Conjugating the Grammar of Shapes

[spectralbovine]

Ever since David Mack handed me an issue of Kabuki at WonderCon 2008, I have been wanting to read the whole series from the beginning, and after finally collecting the seven trades released so far, I was able to experience a comic unlike any other I have read. I savored it over three weeks.

Kabuki is the tale of Kabuki, a operative of the Noh, a

Comments

[sisterjune]

sir you had me at badass female ninja assasins. (and then again when I saw that gorgeous art work.) I havent sat down with a comic in a long time but I think now's as good a time to start as any :) *goes to search amazon for copies*

[spectralbovine]

sir you had me at badass female ninja assasins.
I thought that might be relevant to people's interests!

that gorgeous art work
That is why I provided lots of links! You just have to see it. It isn't like anything else.

I havent sat down with a comic in a long time but I think now's as good a time to start as any :) *goes to search amazon for copies*
Rock. Do let me know what you think. The first trade, Circle of Blood, is about to be reprinted, but there are copies on the Marketplace.

[equustel]

IT IS getting reprinted? When?! Damn, I am so past ready to dig into this - I keep almost-buying The Alchemy, but I do want to start from the beginning.

[spectralbovine]

It is! Finally! Supposedly this month. Maybe. I can't find a hard release date for it, so it may still be delayed. I think it was supposed to come out last year.

I keep almost-buying The Alchemy, but I do want to start from the beginning.
Here is the thing about The Alchemy: I didn't love the issues as much the second time around. I think it actually works better out of context because it's basically an essay, a presentation of ideas. You may not know what's going on completely with the characters and the very little plot there is, but I found it harder to appreciate all the metaphors and concepts because they were overpowering the story I'd been following for the last six volumes. He says some terrific stuff, mind you, and I love that so many people have been inspired by his work, but I had mixed feelings about it, which was sad since reading the issues on their own without knowing anything about the series or the characters was such an amazing experience.

[hecubot]

I'm having a hard time getting past a character named Kabuki working for Noh.

That's like naming a character DeeCee and having them work for Marvel.

(Noh being a separate and distinct Japanese theater tradition from Kabuki.)

[spectralbovine]

The names are chosen very deliberately. Kabuki is so named because her mother was kidnapped during the war to be a comfort woman, but instead of sex, she was forced to perform kabuki dramas. And the Noh are obviously so named because of the masks. David Mack is pretty well versed in Japanese culture and language (there are some neat integrations of kanji into the art that I wouldn't have caught if the afterword hadn't told me what the characters meant), and that all informs the story.

[the_narration]

Several years back I came across a few issues of Kabuki selling for cheap at a garage sale. It was strange and interesting, but they were from somewhere in the middle, so I didn't really know much about what was going on.

I was always curious to read from the beginning, but never got around to it.

[spectralbovine]

Now is the time! *poke poke poke*

I have once again planted the seed. In a year or two, you will get around to it, as I did. Heh.

[the_narration]

Well, I do like stories with badass female assassins....

[spectralbovine]

Why do you think I made sure to repeat it a few times?

[drummertobeat]

Kabuki was one of my favorite comics shortly after I discovered it; the art is something I could stare at for hours, looking at it as a whole and picking it apart piece by piece. It's something of a life's work for Mack, I think. I couldn't recommend it enough.

[spectralbovine]

Absolutely. I asked him how long he would be doing it, and he said he'd spend the last fifteen years on it, and he didn't think he would be stopping any time soon. The art is definitely the kind you just want to stare at and pick apart, wondering why he put it together like that, maybe deciding that he didn't actually think about it but it just worked out to mean something anyway.