Kabuki: Circle of Blood

David Mack’s Kabuki: Circle of Blood is a 1996 one-shot from Caliber Press that introduces readers to a near-future Japan where a masked government assassin, known only as Kabuki, begins to question the very system she serves. A visually stunning and deeply introspective debut, it sets the tone for Mack’s later work with its painterly, mixed-media art and a narrative that blends cyberpunk aesthetics with psychological depth. This issue marks the starting point for a series that would redefine the potential of creator-owned comics in the late 1990s.