ON AN ORDINARY city street at night, a large shadow falls on a rat scurrying between apartment buildings. The rat, confused, looks up to see a strange figure flying above. While the shape seems human, he’s not— not entirely, anyway. Massive owl wings spread from his shoulders, claws extend from fingers and giant talons take the place of feet—talons that suddenly snatch and crush the rat. Then: gulp. With a smile on his face—made up of a pink cat nose, long whiskers and an owl’s facial disk—the cat-bird asks, “Did I just eat a rat?”

Strig Feleedus is the unconventional hero of Angel Catbird, Margaret Atwood’s comic debut. Strig usually presents himself as an ordinary man: he works as a genetic engineer, wears clean-cut khakis and white-collared shirts, and looks a little like the actor Campbell Scott. He also lives in a world that ...