Lerner Graphic Universe often produces interesting graphic novels in translation and this informational series starter, translated from Korean, is a fun addition to their catalog. Illustrated in manga style, in full color and translated for Western readers to read left to right, it offers a fun mystery with a spooky element as well as some scientific facts.
Kihan Shin, a 5th grader, is the leader of the Mystery Science Detectives and always eager to investigate. Hannah Kang is their photographer and, more importantly, their muscle. Terry, a 4th grader, is just there to relax, but he’s willing to help out with his technological expertise as well as fly his drone to check out their investigations. They’ve even got a mascot, a cute black and white cat named Kkami. Their first mystery begins when Yunjin Ryu, a baseball player, comes to tell them that he lost his signed ball in the spooky woods on the hill behind the school. While searching for it, he had several terrifying encounters, including what appeared to be zombie fingers!
Kihan enthusiastically insists the team set out to investigate immediately, even though its nearly dark. As they explore the forest, there are frequent dramatic pauses in the narrative for entries in their case notebook, highlighting facts about forest ecosystems and the creatures they encounter there including Yunjin’s “zombies.” Clues and quizzes are included along the way, so readers can review what they’ve learned and try to figure out the mystery on their own. The story ends with a report on what they learned, a teaser for their next case, and a short comic from the artist.
The characters have the big eyes, spiky hair, and exaggerated expressions readers have come to associate with manga. However, this is clearly aimed at a middle grade audience since the characters differ mostly in hair color and style – they have realistic child-shaped bodies and the jokes that make them blush are mostly bathroom humor. Even the jump scares are child-appropriate. They’re drawn with dramatic dark colors, creepy shadows, and the characters drip nervous perspiration. However, scary things are quickly explained in a couple pages as natural phenomena, usually followed by case notes or activities. Kihan spends a lot of time grinning smugly, his mouth wide open to display prominent front teeth while fourth grader Terry tries to project a laid-back attitude with his blase face, despite his often obvious nerves. Hannah is fairly equal with Kihan, having a reasonable amount of time on the page and showing off her strength as well as her photography skills throughout the story, but although her high red ponytail never has a hair out of place she’s shown with a variety of emotions throughout the story.
This is a good introduction to manga conventions for younger kids as well as a great addition to STEM-themed graphic novels and a good choice for kids who want to read a comic that’s not TOO scary.
The case of the Forest Fingers By Chi-hyeon Ahn Art by Gyung-hyo Kang Lerner Graphic Universe, 2024 ISBN: 9798765627525
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11) Creator Representation: Korean, Character Representation: Korean,
When an unremarkable player in an expansive virtual fantasy world discovers legendary blacksmithing abilities, it’s not exactly the answer to all his problems—but the ability to craft godlike equipment certainly goes a long way toward changing his circumstances.
Overgeared from IZE Press adapts this story of Youngwoo Shin from the Korean light novel of the same title. Youngwoo ks a bit of a loser in real life, and in the massive online VR Game Satisfy, he’s also a low ranging errand boy. However, when a job goes badly, he uses a powerful in-game item to turn his character into a smith and the successor to the greatest blacksmith in the game’s lore. Reset to base level but with an abundance of new abilities, Youngwoo decides to seize the opportunity in front of him in an effort to make something of himself in the game and out of it (there’s a pile of debt waiting for him back in the real world after all). However, alone and with the odds stacked against him, his only chance will be to craft an arsenal of advanced gear capable of offsetting his weaknesses (and there are many of those). It’s a difficult enough challenge on his own, but Youngwoo’s change has not gone unnoticed, and there are others who are quite interested in seeing what the newly forged smith will make of himself.
