Inkblot #8 // Review
There’s a greater writer of works; they call her The Seeker. She’s been called to a meeting. It must be important...she rarely makes it out of the large library that is her home. Lately, she’s been getting rather a lot of that, though, thanks to a cat summon into existence by a fallen inkwell. The Seeker and the Cat venture out of the library once more in Inkblot #8. Writer/artist Emma Kubert and writer Rusty Gladd continue their exploration into an enjoyable, little multiverse trodden by a girl and her cat in the eighth issue of a series that still hold seemingly infinite potential.
The Seeker is called away from her massive library. She’s going to meet a few other wielders of magic. This is perfectly fine. Perfectly responsible. It’s also perfectly responsible to bring her cat. However, the combination of a cat of mysterious origin and powerful magics might prove to be rather dangerous as the cat in question can warp reality and bend time. The fact that it appears to be a perfectly ordinary and totally unremarkable cat and the fact that the Seeker’s colleagues have yet to be exposed to its power could prove to be quite a problem as well.
In previous issues, the dialogue had felt a bit stiff and awkward in places. Inkblot #8 features some of the best dialogue in the series thus far as a group of powerful magic users meet to discuss matters and get interrupted by longstanding frustrations and the potentially devastating power of a perfectly unsuspecting black cat with big green eyes. Kubert and Gladd have been shooting through a vast world with quick, little monthly adventures. This story peers a bit further into the dynamics of the characters who hold some of the most power in the realms. It’s a fun, little peek into something bigger in the world of a small black cat.
The little black cat is as cute as ever, clinging as it does to the Seeker...and what’s interesting about the visual rendering of the emotionality of that is that Kubert has been able to show a progression. The Seeker’s initial irritation with the cat has grown into affection. The cat itself may not have a huge range of emotion, but the Seeker has warmed to the cat, and Kubert has been able to show that in subtle emotional ways. The magical world of Inkblot continues to be interesting visually, with magic crackling across the page and the occasional breathtaking angle on an establishing shot.
Magical fantasy fiction generally allows the reader a full vision of the scope of the magic that’s being played with throughout a given adventure...whether it’s a tiny event that will only touch a single life or a world-shaking conflict that threatens the very existence of the universe. The energies being played with by Kubert and Gladd in Inkblot are fascinating by virtue of the fact that the central cat and its precise connection with the larger world of magic is a complete mystery. Eight issues in and the precise significance of what’s going on haven’t quite been established. The ambiguity makes for an interesting dynamic.
