Powr Mastrs, Vol. 1

The first of a projected ten-volume series by Chris Forgues, who signs his comics work as C.F., sets the scene for what, if completed, will be an epic experimental comic series unlike any seen before in the U.S. Though it bears no remote stylistic resemblance to Japanese manga, the book puts one in mind of such works, both because of its long-form multivolume approach featuring a large cast of characters and its way of making the reader feel slightly lost in an unfamiliar form and culture. It reads like the dream of someone who spent all night copying art out of the Dungeons and Dragons manuals while watching Yellow Submarine over and over. Multiple story threads are introduced, including one about Subra Ptareo, a naïve young man who wanders fantastical landscapes on a vague quest to purge himself of some imaginary or real poison. Other characters include Lady Minirex, who has an extended sex scene with a giant jellyfish, and Mosfet Warlock, who harnesses vaporized chrysanthemums to turn corpses into “living metal.” Drawn in graphite pencil without color or shading, the deliberately unpolished artwork has a raw appeal, particularly in the author’s penchant for fantastic environments where geometrical patterns integrate with organic nature tableaux. (Nov.)