Volume 1 opens with intercuts of past and present, introducing Youngwoo’s in-game character named Grid in his overgeared state along with flashbacks to how this adventure began. It’s a bit of a jarring opening to follow, but once the stage is set, the story settles on following Grid in the immediate aftermath of his rebirth as an adventuring smith. There’s lots of game lore and rule mechanics mixed in with the gameplay, but with excitement and humor, the story strikes a fairly quick pace of daring and misadventures. Outside of the game, Youngwoo proves to be a bit of an unlikeable character. Struggling with money, jobs, and relationships, his video game addiction and general lack of motivation hang over his decisions. It’s early in the story yet, so there’s presumably room for growth, but it’s Grid’s sometimes bumbling attempts at gaining levels and fighting enemies that drives most of the story. Volume 1 already establishes a cast of in-game characters and conflicts that promise to kick off more shenanigans. And back in the real world, the game’s developers have also taken notice of Youngwoo’s new fortune, though it remains unclear exactly what they expect of him.
Illustrated in full color, this volume is a vibrant romp through the digital world of Satisfy. Video game menus and notifications are integrated into the story, visible to the characters as much as they are to the reader. And when the action kicks off, magic and combat explode across the page with stylization worthy of adventure comics and video games alike. The characters are distinct and the narrative is generally easy to follow, hitting the range of emotional beats effectively. It’s a comic that seems to relish its own concept and execution, and the art team brings the story to life with a visual language that’s engaging and fun to read.
On the whole, Overgeared is an enjoyable start to a new series. For those not thoroughly familiar with the genre already, the digressions into game mechanics and stats screens might be a bit distracting. And though I expect there’s much more to come, Youngwoo’s shortcomings as a protagonist make him occasionally tricky to root for with full sincerity. All that aside though, there’s a great deal to enjoy here in a comic that, while not necessarily treading any new ground, seems to have a great deal of fun setting out on an adventure. It’s a story aimed comfortably at teens, with plenty of fantasy violence but nothing too troubling in the content otherwise. Especially if readers have previously enjoyed titles like Solo Leveling and Ready Player One, Overgeared should find happy readers ready to settle into familiar territory and see where Grid’s often poor decision making leads next.
Overgeared Vol. One By Team Argo IZE Press, 2023 ISBN: 9798400900518
Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Korean, Character Representation: Korean,
In 1978, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il had South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee kidnapped because he loved her films. Spat’s graphic novel recounts this true story, interspersing it with a reimagining of a folktale that Korea’s first kaiju film, Pulgasari, was based on. This serves two purposes – it becomes an allegory for political strife in both Koreas, but its also a failed South Korean film that Kim wanted remade. To do so, he later captured Choi’s director ex-husband, Shin Sang-ok, as well.
This dual story-telling format means that Spat has quite a bit of ground to cover. This includes Choi and Shin’s first meeting, their romance, film careers, marital troubles, kidnapping, reuniting, and escape in less that 200 pages. It’s hardly enough time to sketch in details even if half the pages weren’t devoted to a folktale where a blacksmith’s daughter’s relatively carefree life is upset when the king kidnaps her father for forced labor. She must work with her fellow townspeople and some magical beings to rescue or avenge their loved ones.
However, the brevity works. There’s certainly enough story to fill volumes of nonfiction prose, but as an enticing introduction to Korean history and folklore, this shines. Readers are likely to finish this with many questions that are readily answerable with a bit of research. The downside is that occasionally the narrative feels abrupt as it switches between Choi and the pulgasari story. This is amplified by the spare art style. Sheree Domingo’s art style emphasizes emotion and vibe. For instance, Choi on a picnic with her children versus Choi as an actress talking to the press with Marilyn Monroe could almost be different graphic novels entirely – a great representation of the different eras of Choi’s life. The color palette consists mostly of blues and yellows, with occasional reds. Otherwise, it’s mostly black and white and contained in the expected panels. Domingo breaks free with phenomenal full page spreads where the passage of time occurs in torn off calendar pages or film cels.
There is something a little off-putting about the speech bubbles font in the English translation that isn’t present in either the Korean or German text. There is also a full-page panel featuring a protest that has footnoted translations placed rather awkwardly. The volume ends with a few pages of text that give a more succinct timeline, which is appreciated. It also may delight readers of a certain age since it mentions Choi and Shin’s involvement in the Three Ninjas movie franchise.
