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Kabuki #5
Kabuki, Vol. 5: Metamorphosis
Image Comics offers the latest collection of David Mack's acclaimed Kabuki epic. The latest tale of the enigmatic assassin of the Noh. The book - which Mack says "represents my most diverse range of fully painted and mixed media artwork, and marks my most evolved work as a writer" - collects all nine painted issues of the recent series titled simply Kabuki.
The story that sets the stage for the current "Alchemy" storyline returns to print! Featuring an introduction by BILL SIENKIEWICZ and an afterword by filmmaker JOHN SAYLES, this is the largest KABUKI collection yet and still one of the most sought after!
Collects KABUKI #1-9.
The story that sets the stage for the current "Alchemy" storyline returns to print! Featuring an introduction by BILL SIENKIEWICZ and an afterword by filmmaker JOHN SAYLES, this is the largest KABUKI collection yet and still one of the most sought after!
Collects KABUKI #1-9.
280 pages, Paperback
First published December 11, 2000
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About the author
David W. Mack
476Ìýbooks208ÌýfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ database with this name.
David W. Mack is a comic book artist and writer, best known for his creation Kabuki and his work on the Marvel Comics titles Daredevil and Alias
The author of the Star Trek Novels is David Mack
David W. Mack is a comic book artist and writer, best known for his creation Kabuki and his work on the Marvel Comics titles Daredevil and Alias
The author of the Star Trek Novels is David Mack
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
March 29, 2020
Mack slowly and methodically builds the story of how Kabuki tries to break free of the Control facility. Mack's art is a master class on different techniques. If I handed this to you, you'd think 4 or 5 different artists worked on the book with Mack's use of pencil art, watercolors, collage, mixed media and more. My one complaint is that the text when it's blended into the art can be difficult to read.
February 8, 2009
What the bleep does David Mack know? This book could have been so much better, but Mack had to ruin it by devoting the entire closing chapter to stating his half-baked new age philosophy taken straight out of the psuedo-scientific movie What the Bleep Do We Know? He has the right to believe in whatever he chooses, of course, but he could have presented his views in a more interesting way by incorporating them into the story rather than having his characters stop in the middle of a chase scene and start babbling about their life philosophies which are all indistinguishable from each other. Quantum mechanics doesn't mean you can shape reality by just believing hard enough. Get over it.
Aside from the new age ranting, this is actually a very good read. The artwork is the best you will see in comics. Mack uses multiple mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, and computer graphics as well as changing his style from realistic portrayals to cartoonish figures to go along with mood. He is not bound by traditional comic book framing, indeed many of his pages could stand alone on the walls of an art gallery. Unlike the previous 3 volumes of Kabuki, the plot actually advances this time, although he is still rather repetitious in his story telling. Despite its shortcomings, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the versatility of the comic book medium.
Aside from the new age ranting, this is actually a very good read. The artwork is the best you will see in comics. Mack uses multiple mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, and computer graphics as well as changing his style from realistic portrayals to cartoonish figures to go along with mood. He is not bound by traditional comic book framing, indeed many of his pages could stand alone on the walls of an art gallery. Unlike the previous 3 volumes of Kabuki, the plot actually advances this time, although he is still rather repetitious in his story telling. Despite its shortcomings, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the versatility of the comic book medium.
April 11, 2019
I love the fact that elements that were teased in a previous volume happen at such a length. He isn't just teasing and then goes over it quickly like other writers tend to do, no he is going there and takes his time and effort to surprise us. This so far is the closest in quality to the David Mack that wrote the first Volume. Sure it tends to repeat itself and the plot seems to get convoluted at times but in this case it fits making it a bit insane, making us feel a little like our protagonist.
Really interesting read, 4.5 out of 5 for me.
Really interesting read, 4.5 out of 5 for me.
August 23, 2008
Kabuki is a series about transformation. Yes, it has beautiful art. Yes, it has great writing. And while the central theme of the narrative is transformation, what I found even more powerful is the way the art of the stories transforms from collection to collection, seeming to mirror the character’s evolution.
