A STRAY IN THE WOODS: Readers direct a cat to investigate its surroundings
BASICS:
Title: A Stray in the Woods / A Leaf in the Night
Updates: Completed.
Genre: Slice of Life / Fantasy
Premise: Readers directed a cat's exploration of its mysterious surroundings. Surprisingly, it is not entirely about knocking objects to the floor and purring.
Recommended for people who... enjoy the thought of interactive fiction in the style of Ferry Halim's tranquil Flash games.
The art is stylized into something simple yet elegant. Its textured appearance looks suitable for a video game rather than a comic - it is so easy to imagine an animated version of A Stray in the Woods. The minimalism really works for the ending and the short sequel. I think it's cute.
There is not much to say about A Stray in the Woods. Is it a ground breaking story? No, it is not. It is sweet and gentle and sometimes a little eerie. There is no violence or trauma or moral dilemma here to face, only puzzles that focus on getting the attention of strange animals and figuring out who dropped the basket of mushrooms. Even the most mundane parts of the story are made interesting due to the art or clever writing, usually both.
Between the style and interactive approach, I think this comic is memorable. There are a little more than 100 pages of cat adventuring to read and I for one think that A Stray in the Woods is worth reading until the end, especially if you need the distraction. Sometimes you want to read a calm, uncomplicated story in which nervous animals are soothed by an intrepid nameless cat.
