Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

As an update to last week’s discussion of March releases, let’s talk a bit further about NETCOMICS. As Michelle Smith pointed out this week on Twitter, all of NETCOMICS’ scheduled chapter updates for March are for its current manhwa series, including The Adventures of Young Det, Full House, Small-Minded Schoolgirls, and Please, Please Me. New chapters for each of these series will be debuting each week.

It’s worth noting that each of these series (mainly for adult women) made an appearance on our Manhwa Monday special edition, Favorite Manhwa of 2009, being recommended by at least one of that feature’s contributors.

Also in the realm of recommendations, the Library Journal came out with a list of “27 Graphic Novels for Women’s History Month,” including Kim Dong Hwa’s
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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! I’ll get to the reviews in a moment, but first let’s take a look at some of this month’s upcoming releases. It’s all Yen Press this month (at least in print) but they are giving us plenty to look forward to. In March, we’ll see new volumes of Angel Diary, Very! Very! Sweet, Raiders, You’re So Cool, The Antique Gift Shop, and Time and Again.

My personal picks from the lot would be the next installment in JiUn Yun’s Time and Again (see my review of volume one here) and new installments of JiSang Shin and Geo’s Very! Very! Sweet and Lee Young-hee’s You’re So Cool, both in their sixth (and final, in the case of YSC) volume.

Meanwhile, NETCOMICS will be offering at least one new chapter of Sooyeon Won’s Full House (see my reviews of chapters one and two) and Youngran Lee’s There’s Something About Sunyool, both due on March 5th.
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With just a handful of reviews to report this week, the big buzz among manhwa fans online is a new series from NETCOMICS, There’s Something About Sunyool by Youngran Lee, author of Click. Though Click has some fairly questionable qualities, a quick read through the three available chapters of Sunyool shows quite a bit of promise.

Born the illegitimate child of a big-time politician, Sunyool has been accepted officially into her father’s household as an adult and thrown straight into negotiations for arranged marriage. While the premise seems rife with cliché, the execution (so far) is anything but. What could easily be a typical rags-to-riches or fish-out-of-water story actually appears more likely to be a thoughtful, wry look at two young people from vastly different backgrounds learning to make a life together within the cold world of politics. Sunyool’s smart (occasionally cruel) sense of humor and self-awareness make her a very appealing female lead
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Welcome to Manhwa Monday! It’s a lazy day over here at the Beasi household, but thankfully there’s always enough energy to talk about manhwa.

Today’s featured review comes from Emerian Rich at dashPunk, discussing Yeon-Joo Kim’s Nabi the Prototype (Tokyopop, 2007). Posted specifically for yesterday’s holiday, Emerian explains, “When we think of Valentine’s day, we often think of poetry, so for today’s post, I thought I’d bring you a book of poetry themed comics.”

This short review contains a sample from the book to whet the appetite, explaining also the potential difficulty for readers who may not connect easily with the book’s poetic style. “I’d recommend this book for anyone who likes to look beyond the obvious and experience love stories truly unique.” Check out the review for more!
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I am still out of the office so this’ll be a quick one!

Today’s featured review comes from Rob at Panel Patter, where he discusses the first volume of Mi-Kyung Yun’s Bride of the Water God (Dark Horse).

Having just begun to delve into manhwa, Rob says, “Bride is by far the best manhwa I’ve read so far, combining the detailed and intricate line work that I like so much in Tarot Cafe with a storyline that is both compelling and well-plotted.” Even as a “story-first, art second style of reader” he is especially taken by the series’ artwork, and talks about going back to linger over it after his first read.

“It’s going to be really hard to wait for the library to bring me volume two,” Rob says at the end of his review,” In fact, I wonder if the library gods would accept a sacrifice…” Click here for more!
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Today’s featured review comes from Kate Dacey over at The Manga Critic, for Sirial’s trippy all-ages tale One Fine Day (Yen Press). Kate begins her review with the definition of “whimsical,” a word that I expect even the series’ detractors must agree best fits the bill. As Kate says, “One Fine Day is whimsical in the fullest sense of the word, at once ‘lightly fanciful’ and ’subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change.’”

As a fan of the series myself, I especially appreciate Kate’s description of its most fanciful scenes, such as one in which “No-Ah and friends throw a lavish party for his grandparents’ antique furniture, here represented as beautiful fairies and enormous woodland creatures.” If you’ve been wondering if One Fine Day is for you, I highly recommend checking out Kate’s review.

Meanwhile, out in the cold of cyberspace, ReversedMiso laments the demise
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Hello Manhwa Monday readers! This week’s featured review comes from Kate O’Neil at Mania.com, where she takes a look at volume one of Gyojeong Kwon’s The Adventures of Young Det, published in English by NETCOMICS.

The unusual thing about this series, as the reviewer notes, is that the first volume is very clearly a prologue which does not yet feature the series’ main characters. “Hopefully, this isn’t wasted time and some of this information will prove important later in the story.” For the most part her comments are positive. “It sketches a well thought out fantasy world…” she writes. “It’s a refreshing change of pace for fantasy readers, and it’ll be interesting to see where the story leads.”

I first became aware of this series via Michelle Smith, who listed it as one of her favorite manhwa of 2009. Check it out in print, or online at NETCOMICS.com.
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One of my favorite reviews this week came from David Welsh over at the newly-renamed Manga Curmudgeon, for JiUn Yun’s Time and Again (Yen Press). Though this book has been featured here before, his review is so delightful, I simply can’t help myself.

David begins his review by likening the book to a character played by a young Barbara Stanwyck, “… sexy, funny, moving and often ruthless. It’s about an exorcist-for-hire who seems more inclined to give his clients what they deserve than what they request.” This description of the title’s lead character, Baek-On, is so apt, I wish I’d written it myself. Also this, “… his skills with the unquiet dead are virtually moot in balance with his indifference towards the unquiet living.”

Check out David’s review for further insight and wit.
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First things first! The winner of last week’s giveaway is commenter Eva D., who will receive volume one of Yen Press’ Goong: The Royal Palace! Eva, drop me an e-mail with your address and I’ll send it right out!

This week’s featured review is Noah Berlatsky’s thoughtful look at the first six volumes of Dokebi Bride (NETCOMICS) over at Comixology. Though he spends a surprising amount of time trying to reconcile the series within Japanese demographic categories which seems, at best, a pointless exercise, it is a beautiful review of a gorgeous series that remains, to this date, sadly unfinished. “The book, like many ghost stories, is about grief and dislocation and how the two circle around each other like black, exhausted smudges,” he says early on in the review–an observation indicative of the its eloquence as a whole. The review is honestly a great read and I’d recommend it whether you’ve read the series or not.
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Happy New Year, Manhwa Monday readers!

Last week at Manga Bookshelf, I invited some friends to help me build a list of our Favorite Manhwa of 2009. Now, to start the year off right, I’m giving away one copy of the first volume of the most popular manhwa on that list, Goong: The Royal Palace. If you’ve not yet been bitten by the manhwa bug, or if you just haven’t gotten around to this addictive girls’ manhwa from Yen Press, here’s your chance!

Just leave a comment to this entry and you’ll automatically be entered in the drawing! You may also enter by sending an e-mail to melinda@mangabookshelf.com with the subject line: “Goong.” The winner will be announced in next week’s column. Note: You must be age 13 or older to enter.
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