Bored Panda reached out to Lucas Turnbloom, who kindly answered all of our questions regarding his comics.
Lucas is also known for his book series called 'Dream Jumper' which he co-created/wrote with Greg Grunberg. We were curious to know what sparked the transition from books to his 'How to Cat' webcomic. Lucas shared: “How To Cat actually came about during some downtime. I had just wrapped production on the second book in my Dream Jumper graphic novel and I had some free time. So, I began writing down different experiences I had with my rescue cat, Sweetie, and turned them into comics. I had drawn so many that my wife encouraged me to post them online and share them with the world. I started my career as a webcartoonist, so it felt natural to go back to the web with How To Cat.”
Lucas’s comics depict the adventures of his rescue cat, Sweetie. We asked the artist to tell us how much Sweetie's actual behavior influences the situations portrayed in the comics.
“Most of How To Cat is actually inspired by my rescue cat, Sweetie. The rest comes from my wife’s cats from many years ago, who have since crossed the rainbow bridge. But they live on through the comic!” wrote Lucas.
Online audiences tend to impact the evolution of the creator’s work. We asked Lucas if that was the case for his comics as well.
“The How To Cat fans have been wonderful from day one. When it comes to the subject matter, they allow me to explore many different scenarios with Sweetie. I think that’s because there are so many humorous areas within the feline universe to examine. However, I do find myself revisiting the Cat-Ghost dyad more and more these days. There is something both hilarious and terrifying about it that we can all relate to. I just can’t stay away from that subject!” shared Lucas.
Beyond entertaining audiences, we also wanted to know whether Lucas has found any unexpected or heartwarming impacts from sharing 'How to Cat'. He responded: “One of the most common reactions I get with How To Cat is from people telling me that their cat is exactly like Sweetie. I love that! Folks from all over the world love to share stories and pictures with me about their fur babies whenever I post a comic. Just yesterday morning, I was wearing a How To Cat t-shirt at a coffee shop when a person approached me and told me they loved the shirt and that they read the comic on Instagram. I told them it was my comic, and invited them to sit with me and chat. We talked for 30 minutes about cats and comics! That never would’ve happened to me before How To Cat came around.”
And lastly, Turnbloom added: “Speaking of cats, I have a sassy cat character named Mrs. Cuddles in my book series Steve L. McEvil from Random House. I’m currently working on Book 3 where Mrs. Cuddles is one of the main characters, and she talks! It’s an all-ages series about kid supervillains, robots, and cats! If people like my comics, they’ll love Steve L. McEvil. Check it out. Pretty please??
I also have a How To Cat store on Threadless. We have shirts, prints, stickers — all kinds of stuff. Perfect gifts for any How To Cat fans! I’m also working on some How To Cat books. I hope to have some more news on that in 2024!
And if people want to get How To Cat in their email, I have a newsletter! The best part is it’s free! And lastly, I have a Patreon for folks who want to get the comic early. It also has exclusive comics for Patreon subscribers.”
