The Cat Who Barks

SYNOPSIS

“The textbook is never wrong! Cats don’t bark, and kids shouldn’t run with a loose shoelace.”

WRITTEN & ILLUSTRATED BY
Bryan Arfiandy

In a world where school begins in the morning and ends at late night, students are valued highly by their grades. Grady, one of the top students in his class, knows that these grades on paper are important for him and his family. But that’s all that he knows.

One late night after finishing his studies, Grady has a mysterious encounter with not just a cat, but one that barks as well... How can that be? Unexpectedly, Grady’s perspective comes under increasing fire as he soon realises that there is a greater world beyond his school.

There are no rules [for making] comics, but I have one rule: To stay true to myself.

Bryan discusses how the emphasis put on achieving good grades in school might not be the best approach to learning effectively. Delve into the themes he explores in his comic, such as rigid education systems and believing that there is only one right way to do things – the one found in a textbook.

When the story begins, Grady is shown to have small eyes, depicting his limited vision of the world. But his eyes grow wider as the story progresses.

DID YOU KNOW? The cats in “The Cat Who Barks” are breeds specific to Southeast Asia!




Bryan is a passionate storyteller who has loved comics all his life. Having directed a few animated short films at university, Bryan now heads back to his love for comics in hopes of creating entertaining stories. His professional comic debut, Code Helix, was serialised at Line Webtoon Indonesia.

Now, after finding out how much he enjoys making comics (including tight weekly deadlines!), he's in the process of preparing a new comic. Maybe it's the reader, maybe it's the act of drawing and telling the story itself, or maybe it's all of them (or none of them). Who knows what makes this young man love making comics this much?