Kabuki-Circle of Blood

Kabuki-Circle of Blood by David Mack is one of the most innovative and experimental graphic novels I have read to date. It takes place in Japan in the future. Mack uses his extensive knowledge of Japanese culture and history to create  an intricate world of organized crime, politics and business. The story follows Kabuki, an operative of the Noh, a government agency that maintains the balance between the aforementioned elements of society. Kabuki came into the service of the Noh after the murder of her mother. She seeks to avenge the death of her mother and to come to terms with her past, family and history even though it may contradict her duties to the Noh.



What causes Kabuki to stand out in particular are Mack's stylistic decisions. While many authors stick to one style even when working with different genres, Mack changes his style to represent changes in mood and different characters. Kabuki's interactions with the Noh are depicted using many, small rectangular panels. All text and images are confined to the frame of the panel.The panels feature close ups of objects, of eyes and of hands, creating a controlled, tense atmosphere. Isolating the objects gives them a symbolism and highlights their role as motifs throughout the story. Scenes of Kabuki's childhood, on the other hand, activate the entire page. The page may be consumed by one background image layered with one or two panels with moments of text interspersed throughout the page, linking the visual moments together.

The leader of the Noh reveals the truth about Kabuki's mother to her.

Kabuki reflects on the training that she received as a child.  The background features many scattered memories from her childhood such as the crows from the farm where she grew up and the weapons she used in her training. The background is divided into squares, like a student's notebook. 

What I really like about Mack's work is that it utilizes the very features of comics that set them apart from other media. In comics, the roles of text and image often blend together. The image can become just as literal and symbolic as text. Images act like text. They are universal representations of the concept of an object rather than a visual representation of a particular object. The text on the other hand, takes on the qualities of an image. It can be altered to represent the mood and volume of a particular sound.

These qualities are utilized very effectively in Kabuki. The visual elements are not there to support the text, rather both the visual elements and the text work parallel to one another, each adding their own dimension to the narrative. Mack doesn't separate the text from the image. The text becomes a part of the image and a part of the space. It works as a part of the composition and changes with the style of the visual elements.