The Cat returns to the Depths in time to save Illivanos as he sinks beneath the waves. Will the Merfolk still be his allies? Find out in Inkblot #14 from Image Comics!
INKBLOT #14
Writer: Emma Kubert & Rusty Gladd
Artist: Emma Kubert & Rusty Gladd
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 8, 2021
Previously in Inkblot: The Realms are in chaos. Xenthos thinks there must be some pattern to it, and the Seeker thinks it is somehow all related to the Cat. Now she is building a collar which she hopes she can us to control its power. And Vallathrax wants her to build a body for him. The Cat travels to Earth where he sees an old woman who is training four young people in magic. She directs one of the girls, Eliza, to kill a creature so she can gain its strength. Eliza refuses; the creature is too cute. Then several breaches open up, and ropy tentacles reach through and try to grab them!
THE BATTLE AT SEA RAGES ON
Inkblot #14 opens in the Depths where Illivanos continues to struggle against Stormlocke. The sorcerors feel betrayed that he insists upon peace with the Merfolk. The Seeker recalls this peace, unusual for their people’s kind, as evidenced by the various fights we have seen among them. Stormlocke’s magic strikes Illivanos and he falls into the water and sinks. But then an inky black paw touches his cheek.
Illivanos regains consciousness among the people of the Depths with the Cat around his neck and his head surrounded by a helmet-like bubble of breathable air. Cutter, a swordfish-like humanoid, confesses to trying to pop the bubble, then demands to know why Illivanos is here. He warns the Merfolk that the peace may be over. Cutter seems to understand that the people from the surface are like that. Then he and his people offer to take Illivanos back to the surface and help him regain his command.
In Bargeberg, Stormlocke orders her crew to search for Illivanos’ body and reminisces about how he brought her here through the Realms. One of her crew points out a strange creature on the topgallant sail. It is, of course, the Cat. As its claws shred the canvas, a huge wave engulfs the ship, and the Merfolk from the Depths attack. Illivanos reclaims his staff, but Stormlocke does not give up that easily!
ENERGETICALLY FANCIFUL
I think that, out of all the places we’ve seen, the Depths as depicted in Inkblot #14 is my favorite. We pick up almost where we left off with Illivanos before. He is in a small boat, well on its way to being destroyed, while the staff-wielding Stormlocke sculpts the waves around her to attack him and drag him down to the bottom of the ocean. Stormlocke herself looks a little too crazy with power, but the composition of the panels is nice.
Where the issue has a lot of fun, though, is in the Depths. The Merfolk come in a variety. Some are indeed half-fish, half-humanoid, but with human bodies, fish heads, and appendages that end in fins. Others are large versions of regular underwater creatures – a squid, a crab, etc. These beings have expressive faces, and they have a tempestuous jollity about them that is infectious. The two main Merfolk we meet are variants of a swordfish and of a hammerhead shark. There is some good humor in the hammerhead’s expression with his eyes. Later taking them into battle with the pirate-like people of Bargeberg is just plain fun.
BOTTOM LINE: THE CAT REVISITS A LOOSE END
Inkblot #14 is more straightforward than many other issues. Of the members of the Seeker’s family, Illivanos is rather likeable, and the Depths is a place where the creators’ imaginations really shine. And who doesn’t like a good pirate battle?
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Inkblot #14
It’s back to the Depths and a battle at sea in Inkblot #14!
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By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.