I happily recommend Madame Choi and the Monsters: A True Story for library collections as an interesting insight into Korean history. The kidnapping and strange behaviour of Kim Jong-Il is a great hook to draw readers in before giving them a greater insight into Korean culture and history. Aspects of Korea’s arts are trending these days with the love for K-pop, manhwa, and K-dramas continuing to rise, so that may translate into greater interest in Korea as a whole.
This title is geared towards adults not only because of the serious subject matter, but it does contain a couple panels of nudity in addition to domestic violence and infidelity. There is on page violence, but it is more disturbing for implications rather than the imagery.
Madame Choi and the Monsters: A True Story By Patrick Spat Art by Sheree Domingo Abrams, 2024 ISBN: 9781914224225
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: German, Character Representation: Korean, North Korean, South Korean,
Best friends Gabby, Mindy, and Priya are very different, but they have the same problem: all three girls love animals, and none of them are allowed to have pets. Determined to get quality cuddle time with some critters, they try out several schemes before creating a dog-walking business, which they name PAWS (an acronym—sort of—for Pretty Awesome WalkerS).
Several clients sign up immediately, and suddenly the girls have all the dogs they can handle—maybe even more than they can handle. Conflict bubbles up: Priya plays lots of sports, so the other two keep having to walk extra dogs when she has practices or games. Mindy can really use the dog-walking money, so she’s keen to take on more dogs even when the trio is already struggling. Gabby is the youngest, and sometimes feels that the other two don’t listen to her.
When the girls finally solve these issues, more trouble pops up: Mindy’s mom starts dating, which makes Mindy feel insecure and afraid of change just as the other two girls want to ask a new friend to join PAWS. Then Priya’s family moves across town, and her parents want her to switch schools. How will the girls of PAWS keep their business—and their friendship—going strong?
This fun series will inevitably draw comparisons to the Baby-Sitters Club, another series in which tween girls form a business together and deal with professional and personal issues. Both feature characters who are very different in personality and background but are close friends: Gabby comes from a secure, well-to-do family and is a little sheltered; Mindy is a stylish, chronically-online latchkey kid with a single mom; Priya is an athlete and the child of immigrants. Hazel, who joins PAWS in the second book, is new in town and uses a wheelchair. Each book focuses on the character whose name is in the title, with occasional sections following one of the others. Like the girls of the Baby-Sitters Club, these kids work through the practical details of how pre-teens might realistically organize and run a business.
PAWS is set in Vancouver, Canada, and feels very much of the present day. The girls use some current slang, especially when they squeal over animals, calling them “pupper,” “floof boi,” “lad,” “fren,” and “king,” and exclaiming “I would boop that nose so hard!” Phones and social media also feature frequently. All of this feels natural, and while the language may eventually seem a little quirky to future readers, the storylines and themes of friendship, accepting change, and taking care of yourself are timeless.
The art is a colorful, lightly cartoonified version of reality. The characters are expressive, sometimes becoming comically exaggerated to show extreme emotions. They are distinct and easy to tell apart, and each has an individual style, including plenty of different outfits. The animals have a lot of personality, too. While the focus is on the characters, the backgrounds are detailed enough to keep the settings—mostly parks, school, and the kids’ homes—clear and present. There are also a couple of illustrated recipes: Mindy narrates how to make gamja bokkeum, a Korean dish, and her mom’s boyfriend Mike explains how to make a kind of breakfast casserole.
There is no violence, no swearing (unless you count an embarrassed character mumbling “Oh God”), and no romantic content other than Mindy’s mom innocently hanging out with her new boyfriend. The stakes are emotional and logistical, not physical danger, except for one instance when Priya falls and hurts her leg.
These funny, relatable characters learn problem-solving and other life lessons through engaging stories. Definitely hand this series to fans of the Baby-Sitters Club, as well as to readers of other middle-grade realistic fiction, like the work of Raina Telgemeier and Shannon Hale.
