What is your favorite of the Kabuki volumes?

[MACK!]

Volumes 1-7 (Alchemy being #7 even though it is still in progress.
1-Circle of Blood
2-Dreams
3- Masks of the Noh
4- Skin Deep
5-Metamorphosis
6-Scarab
7-Alchemy

And for that matter any of the other books I've worked on as well.
I'm very curious to learn which of the stories had the biggest effect on you and why. What worked for you from one volume more than another and why. As far as writing, art, style, approach, characters etc.

Perhaps not everyone has read all the Kabuki stuff or related more to other work, so Feel welcome to also include the 3 DD collections:
DD: Parts of a Hole
DD: Wake Up
Echo: Vision Quest

Those would be the 10 completed story volumes that I've put the most work into over the last 10 years. And it occured to me i'd like to hear which ones worked for readers most and why.

[DeadMike]

Got to run to work so I'll come back later and leave a more detailed answer but here's a list of my favs starting with my most favorite....

1. Circle of Blood
2. Metamorphosis
3. Scarab
4. Parts of a Hole
5. Skin Deep
6. Vision Quest
7. Wake Up
8. Masks of the Noh
9. Dreams

I can't put Alchemy in there yet til it's finished but if I had to I'd but it at 2 and a 1/2 or maybe # 2.

[T-Dro]

Well, David, you know I love them all.

But Meta is my favorite. I think it has the 2nd best story (1st is COB) and was the point where your art really reached its full potential. It's the book I show non-comic fans to show them that a comic book can be more than their preconceived notion of the art form.

Circle of Blood is the book I show to fans of traditional comics...it's the most conventional, and if they like it, they can read the following volumes, which eases them into your current style. And of course that's the first Kabuki book I read, upon which reading I fell madly in love with Ukiko (in a strictly hetero way, of course.)

[dimeshop]

The three DD stories are all very different (and all very good). I'd give the edge to parts of a hole. It just a real kitchen sink-type book.

As far as Kabuki, I bought the first trade from you in Toronto this year. It's been sitting on my shelf ever since. I resolve to read it in the new year. Should be exciting!

[GelfXIII]

I think Dreams is what I first fell in love with. I had read CoB and liked the story, but I'm not a huge fan of B&W art. But Dreams was such an eye opening experience, both in story and in art that it quite literally took my breath away. It's hard to top that kind of impact I think.

After Dreams I think I probably favor Metamorphosis and Vision Quest the most.

[BlueNote27]

I have to say that Vision Quest is still my favorite Mack work because it was my first real Mack experience and it was the first time that I went "Wow, comics can be more than just kid stories."

Amazing.

[Gillis]

I absolutely love all of the Kabuki books and pinpointing a favorite is a very hard thing to do. I really liked Circle of Blood a lot, though Metamorphosis was an extremely interesting read, given it's depth, multiple styles of storytelling, and amazing art.

To my surprise, I think I may have enjoyed Scarab the most. It was more of a conventional type book and I think I was half expecting a plain old fashioned supporting mini series. I came to really like the character, which made the twist ending all the more powerful.

[MACK!]

The three DD stories are all very different (and all very good). I'd give the edge to parts of a hole. It just a real kitchen sink-type book.

As far as Kabuki, I bought the first trade from you in Toronto this year. It's been sitting on my shelf ever since. I resolve to read it in the new year. Should be exciting!

Let us know what you think of it when you get the chance.

Thanks for all the feedback on this so far.
Since I write it, I can't really have the same experience you have when reading it, so I'm always fascinated to learn what resonates with people when they read the books.

[WayOfTheStrega]

I personally like the Metamorphosis story. Meta was the first book that I really even read that was done by Mack and it’s that story that instantly drew me into Kabuki. The art and the depth of the work were so expressive and unique that I knew I had ran across something special.

It was also through Meta (and eventually the other Kabuki volumes) that I realized that comics weren’t just about superheroes and Dennis the Menace, but that comics were about self-expression and the media that could be used was limited only by the imagination.

[Shepherd]

Now that I've read them all, I definitely have to say Metamorphosis. It's the most involving and the most surprising. It has just the right bend of action and pontification.

But I also really like both DD Echo stories.

R