Noe’s Comics Nook: Inkblot

Review

From the beginning, Inkblot strikes you with a certain nostalgic air of fantasy comics from times past – Sandman and Elfquest come to mind – but that is only the beginning of an adventure across the seven realms, and, as we soon find out, across time. The Seeker, one of a family of sorcerers, the only one who stays in place, recorder of deeds and librarian to, seemingly, history, is writing the history of her family and their discovery that killing magical beings grants them power and long-life. The only problem is she is tired and when she slips down on the desk to rest, she accidently spills half-a-dozen vials of unknown substances, along with some ink, to the floor – summing, or creating, a demon (it’s a cat).

This demon (cat) proceeds to pull The Seeker into a portal to another realm, where they encounter giants, among other things, before returning them to the Library of the Living Castle (which, can I just say, I would love to visit). The demon (cat) then promptly disappears, to the frustration of The Seeker, who worries about what havoc such a powerful being could cause. We learn throughout the course of the story that this demon (cat) is gallivanting across time, but sticking close to members of The Seeker’s family in the process. This volume ends with our discovery of just what happened to The Seeker’s younger brother and the set-up for what has potential to be a tale of epic fantasy proportions.

Kubert and Gladd have created a truly beautiful and exciting world to explore with Inkblot, not to mention one of the cutest demons (cats) in all of comics.  Like many stories that begin with significant attention to world building, how good this volume truly is will be determined by what comes next. I for one am looking forward to finding out!

Elements of Story

Plot: When The Seeker, feeling drowsy, accidently creates/unleashes a demon (cat) of enormous power, she finds herself revisiting her family’s history – and in a race to save reality from a curious cat that, naturally, doesn’t listen to reason.

Characters: The Seeker, The Demon (Cat), Xenthas Voidbreaker, Illivanos, Illidren, Ilyax, Vallathrax, Inos, Stormlocke, numerous magical creatures (including giants, a dragon, Nessie, a Sphinx), Vikki, Vironika, Vikka

Major Settings: Living Castle, Library of the Living Castle, the seven realms (Mountainlands, Depths, Desert-lands, Beyond, Mother Earth, Void, Forestlands)

Themes: Magic, ethics, family, choices, history

Lesson Plan Idea Using Common Core Standards (CCS)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5 – Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Directions: Inkblot opens with what we learn is a telling of the Seeker’s family history and rapidly becomes a series of adventures through space and time by the adorable cat (or demon, depending on your perspective). Though it at first seems these adventures are random and unconnected, throughout the comic we learn that the cat is, in fact, visiting Seeker and her family throughout the ages, weaving itself into the fabric of history. This raises some interesting, and complicated, questions that for now we must assume are resolved in future volumes.

For this assignment, students are asked to recreate a linear timeline of the events in Inkblot, specifically, placing each event in the Sorcerer family history in chronological order. Students are free to chart this visually in a timeline drawing, audibly in a voice recording/podcast, or in prose by writing it all out in order. After reconstructing this timeline, students should reflect in 2 to 3 paragraphs about what the process was like and explain why they think the creators chose the more erratic approach to sharing this history with the reader. Students should cite relevant pages from the comic to support this explanation.