PAWS By Nathan Fairbairn Art by Michele Assarasakorn Penguin Random House Razorbill, 2022 ISBN: 9780593351864
Volume
ISBN
2
9780593351932
3
9780593351963
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Canadian, Thai, , Character Representation: Black, Indian, Korean, Wheelchair User, Hindu ,
The Naked Tree is an autobiographical novel by Park Wan-suh that was published in 1985. It was adapted to a graphic novel by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translated by Janet Hong, in 2023. Booklist has spotlighted the graphic novel in its best of 2023 line-up and it has popped up in other places as a noteworthy title from the past year.
In The Naked Tree, protagonist Lee Kyeonga recounts her memories from the time of the Korean War, when she lost her two brothers, worked in a postal exchange, and became infatuated with a married artist named Ok Huido. Ok Huido is based on the real artist Park Su-geun, who Gendry-Kim writes about in the afterword. The heavy subject matter does not make for a pleasant reading experience, because The Naked Tree transports the reader to a time and place of danger, fear, and uncertainty. Kyeonga’s mercurial attitude and mean-spiritedness, especially towards her elderly, grieving mother, made me completely dislike her until the end of the book. Kyeonga’s memory of her mother’s cutting words towards her after her brothers’ deaths somewhat justified her bitterness. Upon reflection, I understood that during wartime and periods of personal loss, people are simply not at their best and Kyeonga exemplifies that.
The artistic style is unique but sometimes awkward. The faces of the characters are frequently rough caricatures, but occasionally they are drawn with more care, such as Kyeonga’s mother on p. 133. I wished that the whole work was as lovely as that larger, full-body illustration. Other times, the perspective is peculiar, such as when Kyeonga is seen from above gazing up at the falling snow. Gendry-Kim’s talent really shines in depictions of the scenery. Beautiful images of a busy street, a cathedral, the postal exchange (PX) where Kyeonga works, and the trees and houses of Kyeonga’s neighborhood bring the setting to life. Her color reproductions of Park Se-geun’s paintings are marvelous.
While The Naked Tree sparked my curiosity about the painter Park Se-geun, the odd artistic style, unlikeable main character, and melancholy tone did not appeal to me. Nonetheless, the book has its merits. Readers who are interested in civilian memoirs during wartime, and the Korean War specifically, should pick up The Naked Tree.
The Naked Tree By Keum Suk Gendry-Kim Drawn & Quarterly, 2023 ISBN: 9781770466678
Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Korean Character Representation: Korean
Naerim Shin has been the victim of bullying since middle school. Between her introverted nature, her ‘gloomy’ appearance, and her mother’s work as a shaman, she’s been an easy target, and none of the adults in her life seem to notice or care. She dreads each day going to school, only to return to an empty home, as her mother’s work often is her sole focus.
An upcoming class means 48 hours with no escape from her classmates’ torment, and Naerim can’t help but wish for a knight in shining armor to come to her rescue. But when a group of girls force Naerim to break open a sealed wardrobe in an abandoned church, she ends up accidentally forming a contract with an ancient vampire instead.
The vampire, Fetechou Vlad, is bound to be Naerim’s servant in exchange for her “witch’s blood” in the hopes it will eventually make him human again.
Bloody Sweet is a manhwa (translated from Korean) originally serialized as a webcomic, with the first few installments available for free, and the rest locked behind a paywall. Yen Press’s edition is the first physical release of the english translation, with volume one currently available, and volume two set to release in 2024.
I set out really hoping to enjoy this title, and it definitely had a few things going for it. The art, published in full color, is lovely, and Naerim is a protagonist that is easy to relate to and root for- her struggles with depression, isolation and bullying are unfortunately all too common. Unfortunately, the story’s tone was incredibly inconsistent. Fetechou, the vampire, and really all of the paranormal elements, feel like they’ve been tacked on in a way that doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the story. The narrative swings wildly between intense scenes of bullying and suicidal ideation, and awkward, manic jokes about the vampire eating scabs, quoting snack commercials and acting like a puppy.
