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Inked: A graphic novel
★ The bestselling new-release Australian graphic novel of 2025! ★
For fans of Remy Lai's Pawcasso and Raina Telgemeier's Drama comes this hilarious enemies-to-besties graphic novel, about a kid who just wants to blend in and an opera-singing octopus who loves to stand out ...
When 12-year-old Sid discovers a talking octopus in his family’s fish shop, he is shocked – and annoyed. Otto the octopus is cheeky, demanding, and won’t leave Sid alone until he helps Otto get to the ocean … roughly 300 kilometres away!
But Sid has bigger fish to fry. He has to figure out how to get into the art school of his dreams, or else high school next year will be a nightmare.
Can these frenemies find a way to work together, or will it all end in disaster? Or even worse … will Sid and Otto realise they actually make a pretty great team?
Brimming with hilarity, hijinks and plenty of heart, the first graphic novel from author Karen Wasson and CBCA-acclaimed illustrator Jake A Minton sparkles with slapstick humour and fish-out-of-water misunderstandings. With extraordinary full-colour artwork and a bonus 'making of' section at the end, readers of all ages will be surprised and delighted with this stand-out suburban adventure for middle-grade readers.
Prepare to get INKED!
★Inked is the first release from Figment Books, the home of the best, boldest and most exciting graphic novels in Australian publishing.
Inked is perfect Independent readers aged 8-12 Fans of graphic novels like Pawcasso, Drama and Treasure in the Lake. Parents, teachers and librarians seeking entertaining friendship stories with high-quality visual storytelling. Gift-givers looking for a kids' graphic novel with beautiful artwork, memorable characters and plenty of belly laughs. Graphic novel and young readers' book clubs wanting an entertaining story with opportunities to explore themes such as bullying, friendship dramas and decision-making.
For fans of Remy Lai's Pawcasso and Raina Telgemeier's Drama comes this hilarious enemies-to-besties graphic novel, about a kid who just wants to blend in and an opera-singing octopus who loves to stand out ...
When 12-year-old Sid discovers a talking octopus in his family’s fish shop, he is shocked – and annoyed. Otto the octopus is cheeky, demanding, and won’t leave Sid alone until he helps Otto get to the ocean … roughly 300 kilometres away!
But Sid has bigger fish to fry. He has to figure out how to get into the art school of his dreams, or else high school next year will be a nightmare.
Can these frenemies find a way to work together, or will it all end in disaster? Or even worse … will Sid and Otto realise they actually make a pretty great team?
Brimming with hilarity, hijinks and plenty of heart, the first graphic novel from author Karen Wasson and CBCA-acclaimed illustrator Jake A Minton sparkles with slapstick humour and fish-out-of-water misunderstandings. With extraordinary full-colour artwork and a bonus 'making of' section at the end, readers of all ages will be surprised and delighted with this stand-out suburban adventure for middle-grade readers.
Prepare to get INKED!
★Inked is the first release from Figment Books, the home of the best, boldest and most exciting graphic novels in Australian publishing.
Inked is perfect Independent readers aged 8-12 Fans of graphic novels like Pawcasso, Drama and Treasure in the Lake. Parents, teachers and librarians seeking entertaining friendship stories with high-quality visual storytelling. Gift-givers looking for a kids' graphic novel with beautiful artwork, memorable characters and plenty of belly laughs. Graphic novel and young readers' book clubs wanting an entertaining story with opportunities to explore themes such as bullying, friendship dramas and decision-making.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 31, 2026
This was such a fun graphic novel and so well deserved to be CBCA Shortlisted! I loved the little twist at the end, it didn't go how you expected and I loved that.
Highly recommend, whether you've got kids or not! I laughed out loud multiple times.
Highly recommend, whether you've got kids or not! I laughed out loud multiple times.
July 6, 2025
This is a great story and I love Otto (the octopus). The art is just amazing and all the characters are so expressive. The only drawback was Sid, I like that he wants to be an artist and I get that he is getting bullied but I didn't like that Sid is mad/angry, at Otto, well, at just about everything for most of the book. Was he this mad at everything before he met Otto?
April 30, 2025
This was such a cute graphic novel! It had such incredible artwork and an equally amazing story.
We follow Sid Crackin, a sixth-grader whose ambitions to attend a prestigious arts school fall through when he doesn’t win a tuition scholarship. Unbeknownst to Sid, when returning to his family’s failing seafood shop, Crackin Calamari, he discovers the talking octopus, Otto, who has mistakingly arrived in their small town Rone instead of the Italian capital, Rome. Otto is now hundreds of kilometers away from the ocean and needs Sid’s help to fulfill his operatic dreams in Italy. Will Sid be able to help Otto return to the sea, and find his way into the art school of his dreams?
This was a beautifully crafted graphic novel, touching on the importance of friendship. Otto’s and Sid’s relationship was a delight to watch grow, especially with all the fishy sarcastic comments. I loved how Dee was so supportive of her friends, and helped Sid stand up for himself.
The illustrations were so gorgeous! I loved how the main characters were designed after an octopus (with Sid’s messy hair that is always stuck in eight directions mimicking an octopus), and the supporting characters were designed after two sea creatures: one that helps octopus hunt, and one that hunts octopus. Very clever and well thought out!
Highly recommend to younger audiences who are looking for a graphic novel filled with amazing illustrations, role-model characters, and fishy puns.
We follow Sid Crackin, a sixth-grader whose ambitions to attend a prestigious arts school fall through when he doesn’t win a tuition scholarship. Unbeknownst to Sid, when returning to his family’s failing seafood shop, Crackin Calamari, he discovers the talking octopus, Otto, who has mistakingly arrived in their small town Rone instead of the Italian capital, Rome. Otto is now hundreds of kilometers away from the ocean and needs Sid’s help to fulfill his operatic dreams in Italy. Will Sid be able to help Otto return to the sea, and find his way into the art school of his dreams?
