The cat slips through portals to the planes, messing with members of the Seeker’s illustrious family. Who is next in line for a little feline mayhem? Find out in Inkblot #3 from Image Comics!
INKBLOT #3
Writer: Rusty Gladd and Emma Kubert
Artist: Rusty Gladd and Emma Kubert
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 4, 2020
Previously in Inkblot: The Seeker accidentally summoned a demon that looks like a small, ridiculously cute, black cat. After chasing it to another plane and back, she loses it. The cat goes to The Cobblewood, home of the Elves. The Elves are off to the Haunted Cave to kill a dragon. Princess Arabella is late to the fight, having found a small, ridiculously cute, black cat. The cat jumps onto the dragon and calmly walks up its back. The dragon is irritated because it has a mouse in its nose. The cat chases the mouse away, and the dragon flies off. Princess Arabella sees this as an indication that not all conflicts need to be solved by fighting. Her mother, the Queen, sees it as an indication that the Elves need be mice no more and should fight for glory.
MEANWHILE, IN A DIFFERENT CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE
Inkblot #3 opens in upstate New York, on Earth. The Seeker’s writing is the thread that holds the chapters of this story together. She has not been able to find the cat and admits it could be anywhere. Today, anywhere is in a flowerbox of a house in upstate New York. As the Seeker describes her difficulty hunting this presumed monster, it jumps out of the flowerbox and dives into the ocean after a large green creature. This creature looks like a friendly dinosaur with four huge fins and a long tail. The cat grabs hold of its neck and they go on a swimming adventure that leads them through a portal.
As the Seeker comments about her one brother who is not troublesome to her, Illivanas, the story shifts to him. He is the captain of Bargeberg, a boat that is also a floating city. He sees the sea creature surface near them and is charmed. Meanwhile, a woman on Bargeberg, Stormlocke, decides that they should return to tradition and kill sea monsters. She has Illivanas’ magic staff. Apparently Illivanas and Stormlocke have had some sort of quarrel. As he races down to stop her, she uses the staff to tie him up magically and throw him overboard and into a small boat.
Stormlocke attacks the creature, narrowly missing the cat. Illivanas breaks out of his enchantment and powers the small boat back to Bargeberg. Stormlocke redoubles her efforts against the sea creature, and Illivanas pleads with the creature to leave. Ever obliging, the cat pops open a portal back to Earth, but not New York. They come through in Scotland.
O’ER THE BRINY SEA
Inkblot #3 takes us from the mundane to another fantasy world. The concept of Bargeberg is interesting. On the one hand, a boat huge enough for a small city seems ungainly and improbable. Indeed, in long shots it looks like an overfilled tub that would block its sails from the wind. As a traveling city for magic using pirates, on the other hand, I can suspend my disbelief because the concept is fun.
The cat continues to be adorable, and it is a surprising segue for apparently unconnected stories. I love that it does things that are utterly catlike in between doing clearly magical things. But in my eyes, the star of this issue is the sea creature. I love it so much. It’s green and somewhat awkward looking with a light underbelly and a darker, patterned back. But its face draws you in. It has big eyes, and the mouth looks like a smile. It looks like it enjoys exploring the ocean, even when it is transported from Earth to another world. When Stormlocke attacks it, we feel for it.
BOTTOM LINE: MEANDERING WITH A CAT
Inkblot #3 takes the question of “What’s the difference between a demon from the Void and a cat?” and answers it with, “Oh, is there one?” This cat is a mini agent of chaos, but instead of pushing things off of shelves, it opens portals to other worlds. I can get behind this cat.
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Inkblot #3
Some cats don’t like water, but this cat is unafraid to go anywhere.
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