The story is strongest when it deals with real world elements, focusing on Naerim and the people in her life. She reconnects with a childhood church friend called Hyoyeol, who had been crushing on Naerim for years, and truly admires her as a person for her kindness. Hyoyeol is bubbly and bright. Because he is a year younger than Naerim, they don’t attend the same school, but he has huge potential to be a positive force in Naerim’s life, reaching out to include her and introducing her to others willing to accept her.
At the same time, one of the adults Naerim met at the church has also been hired at her school as a counselor, meant to help address bullying in the school. But whenever the story seems to really be hitting its stride, Fetechou returns with more false, overly cutesy energy and jarring sexual innuendo.
There are intense discussions of bullying, depression, and implications of an attempted suicide. (A bloody boxcutter is shown, as well as self-harm scars on the protagonist’s wrist). However, it is the prevalence of BDSM imagery and awkward sexual remarks (including those related to Naerim’s menstrual blood) that lead me to disagree with the publisher’s age recommendation of 13+. I would bump that up to a 16+ or even perhaps shelve this title with the adult collection. Libraries with a tight graphics budget could probably stand to skip this title entirely.
Bloody Sweet,Vol. 1 By NaRae Lee Yen Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781975366728
Publisher Age Rating: 13+ Series ISBNs and Orde
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Korean, Character Representation: Korean, Depression
A Business Proposal is a comedic story about a sneaky plan, born from desperation, and carried out by two good friends.
The plan is proposed by Yeongsuh Jin, who cannot bear to go on another blind date set up by her father. She offers to pay her friend, Hari Shin, to impersonate her on the next blind date and act in such a way that the date will not want to marry her. Hari accepts the job proposal, because she desperately needs the money to save her family’s business. She has no idea that the blind date, Taemu, is the new CEO at her workplace.
Thus begins a series of scenes in which Hari, pretending to be Yeongsuh, behaves in what she believes is a terrible way, in order to push Taemu away, and the unbothered Taemu insisting on marriage. Meanwhile, the real Yeongsuh meets Taemu’s secretary, Sunghoon Cha, and through a misunderstanding believes him to be Taemu. Eager to see Sunghoon again, Yeongsuh calls Taemu and arranges a date. The date reveals that she had the wrong Taemu, and that Taemu had the wrong Yeongsuh. Hijinks ensue.
The writing includes many fun moments in which the reader becomes worried or frustrated for the main character. The storyline is engaging and hilariously tense. Hari’s character is fleshed out a comfortable amount for the first volume. However, a more in-depth description is needed for the other characters, especially Taemu. He is an expressionless workaholic without any backstory for explanation. Taemu’s expresses only that he wants to quickly marry in order to get back to work. Some character history providing a bit of context would have been helpful in creating a connection to the reader. Perhaps, the backstory and connection will come in the following volumes.
With the visuals, Narak creates a lovely, balanced atmosphere. Each page is beautifully detailed in soft, cozy colors and gentle lines. Both the colors and line art give the reader warm, pleasant feelings, even while emanating the feelings of stress felt by the characters.
Adults (18+) will find this book appealing, because the main characters are working adults trying to figure out and manage work life and love life. Many adults will find that content relatable.
A Business Proposal, Vol. 1 By Haehwa , Perilla Art by Narak Yen Press, 2023 ISBN: 9798400900334
Publisher Age Rating: OT NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
Born in Japan and raised in the United States, high school graduate Nao has moved to Tokyo for a year to reconnect with her Japanese heritage. At Himawari House, a shared house for students, she befriends two fellow Japanese-language students: Hyejung from Korea and Tina from Singapore. Himawari House follows a year in the lives of the three young women, delivering a spirited, heartfelt slice-of-life story about friendships and identities that bridge cultures.
Stories about study abroad experiences often have a travelogue quality, but Himawari House emphasizes everyday life and relationships, never exoticizing its Japanese setting. This graphic novel centers on Nao, Hyejung, and Tina’s friendship, their bond a source of strength and humor as they navigate school, work, family, and romance. The three women have each come to Japan for different reasons—introspective Nao wants to rekindle her Japanese identity after a childhood of blending in with her white American peers, sensitive Hyejung desires independence after losing her sense of self to family obligations and a manipulative boyfriend, and fun-loving Tina craves direction and validation while working a demeaning waitressing job.