This was a beautifully crafted graphic novel, touching on the importance of friendship. Otto’s and Sid’s relationship was a delight to watch grow, especially with all the fishy sarcastic comments. I loved how Dee was so supportive of her friends, and helped Sid stand up for himself.
The illustrations were so gorgeous! I loved how the main characters were designed after an octopus (with Sid’s messy hair that is always stuck in eight directions mimicking an octopus), and the supporting characters were designed after two sea creatures: one that helps octopus hunt, and one that hunts octopus. Very clever and well thought out!
Highly recommend to younger audiences who are looking for a graphic novel filled with amazing illustrations, role-model characters, and fishy puns.
July 7, 2025
I really enjoyed this funny graphic novel. The story is engaging and humorous, and the illustrations are excellent. They add to both the story and the humour.
Sid finds a talking octopus in his school bag. That is not good news. School is hard enough, and he attracts enough bullying without being weirder.
Otto the octopus escaped from a fish food van and wants to get to Rome, Italy. He’s in Rone, a little lost and miles from the sea. The octopus baits Sid enough that he enters a competition where the prize is a strip to Sydney. Sid agrees, it is near the sea, and Otto could swim to Rome. It is the beginning of serious problems for Sid and Otto.
Recommended for readers aged eight years or older. Especially attractive to reluctant readers.
Sid finds a talking octopus in his school bag. That is not good news. School is hard enough, and he attracts enough bullying without being weirder.
Otto the octopus escaped from a fish food van and wants to get to Rome, Italy. He’s in Rone, a little lost and miles from the sea. The octopus baits Sid enough that he enters a competition where the prize is a strip to Sydney. Sid agrees, it is near the sea, and Otto could swim to Rome. It is the beginning of serious problems for Sid and Otto.
Recommended for readers aged eight years or older. Especially attractive to reluctant readers.
February 8, 2026
4.5⭐️
for a kids graphic novel, this was cute and fun.
following the journey of an octopus trying to get to rome and a boy wanting to go to art school. they band together to enter a talent show. with some obstacles along the way of bullying, financial strain, and a runaway octopus, the ending is like a nice pretty bow at to tie everything together. it contains factual information on octopuses with little remarks here and there which i thought was very beneficial to a child’s learning experience.
i also enjoyed reading the final notes on the character design and how the cover was chosen. very smart and strategic ❤️
i would recommend to kids who enjoy picture stories and are maybe trying to transition into bigger stories without losing the illustrations.
for a kids graphic novel, this was cute and fun.
following the journey of an octopus trying to get to rome and a boy wanting to go to art school. they band together to enter a talent show. with some obstacles along the way of bullying, financial strain, and a runaway octopus, the ending is like a nice pretty bow at to tie everything together. it contains factual information on octopuses with little remarks here and there which i thought was very beneficial to a child’s learning experience.
i also enjoyed reading the final notes on the character design and how the cover was chosen. very smart and strategic ❤️
i would recommend to kids who enjoy picture stories and are maybe trying to transition into bigger stories without losing the illustrations.
June 24, 2025
Quirky, funny with a big heart. About blending in, standing out and chasing your dreams. When a talking octopus Otto turns up in his parents shop, Sid thinks he’s going crazy. They both have big plans- Otto wants to sing opera in Rome, Sid desperately hopes to get into a prestigious art school. Stand out characters you love and gorgeous illustrations. Highly recommend to GN fans.
April 9, 2025
A fun story about a boy and an octopus who together can both achieve their dreams. I did this one as an audio book but I feel the graphic format would do better justice to the story. But the audio was still good. Happy to recommend to middle grade readers.
April 12, 2025
Five stars for the characters, five stars for the story, five stars for the illustrations (I'm obvs biased on this last one but they're so good and cute and perfect, Otto's little hands and Sid's grumpy little face and Dee's cute little cardigan and all the adorable little background details UGH IT'S SO GOOD).
July 19, 2025
This graphic novel was a cute read. I expected the talking, singing octopus to present a lot more hilarious moments, but enjoyed the overall storyline. I loved how supportive Dee was of Sid and the depiction of their friendship the most.
April 9, 2026
Absolutely fantastic. Great plot and pacing. Bright and colourful comic book style illustrations based on fish with a message about sustainability and ocean conservation. Read in the Western standard of left-right, front to back.
May 9, 2025
Heartfelt and hilarious. Expertly drawn and written. I think this book will be ripped apart and held together with tape (and that is high praise from a school librarian)!
May 10, 2025
a quirky, silly, adorable kids story about an Octopus who wanted to leave the same place a young boy is trying to leave. It's just a cute story!
August 4, 2025
So so so so good! I would recommend to anyone! Is it a long read? No, but it’s great if you just want a book in your hand that will give you some laughs!
October 10, 2025
I wish there was a way of attaching a photo of my favourite panels to explain why I love this book. You’ll just have to take my word for it that’s it’s charming and genuinely funny.
March 1, 2026
A very fun, unique story, with fantastic illustrations!
April 17, 2026
A super cute and heartwarming Australian middle grade graphic novel. Touches on friendship, bullying, family financial stress, and following your dreams. AND of course spectacular singing octopi!!
June 17, 2025
Cute, vibrant illustrations with a storyline that isn't overly suspenseful or hilarious, but definitely imaginative and satisfying. It definitely reminded me of Warner Bros Merry Melodies' Michigan J Frog. (1955, but obviously it was still being screened once I was born)
December 13, 2025
Good story, great characters and stunning artwork 🐙
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews