Dear David,... [Kabuki Spoilers]

[antithesis]

I've been meaning to write something for awhile, but have been unsure about how to put it down. But tonight, I read Scarab : Lost in Translation, and I think some of it is ready to come out.

At this exact moment, i feel what can only be summed up as love and hatred for you, David. Two distinct and different feelings, both products of your masterpiece, Kabuki.

I was drawn to Kabuki by the cover of The Alchemy, issue 5. From what I saw on that cover, I knew that I had to know what the story of Kabuki was. It took a few months, but I picked up Circle of Blood, and within the span of a month, every other Kabuki book I could find.

I read Circle of Blood and Dreams at the same time, and as you can imagine, I was going crazy not knowing what happened next. You had drawn me into the story, unraveling just enough to whet my appetite for more. I went from store to store looking for the remaining volumes of the story (so far), and finally tracked down volumes 3 through 5. At the end of volume 3, I was still wondering "What happens to Kabuki!?!", but I was far from disappointed.

Then I open volume four, and am led to believe that Kabuki is dead. For the first time, I realize that I actually care for the character. I barely know the character, but I care about her. The rest of the book continues to build on that, but the opening page haunts me, it tells me not to care about her, because soon she will be gone.

After I finished Skin Deep, I recalled your post asking which volume of your work was our favorite. I was pretty sure that I could answer that with Skin Deep. Besides touching me on a personal level, this volume was visually stunning, and it also introduced my favorite character, Akemi (although you never actually get to see her).

I was wrong about Skin Deep being my favorite volume. Metamorphosis blew me away. So much that I couldn't even write about it for a week. I still don't know if I can explain it, but if I had to compare the experience to something I knew, I would compare it to how i felt when i realized i was falling in love. Maybe that sounds cheesy or something, but it's honest. When I was reading Metamorphosis, it gave me a feeling that I didn't want to let go of.

Tonight, I read Scarab front to back. Halfway through the last chapter, I put the book down. You did it again. You made me care, and you were going to take her away.

...

Don't worry, I'll still buy your next book :-) (Hopefully I can find issues 1 and 2 of The Alchemy somewhere)

I'll probably revisit individual volumes and write more someday. I could really get into each one on a much deeper level, but that would take more time than I have right now.

So for now, I only have one more thing to say:

Thank you.

[MACK!]

I've been meaning to write something for awhile, but have been unsure about how to put it down. But tonight, I read Scarab : Lost in Translation, and I think some of it is ready to come out.

At this exact moment, i feel what can only be summed up as love and hatred for you, David. Two distinct and different feelings, both products of your masterpiece, Kabuki.

I was drawn to Kabuki by the cover of The Alchemy, issue 5. From what I saw on that cover, I knew that I had to know what the story of Kabuki was. It took a few months, but I picked up Circle of Blood, and within the span of a month, every other Kabuki book I could find.

I read Circle of Blood and Dreams at the same time, and as you can imagine, I was going crazy not knowing what happened next. You had drawn me into the story, unraveling just enough to whet my appetite for more. I went from store to store looking for the remaining volumes of the story (so far), and finally tracked down volumes 3 through 5. At the end of volume 3, I was still wondering "What happens to Kabuki!?!", but I was far from disappointed.

Then I open volume four, and am led to believe that Kabuki is dead. For the first time, I realize that I actually care for the character. I barely know the character, but I care about her. The rest of the book continues to build on that, but the opening page haunts me, it tells me not to care about her, because soon she will be gone.

After I finished Skin Deep, I recalled your post asking which volume of your work was our favorite. I was pretty sure that I could answer that with Skin Deep. Besides touching me on a personal level, this volume was visually stunning, and it also introduced my favorite character, Akemi (although you never actually get to see her).

I was wrong about Skin Deep being my favorite volume. Metamorphosis blew me away. So much that I couldn't even write about it for a week. I still don't know if I can explain it, but if I had to compare the experience to something I knew, I would compare it to how i felt when i realized i was falling in love. Maybe that sounds cheesy or something, but it's honest. When I was reading Metamorphosis, it gave me a feeling that I didn't want to let go of.

Tonight, I read Scarab front to back. Halfway through the last chapter, I put the book down. You did it again. You made me care, and you were going to take her away.

...

Don't worry, I'll still buy your next book :-) (Hopefully I can find issues 1 and 2 of The Alchemy somewhere)

I'll probably revisit individual volumes and write more someday. I could really get into each one on a much deeper level, but that would take more time than I have right now.

So for now, I only have one more thing to say:

Thank you.



Thanks so much for such a thoughtful and articulate response to the Kabuki volumes.

I enjoyed learning what your reaction was to each volume.
If you don't mind, I may print your post in an upcoming issue of Kabuki in the letters collumn.

I really enjoy that the cover of #5 is what made you pick it up and look for all of the previous stories.
Sorry to hear you haven't been able to find #1 & 2 of The Alchemy.
But just so you know, there are some copies of them still available for re-order. Just ask your comic shop to order them for you. They can immediatly get them directly from Marvel for the regular price.
In fact, I believe Marvel just ran a special where they offer Retailers a discount recently on reordering the Kabuki books to motivate them to keep them in stock.
So just pass that on to your comic shop, and please give them my thanks and warme regards for carrying my books so you had the oppertunity to find Kabuki and for continuing to make them available to you.

I very much enjoy the way you described you response to each volumes and it was a very individualized relation to the work than I had heard before.
Especially your description of the beginning of SKIN DEEP and your reaction to METAMORPHOSIS.

I'm very much looking forward to what you think of THE ALCHEMY when you have the oppertunity to read it from the beginning and see it continue from the very moment Metamorphosis leaves off.


Thanks for taking the innitiative to read my work. And for making the effort to find the previous volumes. I really appreciate that.
And especially that you liked the recent cover.

I'm always fascinated at the individual reaction to the various covers. Different readers have thier own personal various favorites.

Of all the covers you had seen in the books so far, which is your favorite? Or which of them do you react to most strongly.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone about this.

I do a bit of consideration of how ambiguous or descriptive that I make each cover. And for each issue, I'm usually choosing from at least a couple covers or variations of what I think is the best cover for that issue.

Best!

[antithesis]

Hey David, thanks for your response. Of course you may print the post!

As for covers, I've done a little searching online, and The Alchemy #5 is still my favorite. I love the simplicity and effectiveness of the design. It's a shape that most people will recognize from some point in their lives, but it also makes you wonder why it was chosen.

Close behind are the two covers for Metamorphosis #7, and The Alchemy #4. As you can probably tell by now, I like the painted covers on white (or light) backgrounds. I love the shadow and the bleeding sun on the cover of #7.

I'll be sure to track down the other two issues of The Alchemy, and I'm sure you'll be hearing from me when I do :-)

Jeff