Spectrum

A pair of lost souls trip the light fantastic in this dimension-spanning, over-earnest graphic novel from debut author Quinn and artist Chisholm (Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound). Two young women are convinced the visions and synesthesia flooding their senses when they listen to music are signs of impending madness rather than what they actually are: signals that they’re the tools of battling godlike beings. Melody, a homeless emo teen quickly losing her grip on reality, and Ada, a record-store owner with the same issue, find common cause in trying to grasp how their psychic breaks are related to music. But the script keeps postponing the explanation, as the two flit between cross-dimensional realities (“Melody found a thread in the discordance” after a “thundering voice that burst with ethereal energy” tells her to run from a steampunk-styled pursuer). Other sections contain capsule portraits of cultural figures in an alternate history who so closely resemble real people (Miles Davis, Elvis Presley, Patti Smith, Andy Warhol) that the point of the conceit seems muddled. Though the plot underwhelms, Chisholm’s art is appropriately fantastic and storybook-like, overflowing with giddy colors and trippy transitions. The overall effect resembles an arcane concept album. (July)