One of the problems inherent in epic storytelling comics lies with the balance between self-contained updates and a continuous storyline. While some comics (such as Girl Genius and Phoenix Requiem) have managed to create mostly-contained updates that manages to have some level of closure at the bottom of each page (or update segment in the case of Phoenix Requiem), others tend to muddle through and rely on the story itself to keep reader interest. Clan of the Cats is one of the latter type of storyline comics, and has struggled at times to tell its novel-length storyline while maintaining individual updates that aren’t confusing.

A little over six years ago, Jamie Robertson started the Vengeance of Dracula storyline for CotC. Given Robertson’s fondness for classic horror, it seems only natural that he would include Dracula, which has become an icon of supernatural horror fiction, in the creative cloth of his comic’s world. In many ways, Vengeance is the climactic storyline for CotC; it has fundamentally altered the very reality of the comic (including live television reports of some of Dracula’s attacks on towns, revealing the presence of the supernatural to a world that had been quite contently oblivious of the magical world in their midst) along with changes to several characters that will likely have long-lasting repercussions.

Robertson also adjusted his update schedule from a daily newstrip format to a full-page format more suitable for print publication. Unfortunately, poor health intruded on his plans to update three times a week, and have added on a couple of years to a storyline that has, in years, existed longer than the comic itself. The slower update pace has also increased the confusion that can arise with pages that are meant to be read as part of a greater whole, rather than on an individual basis; it can be difficult enough keeping up on events on a daily comic. CotC’s temporary reduction to a weekly schedule, combined with the fact Robertson is juggling multiple story segments and trying to weave them all together, results in some updates existing in a void that makes little sense unless read as part of the greater whole.

Nor is there an easy out for this. While Robertson could increase his update schedule by posting partial pages much as Zebra Girl has been doing, this risks increasing reader confusion as they won’t even have a full page to comprehend. Fortunately, Jamie has been focusing more on specific subplots of late, rather than bouncing from scene to scene in an effort to maintain chronology for all of the characters. This has helped lessen the confusion caused by the slowed update pace. Add in that several subplots have wrapped up, and there’s less for readers to try and keep track of.

One thing I’ve found fascinating about recent updates is how, even as the comic appears to be approaching its literary climax, we’ve had new revelations and story twists. The most recent segment, showing the turning of Vlad the Impaler from zealot to vampire, is a fascinating glimpse into something not often mentioned in stories that utilize the Dracula legend (and also something I don’t recall being explained in the original novel).

Still, part of me wonders at its inclusion: what purpose does knowing Dracula’s origin play? Could it have been excised (perhaps added afterward as extra content for the print compilation) without harming the story itself? Perhaps the greatest difficulty of any storyteller is knowing what to cut from the story to keep it concise and to the point. Looking back at CotC’s Vengeance storyline (and at any epic story comic for that matter), I suspect there may be a few sections that could have been added later, and allow for a tighter, more concise story online.