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Spectrum
Spectrum is a frenetic, genre bending, formally inventive story about the magic and power of music with words by Rick Quinn and visuals by Dave Chisholm (Chasin' the Bird, Miles Davis and The Search for the Sound). 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 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.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
152 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2025
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 10, 2025
A comic that wildly vascillates between trying too hard, and being genuinely interesting. A comic about the importance of music in our lives. At times it feels a bit as if the author is trying to show off, and parts feel overwritten and overly wordy. Funnily enough, the main bad is horrendously underwritten and underwhelming.
The art is quite trippy, and is taking chances, which I appreciate.
Overall, kudos to Mad Cave Studios for taking a chance on this ambitious if flawed book.
(Thanks to Mad Cave Studios for providing me with a review copy through NetGalley)
The art is quite trippy, and is taking chances, which I appreciate.
Overall, kudos to Mad Cave Studios for taking a chance on this ambitious if flawed book.
(Thanks to Mad Cave Studios for providing me with a review copy through NetGalley)
August 15, 2025
Spectrum is comic that follows Melody Parker, a young girl living on the streets. Melody believes she hallucinates various beings, but when she saves Ada from these very same visions, the two must figure out why these beings are after them and how the pasts’ of these two girls are mixed up with everything.
This is a story about music and music history, which I loved. Both Melody and Ada are music lovers and have significant ties to music. As they travel through different timelines, readers see moments in music history that are highly inspired by real artists. The music lover in me appreciated how music was represented and explored through this story. I also really liked that Melody and Ada explored their pasts and got to a place of understanding as they traversed time and space.
I can say that this story can be a little hard to follow at times. While the story is mostly focused on Melody and Ada, different people and events are also thrown in here and there. I think every aspect of this story had its place, but it did feel a little jumpy and I did not always completely understand how everything was weaving together.
This is a very intricate story and it may benefit from a reread or two. If you are a music lover and are intrigued by a fantastical, complex story, I would recommend this.
*e-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This is a story about music and music history, which I loved. Both Melody and Ada are music lovers and have significant ties to music. As they travel through different timelines, readers see moments in music history that are highly inspired by real artists. The music lover in me appreciated how music was represented and explored through this story. I also really liked that Melody and Ada explored their pasts and got to a place of understanding as they traversed time and space.
I can say that this story can be a little hard to follow at times. While the story is mostly focused on Melody and Ada, different people and events are also thrown in here and there. I think every aspect of this story had its place, but it did feel a little jumpy and I did not always completely understand how everything was weaving together.
This is a very intricate story and it may benefit from a reread or two. If you are a music lover and are intrigued by a fantastical, complex story, I would recommend this.
*e-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
June 24, 2025
Definitely a super intriguing and ambitious narrative that allows music to become a breathable life force. The entire idea interprets the immense power of music in such a visceral way, allowing you to feel the stark impacts its power has on the main characters. The art style is unique and the coloring choices allow for even more nuance to be conveyed. The narrative does seem to get ahead of itself at many points, however. It's understandable that there'd be jumping around in time given the time traveling aspect of the story, but it does get frustratingly confusing at times.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the arc!
Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the arc!
March 4, 2026
I will always appreciate an artist going all out in the hopes of creating something REAL, something that is like a new color, something totally original and vibrant. Obviously, that is really hard to do. A lot of experimental music and writing kind of stinks… BUT, by god do I respect people trying to make a classic.
This book has a lot of cool ideas that try to do something new with an extremely difficult concept, art and time. There is one hell of an idea here and they have some good poignant moments but this just doesn’t work. I didn’t love it but what the hell maybe you will!
This book has a lot of cool ideas that try to do something new with an extremely difficult concept, art and time. There is one hell of an idea here and they have some good poignant moments but this just doesn’t work. I didn’t love it but what the hell maybe you will!
October 29, 2025
Really imaginative art but disappointing writing. It was full of surface level references to real things in music culture that were inserted clumsily. An example is PCGB being a stand in for CBGB. Many of the references were not even incorporated into the narrative but instead just layered on as annotations. The story is very much a post sandman meta fiction story, but the characters are underdeveloped and their emotional hooks didn’t connect with me.
September 5, 2025
What if music could literally change the world?
Spectrum takes you back to the chaos of the ’99 WTO protests and asks what happens when music can literally reshape reality. Bold art, sharp ideas, and a reminder of how creativity and unrest collide. Perfect for fans of The Sandman, Saga, or Phonogram.
Spectrum takes you back to the chaos of the ’99 WTO protests and asks what happens when music can literally reshape reality. Bold art, sharp ideas, and a reminder of how creativity and unrest collide. Perfect for fans of The Sandman, Saga, or Phonogram.
did-not-finish
October 15, 2025Print too small. Reorder when I get new contacts.
December 23, 2025
Great colors and style, dunno if I loved the story tho
May 12, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an advance copy of this graphic novel made up of sense and color, that tells a story that crossing time, space, musical catalogs, people who might have been, and events that never were.
Over the years I have thought a lot about why I enjoy comics and graphic novels. Probably the same reason I love music, love movies, love books, feel something deep in my heart when I see something being created, and feel a pain in my soul when I see people be stupid and hurtful. My emotions tie into what I take from art. A good song can lift my day, a bad song while stuck shopping for milk can drive me insane. Same for graphic novels. A good one can give me a brain hit that makes a day better, makes me want to push it on people, and share in the glory of all that is good. And this one was good in so many different ways. Spectrum is written by Rick Quinn, with illustrations by Dave Chisholm and tells a story of singers, song, noise, the future, all we create and all we destroy, with beautiful artwork to accompany it.
Melody Parker is sure about nothing and even that she isn't to sure about. Melody is living on the streets of Seattle during the WTO riots, a scene that is getting slightly weird. Melody has memories of being in an orphanage, but at the same time is sure that her father was recording her with others for something, she knows not what. Melody is attacked by what look like riot police, but turn out to be foot soldiers for a creature known as Echo. Echo is an elemental, able to change time and space, and wants to end everything every where. Echo wants Melody to join her on this quest, but Melody escapes to elsewhere. Ada Latimer owns a record shop, has a boyfriend and mourns a father who disappeared on her. Ada's father was addicted to finding the sound the perfect sound, and has been missing for a long time. Melody comes to Ada and soon both are on the run, in a landscape where bands are playing different tunes, heroes are brought low, and nothing is real. Except the end.
This is a hard book to summerize, but an easy book to recommend. It is sort of like explaining the music of Charles Mingus to people, or the band Haim to people who stopped listening to music that was after1991. Like all art, one takes what they get from it, as it is all subjective. I loved this. A mix of music, theory, bands, history, alternate history, conspiracy, adult writing, and fantastic artwork. I can't imagine the time and effort it took to write this, and it shows. The story is crazy, but easy to follow. There are bits of changed history, allusions to other people and events. And a lot of great writing. The art is really very good. I have been a fan of Dave Chisholm other works but this one really blew me away. The art is so perfect, so fitting and so necessary to the story. I can't imagine one without the other.
I would love to see an annotated version of this comic one day, that's how cool and crazy some of the stuff is. I will admit I read it twice and came away with even more ideas and puzzles. I really wonderful graphic novel. For music fans, especially music nerds, people who love great art in comics, and anyone who loves a story that tells more than a story, put paints a musical mural. I can't wait to read whatever these two have planned next.
Over the years I have thought a lot about why I enjoy comics and graphic novels. Probably the same reason I love music, love movies, love books, feel something deep in my heart when I see something being created, and feel a pain in my soul when I see people be stupid and hurtful. My emotions tie into what I take from art. A good song can lift my day, a bad song while stuck shopping for milk can drive me insane. Same for graphic novels. A good one can give me a brain hit that makes a day better, makes me want to push it on people, and share in the glory of all that is good. And this one was good in so many different ways. Spectrum is written by Rick Quinn, with illustrations by Dave Chisholm and tells a story of singers, song, noise, the future, all we create and all we destroy, with beautiful artwork to accompany it.
