Kabuki Volume 1

Celebrating twenty years of Kabuki, this is the first volume in a complete set of large oversize library editions collecting the entire critically acclaimed Kabuki series.

This edition collects the first two original Kabuki volumes: Circle of Blood and Dreams. With eleven issues and loads of extras, this is the book that fans of Kabuki have been waiting for and the perfect starting point for brand-new readers.

Kabuki follows the story of a damaged woman, code named Kabuki in her role as assassin / enforcer to the Noh, a centralized media outlet that controls Japan in a dystopian future.  She is driven by both vengeance for her mother’s death, as well as her own scarring by the sadistic Yakuza boss, Kai.

Kabuki is celebrated the world over as David Mack’s tour de force, and with good reason.  It could be argued that this is more of a work of art than a comic book.  Mack has an altered approach to every aspect of this book from the scripting, to the page layout, to the art itself.  This trade collects Circle of Blood and Dreams in a single glorious 402 page epic.  This version also features notes from Brian Michael Bendis, and Jim Steranko heaping praise after praise on David Mack.  Mack also include details about his process for creating and realizing this complicated story.

There is no need to point out that Kabuki is a work of art.  David Mack is a renowned artist and writer the world over.  Kabuki features some lavish artwork that captures the beauty and symmetry of the female form.   He succeeds in making a black and white comic look vibrant in Circle of Blood.  The Dreams book is breathtaking in its mixed media presentation, which if you are fan of that style, will be an instant win.  The story is rich and detailed with minimal wording where the art is fullest, and blocks of text to offset huge single page runs.

A word to the wise, just because it’s a work of art does not mean that it is a fun read.  I found the volume to be tedious at times.  In Japanese style, it’s told in a vertical format that may be a challenge to some readers.  Also this format is a bit of a chore for anyone reading it in electronic format as it requires a great deal of scrolling up and down from page to page.  At the end of my reading, I found that I appreciated the work from an artistic perspective, but didn’t enjoy it as a comic.  Newcomers to the Kabuki comic may find this 400+ page volume to be a bit onerous to get through.

Fans of David Mack and Kabuki will undoubtedly treasure this collection.  Fans of japanese themed series like Frank Miller’s Elektra will also enjoy this epic telling of a assassin on her trail of blood, vengeance and the meaning of it all.  Traditional readers who like a more horizontal page layout and linear story will find this book dull.  In closing, I would I would call Kabuki artistically pleasing, but daunting to the average comic book fan.

For more information about the Kabuki Library Edition HC or other great products from Dark Horse, please visit their website:  Dark Horse

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.