I have met David Mack a couple times at Comicon, and I’ve been meaning to ask him if he always intended from the beginning for the story to be about transformation and to move from standard comic style to collage. I like to think that it’s something he came up with as he went along, and the writing of the story transformed as he developed it. That the book evolved him as the story itself evolved.
On a plot level, the story begins in rather mainstream comic fashion. Kabuki is set slightly in the future, primarily in Japan. The main character, Kabuki, is one of a group of eight female assassins called The Noh who wear iconic masks and stylized costumes. They are a team managed by the government and sent out to instill fear and kill gangsters and various corporate criminals. However ... not all is as it appears. A multi-layered conspiracy ensues. Seven graphic novels complete the story.
. Mack wrote and drew. Black & white. Has a grim, raw style. The art seems a bit underdeveloped to my eye. Has a bit of Sin City tone but more surreal. With more emphasis on emotions. The story is overall, fairly straightforward to this point.
. Mack wrote and drew. Takes a huge leap forward in style and has more of the Mack signature look. Collage style begins, color is introduced. Blends pencil sketching, ink drawings, painting and even photography. This is a book of interior monologue and, as the title would lead you to believe, is trippy.
. Mack writes and draws some scenes, but this is primarily guest drawn. The style returns to black & white, but overall more refined, precise and graphic than Circle of Blood. Rick Mays draws a pretty phenomenal Scarab. The various artists seem to be chosen to help represent the style of each of the assassins. This sequence consists of short stories introducing us further to the other members of the Noh.
. Mack returns to both draw and write. In Skin Deep his incredible artistic skills beginning to shine. He can morph like a chameleon from cartoonish renderings to realist representational paintings to pencil sketches.
. Mack writes, draws, letters and designs. For the sheer brilliance on display, I think Metamorphosis is the most beautiful of the series and my favorite. The diversity of techniques is breathtaking.
. An action-packed side-step featuring everyone's favorite assassin, Scarab. Illustrated in graphic black & white by Rick Mays, the coolest artist from the Masks collection. Just as the art harkens to outstanding comic illustration style, it doesn't push the envelope in content or technique. A fun diversion.
. Mack takes his signature collage style even further, using cut up items and diverse materials including envelopes and letters sent to him from fans of the series to tell the existentialist, inspirational conclusion of Kabuki's epic story. Although visually, I prefer Metamorphosis, I truly admire The Alchemy for showing the potential of comics. Yes, many artists like R. Crumb and Chris Ware have achieved fame for non-superhero stories. But Mack essentially demonstrates the potential before our eyes to move beyond the dictates of the superhero form. A series that begins with ultra-violent superhumans fighting battles for stereotypical reasons ends with artistic explorations of our inner potential as creative beings. Kabuki moves beyond standard comic book “hero� tropes into a story of heroic action as self-transformation, moving beyond the dictatorship of the system, the fear of change and the psychological control of the past. The hero is one who evolves not one who kills everything. And Mack says we each have the potential, regardless of what has come before, to evolve. Perhaps best of all, the transformation that takes place goes much further than within the narrative; it is a transformation of the form of graphic storytelling. Now that is truly inspirational.
Highly recommended!
I have met David Mack a couple times at Comicon, and I’ve been meaning to ask him if he always intended from the beginning for the story to be about transformation and to move from standard comic style to collage. I like to think that it’s something he came up with as he went along, and the writing of the story transformed as he developed it. That the book evolved him as the story itself evolved.
On a plot level, the story begins in rather mainstream comic fashion. Kabuki is set slightly in the future, primarily in Japan. The main character, Kabuki, is one of a group of eight female assassins called The Noh who wear iconic masks and stylized costumes. They are a team managed by the government and sent out to instill fear and kill gangsters and various corporate criminals. However ... not all is as it appears. A multi-layered conspiracy ensues. Seven graphic novels complete the story.
. Mack wrote and drew. Black & white. Has a grim, raw style. The art seems a bit underdeveloped to my eye. Has a bit of Sin City tone but more surreal. With more emphasis on emotions. The story is overall, fairly straightforward to this point.
