Kabuki, New comics

New comics!

Dark Ages 1

Tom Taylor brings his DC Elseworlds expertise to the Marvel Universe.  In this first issue, heroes die and the world is hit by an EMP that erases electricity from the world.  (Go with it, it’s no less fantastical than zombies in the DCU.)  Looking forward to seeing where this goes.  

Clever to start the calm before the storm with an adorable kid.

Captain Marvel 32

Not the strongest of starts to a new arc.  The premise of gathering all the characters with “Marvel” in their name feels super contrived.  Still Kelly Thompson’s earned quite a bit of leeway with her past performance.

Many Deaths of Laila Starr 5

After four issues of not knowing where this was going, this excellent-up-to-this-point miniseries ends pretty much as generically as I could have imagined - the guy invents immortality but realizes that life is in the little moments and has no meaning if it doesn’t end blah blah blah.  Not that I disagree, but it’s a conventional finish to a most enjoyable and unconventional comic.  Due to the box that I’m on in the re-read, I’m going to be reviewing this again in the very near future.  

Kabuki: Circle of Blood 1-6

It’s fascinating to see prototypical David Mack, before his art style evolves into the painted, dreamlike, ethereal masterpieces that I know and love today.  All the seeds are there.  Mack’s planting them all in this comic and cultivating them, waiting to see which one blossoms into the most beautiful tree.  

Love the transformation.

As a story on its own, it’s certainly engaging enough.  Kabuki’s origin is suitably horrible.  She’s got an iconic look, both with and without her mask.  There’s a couple of scenes that have lingered in my mind since the first time I read them.  And even in its nascent stages, Mack’s art is a sight to see.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Kabuki: Masks of the Noh 1-4

A sweet comic that utilizes the strengths of multiple artists like few other series.  Each member of the Noh is drawn by a different person, and it somehow meshes together into a coherent work of art.  This is far more straightforward of a story than any other Kabuki comic that I’ve read, perhaps because Mack isn’t drawing the majority of it.  

Really feels like an all-star team.  It's all the signatures that make it feel special.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Kabuki: Skin Deep 1-3

Now this is the Mack that I’m most familiar with.  Beautiful painted art, lots of triangles and words jotted all over the page.  A stream of consciousness that looks like something poured directly from Mack’s mindscape onto the page.  It’s perfectly suited for a story about someone’s time in a mental institution, where time and reality have no distinct boundaries and everything blurs together into an endless haze.  

Art examples next time when I get to Metamorphosis.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good