Kabuki Volume 2: Dreams

I'm not going to say that the pictures were by any means all perfect. There was lots of gorgeous artwork in this book, and it was a visual treat. However, some of the pictures felt rather slapped together or amateurish, and I do wish there could have been more to the story. Still, it does get better in the next book, so just consider this one as even more of a 'graphic' novel than usual.

Sanity is not always called for. This story explores one alternative. It's a dark alternative, but it's an alternative to an even darker reality.This is another of Mack's lavish painted comics. To call it 'painted', though, is faint praise. Drawing, lettering in a few different hands, collage, painting - the visual layering and intensity are incredible. The story itself is stark, physically static the with dynamics all in Kabuki's mind. Somehow, Mack conveys and sustains that moment when even desperation fails. Mack's images are filled with deconstructed text. My eye instinctively tries to read it all, but that would defeat the purpose of the imagery. On the other hand, ignoring it defeats the purpose of the writing. This is a book I'll come back to, to give it all the different readings it deserves.