Author: Newsroom
NOV. 12, 2025 (PORTLAND, OR) — 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 (Saltwater) and brought to life by Dave Chisholm (Miles Davis and The Search for the Sound), 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.
Praise for Spectrum
“It’s a dense read—but it’s utterly and completely captivating. The writing and art move together in a beautiful momentum that lures the reader in, like when you hear the opening notes of your favorite song.” —GateCrashers
“A gorgeous and imaginative opening—Rick Quinn’s script is a daring swing for the fences, with a story I look forward to seeing develop—while Dave Chisholm’s art reaches a new peak.” —Monkeys Fighting Robots
“An expert melding of ideas and mediums, Spectrum is an experience for the ears, eyes, heart, and mind.” —AiPT Comics
“Rick Quinn’s skill as a writer is complemented by his impressive knowledge of music history, and resonates in his creative implementation of both. Thi difficult but successful feat is matched by the equally daunting and arduous task of bringing sound to optic form, which artist Dave Chisholm manages magnificently, exhibiting his own extensive music education. The visually striking interpretation of music blends line, color, and texture to yield a harmonious triad that strikes a chord with readers, accompanying the terrific writing to produce a truly sonorous duet.” —ComicsOnline
For fans of Blue in Green, Murder Falcon, and Chasin’ the Bird, 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. Readers can preorder now through their favorite local comic shop or major bookseller.
Stay up to date with Mad Cave Studios—and its imprints Papercutz, Maverick, and Nakama Press on social media, or visit www.madcavestudios.com to explore new releases, licensed series, and creator-owned titles.