The Pale Door

X-Files comics cover-artist Kim makes her fiction debut with this full-length graphic novel, a dark and beautiful depiction of submission and violence, in collaboration with underground s&m and sex writer Clark (True Blood). In the kickoff to a three-volume series, they bind three contemporary supernatural stories set in the Goth rock scene on Manhattan's appropriately ominous Lower East Side. The stories present a world of vampiric feeders, fetishistic sex, bondage and domination--a world where night dwellers disguise themselves as ordinary citizens to better engage the sympathies of their human prey. When young artist Rena Mojica meets John Savory, a tattoo artist, a friendship develops based on their mutual talent for spotting these urban demons. Kim's artwork is an unusual and complex combination of painting and collage photography, layered with images of profane and sacred symbols. She constructs a surreal, visual world that is often violent but is tempered by a rich visual imagination that transforms a typical horror/fantasy narrative into a vivid work of art. Clark's writing, however, can be confusing and is only sporadically lyrical, relying mostly on stereotypes and shock value. It never quite matches the power of Kim's artwork. (Sept.)