The standard comic book uses dialogue to set up its illustrations. Kabuki, however, uses its illustrations in some ways to tell a different version of the same story. This edition includes the first two volumes of the Kabuki Omnibus series written and illustrated by David Mack, Circles of Blood and Dreams. They read longer than your average comic book and some sections can be confusing as you try to follow along with the story.
Kabuki is not your standard comic book with a straight storyline. Our hero’s background is not divulged in a way were you understand her from the start, it adds context as the story moves along.
Kabuki takes place in a futuristic Japan where guns have become illegal. Its violent and bloody and the action scenes seem to manifest out of thin air, like when they are explaining the Noh, a secret organization of 8 women that eliminates criminals, and each member’s abilities are depicted outside of the story framework. The irony of The Noh is their leader is called The Devil yet their goal is to eliminate evil.
Calling Kabuki a graphic novel would be an insult to Mack. It’s a piece of art. While Dreams is more colorful visually, Circles of Blood in black and white paints a more vivid picture with words. The narration can be confusing if you don’t pay close attention as it switches from Kabuki’s point of view to Mack’s point of view and even in other characters like the main villain Kai.
Volume 1 is the origin story for Kabuki and leads directly into volume 2 though there is a drastic change in Macks storytelling as he uses illustrations more than dialogue to tell the story with vivid colors which are almost misleading as volume one is mostly black and white.
Overall the series is both beautiful and dark. The unorthodox storyline can be confusing, but if you are focused on the dialogue too much, you are only getting half the story. A tragic story where Kabuki was conceived when her mother was raped by Kai and it gets bleaker even as Kabuki gets revenge for the murder of her mother. This series is not for children, and it comes off as a cult classic geared towards a specific audience.
Pros:
Illustrations: The illustrations or both beautiful and terrifying, They tell the same story as the narrator but still feels different, a more mystical story than the actual brutality of the story.
Character Depiction: The way Mack introduces his characters lets you know right away all you need to know about them. And they are pretty darn cool.
Cons:
Unnecessary Details: Think Lord of The Rings, that is if you read the books. It takes a while for the origin story to formulate and dives into minute details such as the weather or when Kai and Kabuki start going for a walk through Kai’s library talking about Alice In Wonderland when all she wants to do is get revenge.
Repetitive Storytelling: Mack constantly builds up a scenario where the story seems to be leading somewhere but then the next age will have you feeling like you accidentally started over When describing Kabuki’s mother Mack talks about her background in multiple scenes and can be confusing with the timeline of the story.
Final Thoughts:
If you are looking for an edgy non-traditional comic book, that’s also violent yet artistic, look no further Kabuki is exactly that.
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