. Mack wrote and drew. Takes a huge leap forward in style and has more of the Mack signature look. Collage style begins, color is introduced. Blends pencil sketching, ink drawings, painting and even photography. This is a book of interior monologue and, as the title would lead you to believe, is trippy.
. Mack writes and draws some scenes, but this is primarily guest drawn. The style returns to black & white, but overall more refined, precise and graphic than Circle of Blood. Rick Mays draws a pretty phenomenal Scarab. The various artists seem to be chosen to help represent the style of each of the assassins. This sequence consists of short stories introducing us further to the other members of the Noh.
. Mack returns to both draw and write. In Skin Deep his incredible artistic skills beginning to shine. He can morph like a chameleon from cartoonish renderings to realist representational paintings to pencil sketches.
. Mack writes, draws, letters and designs. For the sheer brilliance on display, I think Metamorphosis is the most beautiful of the series and my favorite. The diversity of techniques is breathtaking.
. An action-packed side-step featuring everyone's favorite assassin, Scarab. Illustrated in graphic black & white by Rick Mays, the coolest artist from the Masks collection. Just as the art harkens to outstanding comic illustration style, it doesn't push the envelope in content or technique. A fun diversion.
. Mack takes his signature collage style even further, using cut up items and diverse materials including envelopes and letters sent to him from fans of the series to tell the existentialist, inspirational conclusion of Kabuki's epic story. Although visually, I prefer Metamorphosis, I truly admire The Alchemy for showing the potential of comics. Yes, many artists like R. Crumb and Chris Ware have achieved fame for non-superhero stories. But Mack essentially demonstrates the potential before our eyes to move beyond the dictates of the superhero form. A series that begins with ultra-violent superhumans fighting battles for stereotypical reasons ends with artistic explorations of our inner potential as creative beings. Kabuki moves beyond standard comic book “hero� tropes into a story of heroic action as self-transformation, moving beyond the dictatorship of the system, the fear of change and the psychological control of the past. The hero is one who evolves not one who kills everything. And Mack says we each have the potential, regardless of what has come before, to evolve. Perhaps best of all, the transformation that takes place goes much further than within the narrative; it is a transformation of the form of graphic storytelling. Now that is truly inspirational.
Highly recommended!
January 28, 2021
Beautiful book. Mostly incredibly confusing and discordant with previous books. A masterpiece artistically. Storytelling was less than amazing.
June 19, 2013
This went complete art house on me. Completely understand why but wow! That was a lot of art house graphics. Hope the next book is a little more traditional in its layout - I could use the break. Not that the art work takes away from the story, as a matter of fact it adds on to it very well. It was just a little much when it was 2 books straight.
October 18, 2015
HANDS DOWN, THIS IS THE GREATEST COMIC BOOK I'VE EVER READ.
Great art. Morphing symbolism and metaphors. great pace and awesome visual acrobatics, Add some fresh insights into Causality, existentialism, quantum mechanics. Just a thrill basically. David's work is pure genius. Entertaining all the way� and inspiring too -- my best passage in the whole series:
" When we realize that all action is art, that the entire universe is an orchestration of living creation and creating life, and the very act of living is the act of creating ourselves and the world we live in, we must then use our creative energy as you say, to focus on the "reality" we want, for what we focus on, what we say, what we do is what we CREATE."
Great art. Morphing symbolism and metaphors. great pace and awesome visual acrobatics, Add some fresh insights into Causality, existentialism, quantum mechanics. Just a thrill basically. David's work is pure genius. Entertaining all the way� and inspiring too -- my best passage in the whole series:
" When we realize that all action is art, that the entire universe is an orchestration of living creation and creating life, and the very act of living is the act of creating ourselves and the world we live in, we must then use our creative energy as you say, to focus on the "reality" we want, for what we focus on, what we say, what we do is what we CREATE."
