March 31, 2001
Comic Review - Kabuki, Volume 1: Circle of Blood
I like a lot of Japanese stuff. The giant fighting robots, the cool animation, bizarre video games, sumo wrestling, udon and ramen noodles, ninjas and samurai - the list has been nourished by all forms of media I consumed as a child. It seemed so different and so cool. At least, to a kid growing up in the suburbs of Wisconsin it did.
Kabuki is set in a futuristic Japan. It contains a fairly coherent, reasonable plot, good artwork, and lots of references to Japanese stuff. So I'm not sure why I didn't like it more.
I don't read comics expecting some profound insights into life, I read them to be entertained and hopefully find some neat new idea. Some comics do start approaching a higher level, asking questions about the nature of heorism and individuality and power, but that's the all-too-rare exception.
I think something just seemed a little inauthentic to me, like Mr. Mack, who wrote and drew the entire series, had done some research but hadn't really captured the true spirit of the culture. And I realize this is totally ridiculous for me to say, since I know even less about it than he does, I'm sure. But something didn't quite seem right.
It was also disappointing that I wasn't able to connect to the characters any better. It even had a reasonable explanation for a conspiracy organization! How can you have that and not more... believable characters? Believable is a dangerous word. Maybe my experiences don't fit well, but it works for other people.
But the artwork was nice, lots of different takes on visual presentation throughout the story, which seems to be only the start of what will appear in later volumes, based on a quick flip through some of the other books.
And I think that is what will make or break it for me, whether future volumes build on this, or if it stagnates. I think it shows promise, but maybe the storytelling ability isn't quite there yet to really carry it off.
But there is a little hope left, which is good.
Posted by babar at March 31, 2001 01:42 AM