David Mack's Kabuki Message Board
Moderated by NohTV.com creator Ron Wm McElman

View Thread | Post Response | Return to Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg

Re: Kabuki (why you should buy it)

Posted By: MACK!
Date: TUE, 5/22/01, 4:09 p.m.

In Response To: Kabuki (why you should buy it) (Maxonestar)

: Because it rocks. If you need more reason than that..
: keep reading.

: Kabuki is in my opinion one of the most innovative books
: to ever hit comic stores. Every panel of this comic
: propels the story forward..either deepening the mood
: or revealing new plot threads to be tied up later.
: Circle of Blood, the first installment of the series
: was the first black & white comic I ever
: purchased. I purchased the trade and went home with
: some scrutiny, wondering if i would be able to
: tolerate the lack of color in a comic. By the end of
: issue one, this was a moot point that I felt like an
: idiot for considering. I was so drawn into the story
: that not only did I forget this book was black and
: white, I was calling my friends and telling them how
: amazing the art was. Circle of Blood teaches you
: something about Japan, about philosiphy, about
: vengence, and about how your childhood molds your
: thoughts as an adult. The villain is genius. A true
: masterpiece as important to the story as the main
: character, the reason why Kabuki even exists.

Thanks for the words. I appreciate it.

The
: exposition reads a little awkwardly at times, but
: serves it's purpose well. I suggest starting with this
: book as it is the beginning of a very long and
: expansive story...

True. I can still look at all of the Kabuki books and appreciate them as journals of my growth (and KaBUKI'S), AND for that reason can also acknowledge the flaws and awkwardness in some of that growth process.

It is best to read Circle of Blood first as the introduction and foundation to the story. I can still appreciate a lot of the words, but I sometimes squirm at some of the overwritten parts. The wording is not as evolved as the later stuff, But I suppose it suits the place of the character, her growth, and My own.

I guess I was like 19 when I started putting that to words, so some of the fascinating aspects are to view the book as that kind of documentation of my evolution as a creator and Kabuki as a character.

: In the second installment, Dreams, David takes us on a
: trip into philosiphy. Not boring, high school
: philosiphy, mind you. We're talking about grown-up,
: personal philosiphy. Everyone has one, this is the
: first glimpse we have of Mr. Mack's. The writing here
: is thematicly loaded, pushing the mood rather than the
: story. The art here is your first glimpse of what's to
: come with his painting. This book isn't needed to
: enjoy the rest of the series, but I like it. It gives
: closure to Circle of Blood and opens up new doorways.

Thanks.
So many things these days are plot oriented, that people forget that plot is only ONE way of telling a story. This volume puncuates the first as Character motivated rather than plot motivated.

Thanks for the insights on all these. I appreciate the feedback.

: The Masks of the Noh is the third installment,
: introducing you to and giving you glimpses of the Noh,
: a group of government enforcers. Each of these women
: (with the possible exception of Butoh, but only for
: lack of camera time) intrigues me and pulls me deeper
: into story, wanting to read more. The highlight for me
: is Siamese, the most image oriented charecters in the
: book. Oh, did I mention that for each charecter (other
: than Kabuki) Mack got someone else who's style seemed
: more suited to that agent's personality to handle the
: art chores? This does not cause the layouts and
: storytelling to suffer in the least however. Mack took
: the time to lay out the entire series himself.

: Skin Deep. This is where everyone's suspisions that Mack
: was REALLY onto something was validated. This story
: takes you into the mind of a sociopathic government
: trained assasin who just so happens to be a lonely
: woman. Upon completing this story, I was inspired to
: pick up Circle of Blood again and read it. I then
: reread Dreams and Skin Deep in succesion. I then had a
: cup of coffee and insisted that my girlfriend read it.
: She read it and gave me a list of the reasons why it
: was amazing. This is a woman who thinks the writing in
: "Lucifer" is awkward and uncompelling. (i
: personally love Lucifer and recommend it to anyone who
: has read the Sandman) She ranted about it for a good
: hour. The art in this is top notch, A+ stuff. Better
: than Alex Ross for my money, David's images trancend
: the character and show you the charecter's soul. There
: are many pages that I just look at from time to time
: when I want to make myself happy.

: Metamorphosis is where everything comes together. A
: incredible cast of characters, each with their own
: distinct personality. An arsenal of compelling
: dialouge. This book is outstanding. The art reaches
: unheard of highs, the creativity in each page puts
: entire series of other comics to shame. This book is
: beautiful. Not Catherine Zeta-Jones beautiful, but
: being a soldier in a Kuwaiti desert, staring at the
: heavens as they close up shop beautiful. The fights
: are imaginative and dynamic. The exposition is poetic.
: This is what making comics is about. The best part is
: that at the end of it all. It makes sense. From Circle
: of Blood to Metamorphosis, it makes damn good sense.

: If this doesn't convince you that Kabuki is worth a try,
: then I'm sorry for doing a disservice to you. Because
: I can say with a fair amout of certainty that nobody
: else is doing what this book does. It pushes the
: envelope. And plus David's a really nice guy. Go meet
: him.

: That's all I need to sleep now.

Password:

Messages In This Thread

NEW: Kabuki (why you should buy it) -- Maxonestar -- TUE, 5/22/01, 5:00 a.m.
NEW: Re: Kabuki (why you should buy it) -- MACK! -- TUE, 5/22/01, 4:09 p.m.
View Thread | Post Response | Return to Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg


© 2000 - David Mack / World Famous Comics
Administrated by boardmaster@wfcomics.com