This one also allowed me to play with color, which I really like. Blues, in which this piece is mostly made, represent both calm and sadness. This is a moment between a family that while separated from distance and emotion can still connect on some level, but it's also the [calm] before the storm."

Signed color print of Clan of the Cats - Sisterly Love daily by Jamie Robertson, March 19, 2004. The photo does not do justice to this beautiful work of art. I have two signed prints and one unsigned, all courtesy of Jamie. You can see his use of blues as described in his letter.

Original art for Clan of the Cats daily by Jamie Robertson, December 20, 2004. Beautiful art. This is one piece of two used for the art.

Original art for Clan of the Cats daily by Jamie Robertson, December 20, 2004. This is the second piece of two used for this daily. Jamie tore the edges around this drawing to overlay the main page.

Signed color print of Clan of the Cats - Use Your Darkness daily by Jamie Robertson, December 20, 2004. As before, the photo does not do justice to this beautiful work of art. I have two signed prints and one unsigned of this page as well, all courtesy of Jamie. Some info on this strip, as described by Jamie: " 'Use Your Darkness!' A Mysterious figure exclaims this to Chelsea just as she finishes casting her spell. A lot of the line work in this one is covered by effects."

Original art for Clan of the Cats daily by Jamie Robertson, January 17, 2005. Another incredible piece by Jamie.

Signed color print of Clan of the Cats daily by Jamie Robertson, January 17, 2005. I have two signed prints and one unsigned of this page all courtesy of Jamie. Some info on this strip, as described by Jamie: "Kitten Sebo saves Chelsea from a fate worse than death!"

An awesome specialty sketch by Jamie of the COTC girls on the beach in Hawaii. Notice the beautiful damage to the art courtesy of the United States Post Office. At least the creases are minimized in the inked areas. Despite the damage, though, the piece is still beautiful. Thanks, Jamie!

A rough pencil sketch of Chelsea's profile done for me by Jamie Robertson.

A cool inked sketch of the face of a cat by Jamie Robertson.

Also see the gallery page for Sebo's Kitty Klub, a spin-off of COTC.

See the finalized strips for yourself and experience the enchantment of Clan of the Cats by clicking the link below!

Oh, and help support the strip by subscribing to Sebo's Kitty Club! You get a lot of great extras, plus bonus strips emailed directly to you!