Melody Parker is losing her mind. She’s living on the streets of Seattle during the WTO protests of 1999. She is seeing things. Androids. Aliens. Pigs in high fashion. And a creature named Echo—one of the Sustained: elemental beings with the power to alter reality through music. She invites Melody to join her as she brings about the end of the world. As Melody tries to escape this strange woman, suppressed memories from across vast spans of time flood into her awareness, bringing her very identity into question. Spectrum #1 is an interesting debut issue that has some potential.

Written by Rick Quinn, Spectrum #1 is a debut that’s as beautiful as it is a headscratcher. Following a young woman who’s maybe losing her mind, we’re taken on a journey through time and introduced to individuals who changed the world and guided history through their music.

What does it all mean? I have no idea.

The comic feels like a flow of ideas one might have after dropping acid. The narrative sort of makes sense but it’s the steady stream of concepts that’s more of a draw. There’s something about the end of the world and music, but overall, that’s all gobbled up through its dreamlike narrative.

Where the comic does stand out is the art of Dave Chisholm. There’s some beautiful visuals as Melody goes on her journey. Those visuals emphasize a dreamlike journey with page layouts, colors, and visual flows that feel like a floating story you can barely remember once you wake up but at times a spiral of a dream that forces you to wake. It balances its dream and nightmare visually leaving readers guessing as to what’s really going on. It all looks fantastic though.

I’m sure Spectrum #1 will be much better as the comic continues. With a story that’s not entirely clear, playing with its dreamlike narrative a bit too much, and a series of short stories about others in music, the story itself is confusing and a bit of a drag. But, even with that, the visuals are a thing of beauty at times and well worth checking out.

Story: Rick Quinn Art: Dave Chisholm
Story: 6.75 Art: 8.0 Overall: 6.8 Recommendation: Read

Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics