There are more than a million copies of Kabuki comics in print in the United States alone. The ambitiously illustrated stories - written, drawn, photographed and painted by David Mack - have been translated into seven languages and are sold in 39 countries. Mack estimates that 55,000 readers turn to the latest Kabuki story each month. The character has been around for a decade.

"It's only me," he says of his total artistic control. "It was a way for me to tell personal stories and an outlet for my interests and philosophies."

The first in the series, "Circle of Blood," was written while Mack was still in college and doubled as his senior writing thesis.

"I always start by writing the full script - what's going to happen in each panel, what people will say. Then I paint," he says. "Later on, I may find the sequence works better another way, so I change the panels around. I like to leave room to go beyond where my conscious mind can go."

Kabuki is the antithesis of the Kentucky man. She's from another culture and speaks a different language. She is physically based on Mack's girlfriend, Ahn Tran, who provides editing and design assistance, in addition to modeling.

"Kabuki takes place now or in the future in Japan," Mack says. "It's about the interdependence of government and criminal realms. Kabuki is an agent in a police agency known as Noh. She is trying to come to terms with the death of her mother and the nature of her own identity."

Because she is horribly scarred, she wears a mask; the only way she can relate to the world. The book, Mack says, is his own mask: "It's about the death of my mother and finding my own niche."

The use of Noh theater masks and the enactment of the Japanese Ghost story identify how far-reaching Mack's interests are. Every book represents another era and is filled with poetry, photographs, painting and hand-lettered narratives. Kabuki fans look for clues for future stories, but Mack says he always throws in a few red herrings.

"It's fascinating," he says. "You get this unique dialogue."

- Marilyn Bauer