Melody Parker is sure about nothing and even that she isn't to sure about. Melody is living on the streets of Seattle during the WTO riots, a scene that is getting slightly weird. Melody has memories of being in an orphanage, but at the same time is sure that her father was recording her with others for something, she knows not what. Melody is attacked by what look like riot police, but turn out to be foot soldiers for a creature known as Echo. Echo is an elemental, able to change time and space, and wants to end everything every where. Echo wants Melody to join her on this quest, but Melody escapes to elsewhere. Ada Latimer owns a record shop, has a boyfriend and mourns a father who disappeared on her. Ada's father was addicted to finding the sound the perfect sound, and has been missing for a long time. Melody comes to Ada and soon both are on the run, in a landscape where bands are playing different tunes, heroes are brought low, and nothing is real. Except the end.
This is a hard book to summerize, but an easy book to recommend. It is sort of like explaining the music of Charles Mingus to people, or the band Haim to people who stopped listening to music that was after1991. Like all art, one takes what they get from it, as it is all subjective. I loved this. A mix of music, theory, bands, history, alternate history, conspiracy, adult writing, and fantastic artwork. I can't imagine the time and effort it took to write this, and it shows. The story is crazy, but easy to follow. There are bits of changed history, allusions to other people and events. And a lot of great writing. The art is really very good. I have been a fan of Dave Chisholm other works but this one really blew me away. The art is so perfect, so fitting and so necessary to the story. I can't imagine one without the other.
I would love to see an annotated version of this comic one day, that's how cool and crazy some of the stuff is. I will admit I read it twice and came away with even more ideas and puzzles. I really wonderful graphic novel. For music fans, especially music nerds, people who love great art in comics, and anyone who loves a story that tells more than a story, put paints a musical mural. I can't wait to read whatever these two have planned next.
July 15, 2025
Thanks NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for this arc
2.5/5 stars rounded up
Unfortunately I agree with the general consensus of readers here where this was a really interesting concept with beautiful illustrations that got lost in the convoluted storyline. I powered through this, even though I wanted to dnf, and the ending was abrupt and confusing. The many pages that had just an intense amount of text for a graphic novel that, at least to me, ultimately went nowhere was really disappointing and really lost my interest in the story. It felt like, just when things were getting interesting for our main characters there would be an aside, a coda with unnecessary background info, and when we get back to the characters it was like the scene changed without always acknowledging the change, untimately making it hard to follow and a little boring. This was a unique idea with interesting art but the execution of it was just not there sadly.
2.5/5 stars rounded up
Unfortunately I agree with the general consensus of readers here where this was a really interesting concept with beautiful illustrations that got lost in the convoluted storyline. I powered through this, even though I wanted to dnf, and the ending was abrupt and confusing. The many pages that had just an intense amount of text for a graphic novel that, at least to me, ultimately went nowhere was really disappointing and really lost my interest in the story. It felt like, just when things were getting interesting for our main characters there would be an aside, a coda with unnecessary background info, and when we get back to the characters it was like the scene changed without always acknowledging the change, untimately making it hard to follow and a little boring. This was a unique idea with interesting art but the execution of it was just not there sadly.
May 23, 2025
This is a beautifully rendered graphic novel. The artwork is vivid and colorful. I'll be honest and say, I'm just not sure I understood a lot here. Maybe it's the medium - using printed material to convey the magic of music - but I had a hard time following what was actually going on. Spectrum has the feel of a passion project, and while I did think it was beautiful and interesting, I can't say that I totally understood most of the story or why much of anything happened.
I would recommend this one to anyone with a strong understanding of music history and perhaps those who enjoy stories that delve into time travel/multiverses... or anyone who just wants to look at the lovely artwork honestly. It's well worth it just for that.
Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc!
I would recommend this one to anyone with a strong understanding of music history and perhaps those who enjoy stories that delve into time travel/multiverses... or anyone who just wants to look at the lovely artwork honestly. It's well worth it just for that.
Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc!
July 28, 2025
Far too all-over-the-place for my tastes, this jumbles the life of some young woman who just intones a couple of words from a song for the bulk of the first chapter, and our own musical history, and failed to grab my interest at all. A generous one and a half stars.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews