High fantasy adventures…with a cat
Fantasies and a cat as the main driver of the story is just too delectable of a comic book morsel to miss.
In Inkblot, we are introduced to a young sorceress in a bookworms haven of stacked books and loosely packed papers. Cozy within these walls of stories, we find that she is chronicling the adventures of her siblings. Midway she falls asleep. Somehow she knocks over an inkwell and some sort of spell and out emerges…a black cat.
This black cat with wide innocent eyes is a magical cat of epic derpy levels. Much to the sorceress’s dismay, the cat is able to travel between realities and create cat-astrophies!
As any cat owner will know, trying to catch a cat is like trying to hold onto water in your fist. The sorceress makes some initial attempts to catch the cat but the darn thing is too fast. And way too troublesome. So as we gleefully follow the cat through each reality of perils. Each world the cat visits, it seems to make a friend or an ally. Whether it is an elven child or a sea monster, someone cares for the rascal. Each caretaker tries to protect the cat but either it saves itself or just causes a whole other problem. Each issue has pretty much promised a huge explosion or disaster that has been mostly mitigated by this wide-eyed four legged lovable nuisance.
The sorceress, who we are introduced to as the Seeker, in the story is one of eight siblings. Eight siblings of power. Power gained by slaying magical creatures or by studying magic. The library where she chronicles her siblings adventures is no quiet place. It is a living library with deep roots that connect the place to multiple realms. So the cat has definite easy access to travel!
After slipping past the Seeker and hungry giants in the first issue, the cat lands in a world where an elven community is suffering from the tyrannies of a ruthless sorcerers and the King. The King is the Seeker’s brother, Xenthos Voidbreaker, a man who has brutally slayed multiple magical beings. After losing her mother to Xenthos for unknown reasons, when she was young, Alea has raised her own daughter, Arabella, to be courageous and rebellious. Traits tested in the face of a fiery dragon. Arabella has the shadowy black cat by her side as she tries to stand stall and fight. But then whoop, there goes the cat up the dragon’s tail…
What happens to Arabella’s grandmother? Do the meek elves gain their freedom? We don’t know. Yet.
On to the next adventure of high seas and a crew of pirates and warlocks. We get to meet the Seeker’s other brother, Illivanos. Where Xenthos is strength, Illivanos is opposite in peace and calm. Which makes him completely vulnerable to being taken advantage of by other warlocks. During voyage, Illivanos has his staff stolen and he is promptly dumped overboard. He watches helplessly the ruthless warlock attacks one of the peaceful sea creatures. Which seems to be aided by a black cat riding upon his head.
More questions of Illivanos’s destination and his choice of crew but there goes the cat to another reality and away we go!
The fourth issue of Inkblot is slightly different from the previous adventures as we see more of the family dynamic of the epic siblings. We also see that the cat doesn’t just have reality traveling powers. We do still have a troublesome cat with no disregard for it’s own safety or mortality so it’s still riot to read!
Inkblot has that comfortable nostalgic feel of nineties sci-fi sitcom antics of Stargate and Xena but with a derpy cat as the lead. It is an intense an expansive world building that is hinting at something big culminating thanks to the chaotic antics of the black cat. It is a highly amusing episodic high fantasy adventure with each issue.
The creators
Co-creator Emma Kubert‘s whole genetic lineage is well entrenched in the comic arts. She is the granddaughter of Joe Kubert, founder of Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art (now known as The Kubert School) and well known for his work in the WWII era of comics. Her father is Andy Kubert who is prolific in Marvel comics and is an instructor at the Kubert School.
Newcomer into the comic book realm is Rusty Gladd. He is a graduate of The Kubert School and co-creator of Inkblot.
Inkblot is currently an active series and is available at your local comic book store or online retailer.
For more info, check out:
Image website: https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/inkblot
Inkblot IG : @inkblotcomic
