Customer Reviews

Kabuki: The Alchemy

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I approached Kabuki: The Alchemy with an open mind, which I've decided is almost certainly the only way to approach the book. I read The Alchemy as it was released in single issue form, which may or may not have influenced my impressions of it. What I found in Kabuki: The Alchemy was an engaging, fascinating map of the endless possibilities of graphic narratives. David Mack is extremely inventive and playful in his use of word and image, frequently turning the conventional standards of comics on their head. I appreciated his artistry and experimentation, and found a ton of content that was worth revisiting. I'm not sure of Mack's "agenda" or whatever else people seemed to be complaining about. I didn't get any socioeconomic or political message getting crammed down my throat. If in fact they were complaining about the artistic liberty Mack took with his work, then I can certainly say it is not for everyone. It is unconventional, but if you're interested in new and exciting ways to tell a story, it is worth the time and attention.

For me, this book was inspirational. The way it explored metaphysics, time, and the nature of self-limitation and self liberation. The artwork is always beautiful, disturbing and hilarious, often at the same time. David Mack said that this is the book about Kabuki's new life. And that is what this book feels like, a fresh start, a new beginning, with so many possibilities and directions.

I can see how some may have trouble with this latest entry in the Kabuki series. It is not a typical comic book, easy to digest, linear, traditional. This book challenges you as a reader, a thinker, and as a human being. To live your life the way you always wanted to before you let yourself be molded into "their" ideas for you.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoy thought provoking art.

This book by David Mack is his most amazing yet.
It is rare to read a comic that delivers life-changing glimpses into what life is and could be.
As I read this book, the standard perspectives of character, author and reader were twisted and rearanged until I was not sure if I was creating the book or the book was creating me.
I know it is strange to attribute a graphic novel with this kind of magic and majesty, but this is no ordinary graphic novel.
I'll say it again: Amazing.

I loved the artwork, the originality of it all. As a fan of the Kabuki Series from the beginning, I gotta say as much as I liked the story and art - I feel this was a terrible way to end the Kabuki story.

This is a deep and personal tale about the author's past and experiences and thoughts and philosophies. Though Kabuki all along has been a representation of Mack's inner being - this last book THE ALCHEMY was more all about MACK and less about the character of KABUKI - yeah I know you can say they are one in the same - but it is so heavy handed that it losses the feel and there's a disconnect from the rest of the series.

Like I said, I enjoyed it - but just thought it seemed like a limp ending and would of been better if Mack had done a different book instead of blending KABUKI and ALL of his thoughts and whatnot. It should have been called KABUKI: THE DAVID MACK STORY instead of KABUKI: THE ALCHEMY.

As a fan of his work I recommend it though!

The best of Mack's Kabuki series stand among the best comics ever. At least one other among these collections of monthly magazines just isn't worth the space it would have taken on my shelf, however. This appears to end the series on a note as mixed as the series itself.

Good parts here are as good as any earlier in the series. Mack's multi-media mastery creates imagery as layered an complex as any around - it brings Nick Bantock to mind, but with a hard-edged clarity that Bantock rarely achieves. The story turns self-referential, too, something that actually works fairly well in this instance. This anthology lacks the drama of earlier entries, however. It seems to leave the M.C. character adrift, and ends on a note that I find vague. And, although the artwork still rewards any amount of study, its reuse of some visual themes went beyond cohesiveness into repetition, and dangerously close to monotony. Perhaps the biggest satisfaction in this final chapter comes from knowing that Mack ended the Kabuki story when it should have ended.

-- wiredweird

This book was disappointing. I've been an avid fan of the Kabuki series, but this last book is a work that seems disjointed from the other quality books. It seems more of an exercise in self-indulgence and pretentiousness than a close to a really great series. Artistically it is excellent, but the heavy handed delivery of the themes the author seeks to project hurt the story aspect.

The main character turns into a mouthpiece for the author's agenda, a powerful tool when done well and most importantly, subtly; but the approach is so heavy handed here it's like being hit in the head with a sledgehammer as an agenda being crammed down the reader's through takes precedent over giving the main character and story a satisfactory conclusion.

I'd recommend pretending the series ended after the Control Corps storyline, unless you really want to read one of the most self indulgent and pretentious comics ever written.

David Mack quite simply is a genius of his medium, that medium being comic books, but like any genius he redefines the medium, bringing to the page his many mastered techniques of art, be it collage, classical comic book, abstract, ink drawings, washes, water colors, photography, and even he breaks the fourth wall, but not for the reader, but the character. Mack's work as a writer is compelling, and it has given me great pleasure for me to watch him grow and develop as an artist and story teller through all the kabuki books, to the point where he stands now, without peer, and without doubt, master of the form. I sincerely recommend this book to anyone in the arts, as it is a constant inspiration, it has been the motivation for two of my books, and will be inspiration for many more artists out there, looking to understand that troublesome knot of creativity and productivity.

I am not even gonna spent a long time on this review when it can be summed up nice and simple. The latest addition to this wonderful story is a true gem. Well written, artwork makes you tingle. What more can you want?

Bert Dol, The Netherlands

I have the first 6 books of the series and enjoyed them so it was easy for me to buy the 7th. What a waste! The artwork is there; but a story isn't. This is just a long, very long, self-indulgent exploration of character and development that could have been fully rendered in 5 to 10 pages, instead of the 200+ it was given. Sorry.