Tag Archives: spectrum

Preview: Spectrum Deluxe Edition

Spectrum Deluxe Edition

(W) Rick Quinn (A) Dave Chisholm (L) Dave Chisholm

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. You don’t want to miss this stunning new release from writer Rick Quinn and music-comic-specialist Dave Chisholm (Miles Davis & the Search for the Sound)

Spectrum Deluxe Edition

Spectrum Returns in a Deluxe Hardcover That Rediscovers the Chaos, the Color, and the Power of Music Itself

Mad Cave Studios presents Spectrum (Deluxe Edition)—a frenetic, genre-bending exploration of how music can both save us and unravel us. Written by Rick Quinn and brought to life by Dave Chisholm, this expanded 176-page hardcover reimagines the original with lush, evocative art and backmatter that includes a variant cover gallery and the original black and white art boards, diving deeper into the creative chaos behind the story. It’s a book that hums with energy, vibrating between sound and sanity, where every panel feels like a note played at the edge of control.

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 channels the electricity of jazz, the introspection of modern art, and the raw pulse of rebellion into one unforgettable story about music’s power to create—and destroy.

The Spectrum Deluxe Edition hardcover will be available January 27, 2026.

Preview: Spectrum #6

Spectrum #6

(W) Rick Quinn (A/C/CA) Dave Chisholm

Through the looking-glass, Melody and Ada have found Leon, Ada’s father–memory shattered and aged beyond his years. Simultaneously, Echo descends upon Melody and Ada like some kind of glam-rock kaiju—and she plans on shattering more than their memories. Melody and Ada will need the help of a century’s worth of artists and anarchists if they hope to survive!

Spectrum #6

Preview: Spectrum #5

Spectrum #5

(W) Rick Quinn (A/C/L/CA) Dave Chisholm

After the explosive events of last issue, Melody and Ada have been separated. Melody is onboard an alien spaceship piloted by George Parker, her father, who compels her to join him as the ultimate weapon in his fight against Echo. Ada, meanwhile, is not Ada anymore…She’s stuck in the body of Gloria Bell, the frontwoman of a band in the 1970s New York punk scene. Both Melody and Ada struggle to find each other again to face off with Echo once and for all, confronting their pasts and risking madness.

Spectrum #5

Preview: Spectrum #4

Spectrum #4

(W) Rick Quinn (A/CA/L) Dave Chisholm

Melody and Ada are traveling inside a song, learning more about Melody’s powers and their shared traumas with the help of a dreaming Russian novelist. In another time, Leon is in Paris, recording an album with George Parker—who introduces him to the Prism Ensemble, a fragmented, decentralized collective of musicians, artists, philosophers, and writers who have been working together in secret throughout the entire 20th century. Meanwhile, prior to the dawn of everything, Echo dances blissfully in an Eden of silence, unknowingly entering the eternal war of sound between her and George.

Spectrum #4

Preview: Spectrum #3

Spectrum #3

(W) Rick Quinn (A/C/L) Dave Chisholm

New Orleans, 1932: photographer Walton Naves is having a bad day. His love affair has been found out, and the jilted husband has him at gunpoint. He retreats from the scene and stumbles into the middle of a Mardi Gras parade and meets two women out of time…Melody and Ada. Before the surrounding pandemonium can swallow them whole, they are rescued by a charming ensemble of anarchists calling themselves the Kronos Krewe. Together, they learn more about the war between George Parker and Echo—a war that has been raging since the beginning of time…or perhaps even earlier.

Spectrum #3

Preview: Spectrum #2

Spectrum #2

(W) Rick Quinn (A/L) Dave Chisholm

Do you ever wish your life was more normal? Ada Latimer wants to be normal. She owns a quiet little record store. She’s in love with her corny (but sweet) boyfriend. But the chance for normalcy vanished when her father Leon abandoned her as a child to search for the mythical record producer George Parker. The ramifications of Leon’s quest come back around as Echo, one of the Sustained-a being with the power to alter reality through music-shows up at Ada’s shop looking for answers. So much for “normal.”

Spectrum #2

What is normal? Get a first look at Spectrum #2

Mad Cave Studios invites music enthusiasts and comic fans alike to experience the supernatural adventure’s return with a first look at Spectrum #2! 

Written by Rick Quinn with art by mystical comics auteur Dave Chisholm, the continuation of this new ethereal series will delve deeper into the life of Ada Latimer as she confronts the echoes of her past, the power of music to reshape reality, and the mysterious forces that threaten to upend her quest for normalcy.

What is normal? Do you ever wish your life was more normal? Ada Latimer wants to be normal. She owns a quiet little record store. She’s in love with her corny (but sweet) boyfriend. But the chance for normalcy vanished when her father Leon abandoned her as a child to search for the mythical record producer George Parker. The ramifications of Leon’s quest come back around as Echo, one of the Sustained-a being with the power to alter reality through music-shows up at Ada’s shop looking for answers. So much for “normal.”

Packed with heartfelt storytelling and stunning visuals, Spectrum #2 brings readers into a world where emotions are amplified and every note carries a secret.

The issue drops January 8, 2025.

Spectrum #2

Preview: Spectrum #1

Spectrum #1

(W) Rick Quinn (A/CA) Dave Chisholm (CB) Reiko Murakami

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. You don’t want to miss this stunning new release from writer Rick Quinn and music-comic-specialist Dave Chisholm (Miles Davis & the Search for the Sound).

Spectrum #1

Spectrum #1 is a musical confusing journey

Spectrum #1

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


Purchase: Zeus Comics

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