July 6, 2016
this volume took a lot longer to finish than I originally thought it would. The last third of the book was especially dense, not just in ideas, but also shape and form. While it may be frustrating at times (more on that later), deciphering all the squiggles, processing all the motifs and taking the time to dissect each frame and pack truly enhances the experience.
Metamorphosis is testament that the Kabuki series is more than just a graphic novel � it is equal parts academia, art, experiment, poetry and philosophy.
Metamorphosis is testament that the Kabuki series is more than just a graphic novel � it is equal parts academia, art, experiment, poetry and philosophy.
Read
January 27, 2008get this for the brilliant wall to wall art (collage, watercolor, drawing, lettering, photography and on....) and stay for the non-linear story about transformation of identity, alchemical intersections of future/past consciousness. if scarred, tattooed cyberpunks dreaming quantum physics laden poetry, rogue government agents with a zen philosophy, homoerotic, transgressive genders who employ psychoanalysis as theatre do it for you, DM is your guy!
May 12, 2022
Most of the material here was already presented in the previous volumes. It really does just flesh out and rehash everything from Skin Deep. If there's one flaw in David Mack's style is his constant reflection on previous events in the series. As such, it is very slow, but the my god the art makes up for it all. Don't expect slam-bang superhero material, but a complex psychological delve into the title character's fractured psyche, wrapped around some of the best art I've ever seen in the graphic novel medium.
December 21, 2017
"Some say that there is a very fine line between genius and insanity. I'm not sure there is any line at all." A dizzying journey. The entire time of experiencing this, I was engulfed by the extensively expressive Kabuki's internal reality. Like Sienkiewicz said, "Kabuki: Metamorphosis" deserves a perfect ten.
April 28, 2020
A series of artists translate Mack’s vision to a crazy paranoid story in this volume. Change is the theme of Kabuki and this part of the story deals with the changes and twists of the institution she is trapped in.
March 9, 2023
I read this years ago but had forgotten how perfect and rewarding a reading experience it was. A mix of every artistic media and a spiral that starts from the world building of earlier volumes and just grows into a reflection on life, self and reality.
November 10, 2017
The art was absolutely gorgeous!
February 15, 2018
So insanely beautiful. It's like reading a dream.
July 13, 2018
4 and a half stars
October 15, 2019
Rewind and revision, repeat. Loops of visual poetry.
February 12, 2021
Phenomenal. Gutted that the next volume is so expensive, it might be a while until I can finish reading this series
October 19, 2013
La quatrième de couverture dit que cette oeuvre est allée plus loin que les comics ne pouvaient le rêver, et c'est bien vrai.
Dans ce recueil reprenant six tomes (au moins) des aventures e Kabuki, on plonge dans une oeuvre sans case, où le scénario n'est pas une succession de scènes d'action mais une espèce de voyage dans les contrées de la folie. On y trouve donc des personnalités multiples, de la folie authentique, des personnalités mélangées comme les pièces d'un puzzle. Et le meilleur, c'est que le dessin de cette oeuvre reprend cette multiplicité de points de vue en multipliant les styles graphiques, les constructions de pages, les textes parfois concrets, parfois ésotériques, et même les oeuvres dans l'oeuvre (le portrait constitué de multiples cartes postales de Kabuki est en quelque sorte un chef d'oeuvre en soi).
Le scénario est donc génial, le dessin magnifique et le propos authentiquement transcendant (le dernier passage rassemblant la physique quantique et le boudhisme est incroyable). Alors c'est un chef d'oeuvre ?
Oui, indubitablement.
Dans ce recueil reprenant six tomes (au moins) des aventures e Kabuki, on plonge dans une oeuvre sans case, où le scénario n'est pas une succession de scènes d'action mais une espèce de voyage dans les contrées de la folie. On y trouve donc des personnalités multiples, de la folie authentique, des personnalités mélangées comme les pièces d'un puzzle. Et le meilleur, c'est que le dessin de cette oeuvre reprend cette multiplicité de points de vue en multipliant les styles graphiques, les constructions de pages, les textes parfois concrets, parfois ésotériques, et même les oeuvres dans l'oeuvre (le portrait constitué de multiples cartes postales de Kabuki est en quelque sorte un chef d'oeuvre en soi).
Le scénario est donc génial, le dessin magnifique et le propos authentiquement transcendant (le dernier passage rassemblant la physique quantique et le boudhisme est incroyable). Alors c'est un chef d'oeuvre ?
Oui, indubitablement.
February 25, 2015
One of my first introductions to non super-hero books. Jae Lee set the stage with his ill fated Hellshock book. I wanted it to succeed as you don't see a lot of examinations of psychological issues in comics, at least not during the height of Image and variant covers in the 90's. Kabuki deals with the internal struggles of a highly technological society that no longer requires the services of the hero it helped create. This book is most likely the most(non Raymond Carver)well-crafted fiction ever. Taught me the word 'pastiche' and felt very personal to me as all the sources, influences, Truths, gender roles, and one's place in society Kabuki was struggling with, I too dealt with during the time of reading. Plus i had become enamored with Japanese culture. easily the most Japanese story a story by a non Japanese person can get. This sent me on a mad romp to get every Kabuki book i could find. and I have wonderful memories of finding old Caliber printings in that small shop in downtown Savannah, GA.
October 18, 2011
I love David Mack's artistic sensibility and this book is a great step towards 'The Alchemy' which I thought was just brilliant. Some of the pages are works of art in and of themselves but sometimes it was too much and just difficult to read. If you like the standard graphic novel with panels and straightforward story-telling, this is not that story. However in his attempts at stepping outside the comics-box, it becomes a bit muddled. This book has Kabuki in a psych ward for defective government operatives. The new characters are interesting and clever (like the operative who was so good at blending in that she started thinking she was actually invisible) and it's a great location for this chapter of the story but occasionally, the mixed media becomes overwhelming and the story gets lost.
December 23, 2007
My favorite collected volume from the series, though I expect only until The Alchemy gets its own book. Plot really disappears for long portions of the book, and most any semblance of traditional panels vanishes along with it. The pages are often so overwhelmingly full of graphic and textual information that I can only process a small portion of the full impact with each reading. Of course, this means that each return to the book rewards me with some new aspect of the story that I hadn't taken in before.
August 23, 2007
The artwork is stunning (in fact, I only bought this because I picked it up and was amazed at how beautiful it was-- I never usually buy out of order in a series) The story bends and twists just like the words on the pages-- the interaction this requires reminded me somewhat of books when I was a kid, with little letters to pull out, etc. but the ideas are sophisticated and complex: an interactive book for the intellectual young at heart, perhaps.
May 24, 2009
Very confusing and multi-layered. I've only read the first volume in addition to this one and must express doubts about what he could have thrown into the other volumes. The story of Kabuki seems to flow pretty seamlessly from vol 1 to vol 5. The fact that everyone is mentally or emotionally fucked up makes this a much harder read, and sometimes they go off on rambling manifestos, but it is beautiful visually so that is something very cool too.
July 26, 2007
A prime example of the melding of words and images, proof that the comic book is no longer the territory of sweaty twelve year old boys. From the intricate storyline to the amazing art...which varies from pen and ink to heavily collaged images to lush watercolor...every aspect of this series is extraordinarily well done.
December 15, 2010
After Circle of blood I think most of the remaining books were a let down. Lovely, but they have nothing left to say, no tale to tell. Full of beautiful art I completely recommend them for the completest, but you don't really learn anything more about what happened, than what was inside Kabuki's head.
June 27, 2011
Very artistic and everything but I don't feel like I should have to work so hard to read a graphic novel. Words strewn all over a page, in different colours, going round in spirals or through a maze - looks great but hell to read.
Want to read
April 15, 2007This guy is very artsy. I think i like it. Want to read to find out.
August 16, 2007
loaned to Kevin 8/15/07
July 27, 2007
The artwork in this graphic novel is exquisite. Mixed media drawings and watercolors fill every page. Layout unlike any other graphic novel I have read. Truly a work of fine art.
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