Inkblot #10 // Review
A Magical cat from a void leads a couple of intrepid adventurers through that void as writer/artist Emma Kubert and writer Rusty Gladd journey into mystery with the adorable, black cat with the huge, curious green eyes. Kubert has grown quite a bit in understanding how best to frame the cat in action. The tenth issue of Inkblot is a fun jump through danger with a couple of strangers and an all-too-familiar black cat. The larger mysteries of the world of the story drift into the background in a fast-paced sprint through the void.
The cat is of the void. It may not know where it is or what it's doing, but the cat is DEFINITELY from the void. That doesn't actually explain a whole lot, though. It only amplifies the mystery. And so when an elf girl and a mage are lost in the void, the best thing for it is to follow the cat. The only problem? The cat might have lured one of them into the void in the first place. Where is it going to lead them once they get out? A cat always lands on its feet. Its companions? They might tumble around a little bit.
Gladd and Kubert deliver some genuine poetry in and amidst the rush. The void is described as an endless pit swallowing reality to fill an endless wound. The little black cat is a perfect vehicle for danger as it rushes through weird action. People flail around in the innocent little creature's wake. It's a format that's been used a few times before throughout the series' ten issues, but it still feels remarkably fresh in a walk through danger and darkness for a couple of people who don't know each other. There may not be much tying the tenth issue to the larger dynamics of the realms in which the story rests, but the sense of wonder seems to be deepening with the tenth issue.
Kubert cleverly directs the flow of action across the page. Her depiction of an endless void has its own subtle menace to it: gaping jaws and so many eyes amidst the coiling tendrils of vines. And the little black cat seems lost in a world completely beyond its control. Kubert's ability to make that cat the center of every panel continues to impress even if the cat in question is lingering around the corners of the page. She catches the little black cat from some pretty interesting angles in the tenth issue of the series. She's doing a beautiful job of giving the cat personality without devolving into the kind of anthropomorphizing that would compromise its cat-like innocence.
The series maintains its wit and charm ten issues in. So many panels of the issue feel like they stand pretty well on their own in a world of endless internet cat memes. The challenge continues to be to build enough of a story around that cat to keep the story's momentum going. Kubert and Gladd are doing an outstanding job of maintaining that momentum.
