‘Spectrum’ TPB (review)

Written by Rick Quinn 
Art by Dave Chisolm
Published by Mad Cave Studios

Mad Cave Studios has been making quite the name for themselves in the last few years as a company with some high standards. The work they have been putting out has been strong and different for sure but it never fails to entertain.

This offering was a little different than what I usually read from them (I really love their Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon revivals) but it is no less entertaining. This is a highly well written and illustrated book that is a little deeper than most things currently being produced.

The book starts off by introducing us to Melody Parker. Melody may or may not be in the process of losing her mind. We find out that it is the year 1999 and that she is living in Seattle. The book takes place during the WTO riots that happened there.

Melody starts to see things (or does she?). She starts to see such things like dressed up pigs and aliens. She sees androids and any number of incredibly crazy things. But then she happens to meet a creature. This creature’s name is Echo. Meeting Echo turns Melody’s entire world upside down.

Echo is apparently from a place where she is part of a group called the Sustained.

They claim to be an elemental group with the ability to alter and change reality through the power of music. We get to see Echo enact on their claims in a pretty interesting scene too. Melody may have her doubts as this book starts off, but those doubts certainly go away with every demonstration of Echo’s vast knowledge and skills. Things have become very interesting to Melody. It is almost like her entire world is now opened up.

Unfortunately, it is all about to take a very dark turn.

You see, Echo has a bigger ulterior motive that becomes apparent.

Echo wants Melody’s assistance in bringing about the end of the world. Melody finds this out and is understandably upset. She must now find a way to get away from Echo and maybe even stop her group as well. Unfortunately, as Melody tries to make her escape, things start to get extremely strange. Reality starts to change around her. It is getting harder and harder for her to get away from her possible captors. And that’s when things start to really get out of hand.

It is exciting to read and experience as the story progresses.

Melody’s story then ends and we get another chapter of the story from a different character’s perspective.

We meet Ada Latimer.

She just wants a quiet life with her boyfriend. She owns a record store but doesn’t want anything more complicated than that. Ada starts to have events happen that link to her past. That is when Echo shows up in her life, much like they did with Melody. Ada is looking for answers and so is Echo. The fate of the world still hangs in the balance. We get to see how the story in this chapter links up to the first one and it is very interesting. The pattern then repeats itself again.

And don’t worry, Melody’s story does continue in each chapter and she is never far away.

In the third and fourth chapters, we meet other significant characters like Walton Naves who is from another era.

But Melody and Ada are definitely the two main characters and the ones whose stories matter the most. They go in and out of time, trying to figure out what Echo is, and more importantly, how to stop her crazy group. This is a book that spans time and dimensions in a way that we haven’t really seen before.

It is all brought to beautiful life by the artist Dave Chisolm. Chisolm makes each strange moment seem like we are glancing at something new and fresh and does a hell of a job with it. In an industry always looking for innovation, the visuals on the book are truly something special.

The story by Rick Quinn is quite strong too. The creative team work in tandem to create a truly awesome book. I love the way they ended this too, and it felt honest and true to the story they were telling.

I would love to see more work from this duo, they are really talented and have created a heck of a reading experience.

RATING: A-