C.F.: Powr Mastrs Vol. 2

Powr Mastrs Vol. 2 follows hot on the heels of this elusive artist’s first volume— in a series of six graphic novels—which was one of last year’s most anticipated debuts. C.F. comes out of the mythic Providence, Rhode Island art and noise scene—his musical alias is Kites. In a recent profile The Comics Reporter observes, “Contrasting sharply with many of his flashier contemporaries, [C.F.’s] primary skill lies in overlooked nuances of comics storytelling, in particular pacing.” His distinctive voice and intricate rendering skills have attracted attention from the groundbreaking comics anthology, Kramers Ergot—he was included in the fourth issue, and featured on the cover of the fifth. Here, C.F.’s epic fantasy—an allegorical tale where power, physical identity and even gender are always in flux—picks up steam: Buell Kazee sneaks down into the cellar of the plex knowe crypt and conjures trouble; Tetradyne Cola takes a nap and dreams of Monica Glass and the lemon sparklers of star studio; members of the Marker clan compare notes on their magical crimes and the witches of Lace Temblor conspire over transmutation night.