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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Celia’s Comic Review: Inkblot – Who runs reality? A cat, of course!

Inkblot Volume 1 (issues #1 – 6)
April 7, 2021
Writers/Artists: Emma Kubert & Rusty Gladd
Publisher: Image Comics
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: T
A powerful sorceress must attempt to correct her greatest mistake—the creation of a magical cat that can travel through time, space, and the seven realms of reality. The cat threatens to unravel the fabric of the universe, doesn’t care, and just won’t listen!


As a total cat person, it was my utmost pleasure to read Inkblot, Volume 1. Kubert and Gladd do an excellent job of setting up their world, delivering the backstory in an engaging and visually stunning manner, and providing a fun inciting incident with the creation of the cat, after which the time-travelling adventures begin. Their blurb nicely sums up what’s what, so let’s talk about my favorite bits of the volume.
1. The Cat!
What can I say? I love this mischievous, time-traveling, reality-bending critter. A simply drawn black cat, the dark color has it leaping out at you from the panels while at the same time it continually explodes with personality. Though all it can say, in true cat fashion, is “Mow,” this one simple sound conveys a universe of emotion. This is a testament to the stellar talent of the creators. They nailed the mystery of the species, and I eagerly turned pages to see what the crazy kitten would do next and where it would take us…
2. Time Travel
I’m always a fan of a good bit of, as the tenth Doctor says, a bit of “wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff,” and thanks to the wanderlust of our feline friend, we’re moved through various points in time to bear witness to events, some with and some without the main character sorceress present. As the creators say, “the timeline is a ruin, as it would be if handled by the elastic moods of a cat,” and it is certainly entertaining to experience as a reader.
3. The Seeker, aka The Bookworm
Sister of the king Xenthos Voidbreaker, the Seeker is thousands of years old and tasked with recording the history and adventures of her many sorcerer siblings. She spends all her time in the library of the Living Castle, experimenting with and studying magic, and documenting and documenting and documenting… until one night she falls asleep, spills some ink, and voila! Instant cat! As a character, she’s both a competent narrator and a take-charge protagonist with some fun quirks, such as the way she swears. Instead of foul language, she busts out with amusing little ditties like “fairy farts” and “sweet suckleberries.”
4. Bonus Material: “Tales from the Kube”
At the end of the volume, there’s an extra story from Kubert & Gladd, detailing their collaborative process. It’s both a fascinating read and a visual delight. And yes, there’s more black-cat goodness, as well.

In short, dear comic readers, if you enjoy surreal, time-travelling fantasy tales with beautiful art - and cat! - this comic is for you.

5 Sheep




Guest Reviewer: Author Celia Breslin
Celia writes urban fantasy and romance, and likes to spend tons of time reading comics, binge-watching fantasy/sci-fi TV and movies, and playing video and board games with her family.

2 comments:

  1. How could you not love being at the mercy of a time-traveling cat? This sounds amazing - and thanks for the link to the first issue!

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