Catana Comics is a webcomic by American cartoonist Catana Chetwynd about the small, everyday moments of life with her partner, John. The strips are short, mostly black and white, and built around routines almost every couple knows: stealing clothes, arguing over who is cold, choosing between a night out and a night on the sofa.
The strip at the top sets the tone: lying on the sofa alone is “awful”, while doing exactly the same nothing draped over John is “amazing.” Below are eighteen more, with a little background on each and on how a few doodles about one relationship grew into bestselling books.
Who is Catana Chetwynd?
Chetwynd grew up in Saratoga Springs in upstate New York and studied psychology at SUNY Plattsburgh. Her own site says her earlier work was mostly traditional art and large-scale street art; today her illustration is mostly digital, and she works on Catana Comics full-time.
The John in the comics is her real partner, John Freed. The two live in North Carolina with their dogs, Murphy and Ringo, which explains why dogs keep turning up in the strips.
How Catana Comics started
Many early viral posts said the comics became famous after her boyfriend shared them online without telling her. Her more recent biographies tell a slightly different story: John encouraged her to start a comic about their relationship on Thanksgiving Day 2016, and she drew the first strip soon afterwards and five more over the next few days. The project began with no name, website or plan and took its official title later.
The comics found an audience on Instagram and other platforms; her site now counts more than four million followers across them. The strips have been collected in four hardcover books, Little Moments of Love, Snug, In Love & Pajamas and You Are Home, several of which reached the New York Times bestseller list.
19 comics about everyday couple life
A day that is “the worst” and an “embodiment of sadness” ends the moment she walks through the door and gets a hug. Three panels are enough to show how small comforts reset a bad mood.
An invitation to “Netflix and chill” is taken completely literally: the couple end up wrapped in one big blanket with a hot drink. The strip plays on the gap between the slang and what many couples actually do on a night in.
John wonders where all his clothes keep disappearing to, and the answer walks in wearing his hoodie and beanie. Borrowing a partner’s clothes is one of the most recognisable running jokes in her work.
She sends a “Love you :)” text and gets a quietly delighted face in return. There is no punchline beyond the small glow of a message, which is typical of the gentler strips.
When John goes out looking good, she clings to him and announces “This one’s mine!” The heart-shaped eye and the oversized hug turn possessiveness into something affectionate and silly.
Asked whether they plan to start a family, she says “one day”, and the thought bubble shows her adopting yet another puppy to join “22 brothers and sisters.” The couple’s real dogs appear regularly in the comics.
Mornings: John wakes up fresh and “well rested” while she surfaces looking like none of those things. The four-panel layout and the deadpan “hi” make the contrast between a morning person and a night owl.
Signs your girlfriend is cold: “Oh, she’ll definitely tell you.” The final panel, where she burrows against him for his “body heat”, is a joke many readers recognise from their own relationships.
He asks whether she remembered everything; she says yes, walks off, and the bag stays behind on the stool until her arm sneaks back in to grab it. The silent middle panels let the reader see the mistake before she does.
A friend frowns at an inappropriate joke, the couple stay straight-faced, then quietly share a “low five” once he looks away. It is a good example of how the strips show a couple as a small team.
When she gets new underwear she demands that John “witness” it, standing proudly in a superhero pose. The humour comes from her confidence and his completely unbothered expression.
A night out in heels: the expectation is an elegant evening, the reality is John carrying her home while she holds the shoes. It uses the expectation-versus-reality format that is popular across webcomics.
While another couple talk about hiking their 10,000th mile, Catana and John proudly report watching 49 episodes of Judge Judy in bed. The joke is on comparing yourself with more “productive” couples.
When someone checks out “babe” a little too hard, John simply moves into the frame and stares back. The two-panel strip relies entirely on facial expression.
A grumpy, blanket-wrapped start to the day turns around once both of them have coffee: “Beautiful day!” and “life is worth living again!” Shared routines, like the first cup of the morning, are a constant theme.
A cheerful promise to touch his bottom “extra today” gets a pleased smile. Light, playful flirting like this is part of what readers mean when they call the comics relatable.
Tall people, pros and cons: easy to find in a crowd, yet he still cannot find her. The strip draws on the real height difference between the two characters.
Every Friday night, the big decision: drinks at home or out in public? The single panel captures how the couple’s plans are usually more about company than about the destination.
Why the comics feel so relatable
The drawing style is deliberately simple: round heads, dot eyes, a beard for John and long dark hair for Catana. With so little detail, a raised eyebrow or a single word carries the joke, and readers can easily put themselves in the characters’ place.
The subject matter matters just as much. Instead of grand romantic gestures, the strips celebrate the unglamorous parts of being together, such as bad mornings, lost bags, cold hands and long evenings of television. That focus on comfort and friendship is a big reason the comics are shared so widely between partners.
Where to find more
New strips appear regularly on catanacomics.com and on Instagram. For more of her early work and other relationship cartoonists, see the related articles below.
Related articles
- Catana Chetwynd's Early Relationship Comics
- Javis's Comics About Married Life
- Couple Comics About Sharing Everyday Life
Sources: Wikipedia: Catana Chetwynd; Catana Comics: About.
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