Himawari House celebrates connections forged across personal and cultural differences, whether that’s navigating a multicultural identity, communicating honestly with family members who hold different values, or pursuing romance across a language gap. The graphic novel interweaves profound questions of love, purpose, and identity with the mundane episodes of a year living away from home for the first time. We follow the characters as they work low-pay jobs, learn to cook, nurse crushes on celebrities, and find catharsis through a night of karaoke with friends. The threads of their stories capture the emotional intensity and sheer adventure of a being a newly independent young adult.
Creator Harmony Becker makes smart storytelling choices to reflect the diversity of the Asian and Asian diaspora cultures she portrays. Expressive monochromatic artwork blends Japanese manga conventions with a North American aesthetic, mirroring Nao’s bicultural heritage. The text itself is multilingual; speech bubbles with dual translation and missing or blurred-out words, paired with Japanese sound effects, represent the jarring experience of being immersed in an unfamiliar linguistic environment. Becker also uses phonetically-written language to represent the different dialects of English spoken in Himawari House, peppering conversations with Japanese, Korean, and Singlish vocabulary and sentence structures. In an afterword, the author explains that she chose to write dialogue phonetically as a celebration of Asian and Asian diaspora language, pushing back against the white tradition of reproducing Asian accents for pejorative comic effect. The effect is a story that feels authentically multilingual.
Just as Himawari House explores gaps and connections between cultures, the graphic novel itself bridges a divide between American comics about Japan, which have often centered a white audience, and Japanese manga aimed at a domestic Japanese audience. The result is a funny, sensitive, culturally rich coming of age story that will appeal both to young adult and adult readers.
Himawari House By Harmony Becker First Second, 2021 ISBN: 9781250235565 Publisher Age Rating: Young Adult
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: East Asian Character Representation: Japanese-American, Korean, Singaporean
In this conclusion of the Ronin Island series, Hana and Kenichi have to protect the Island and figure out how to defeat the shogun. The pair and their ragtag group of refugees have made it back to the Island, but the elders deny them entry because they are afraid they are all infected. Somehow, the people on the Island already know about the spores, even though that particular mutation happened just recently. Hana and Kenichi set up on the beach across the straight from the Island and prepare to make their stand against the Shogun, his for-hire bandits, and the byonin. Reinforcements arrive in the form of the Island elder and many of the Island’s soldiers. After the battle that robs the Shogun of many of his forces, everyone, including Hanna and Kenichi, retreat to the island to make preparations for the Shogun’s eventual invasion. Hana and Kenichi must make some difficult choices and sacrifices in order to successfully stop the invasion.
While the original story and concept of the byonin was conceived well before 2020, there is something well timed about a deadly virus that turns airborne and can mutate people into monsters. The Shogun is a man who has manipulated science into doing his own bidding, and he’s overall an ignorant man who refuses to listen to anyone wiser than himself. The parallels to real world 2020 are striking, and some readers may need some distance from this year in order to appreciate the story without reality blurring the lines.
There is a strong theme throughout these three volumes of chasing a sense of belonging, and it is unresolved at the end of this story. Hana is still an outcast, and the Islanders still have a deep-seated hatred towards anyone who they claim doesn’t belong. This is in stark contrast to the motto of the Island where everyone is welcome and can find a home amongst their ranks. The growth of Kenichi is understated as most of the story focuses on Hana, but he’s nevertheless made into a leader in the village and must help rebuild everything. Hana gives herself a task off the Island at the end of the story, and it could make for an interesting story, but this is the end of the Ronin Islandadventures.
Ronin Island Vol 3 By Greg Pak Art by Giannis Milonogiannis and Irma Kniivila ISBN: 9781684156238 Boom! Studios, 2020 Publisher Age Rating: Teen (13+) Series ISBNS and Order
Title Details and Representation NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Character Traits: Japanese, Korean Creator Highlights: Korean-American
This story begins on a peaceful island off the coast of Japan, where two young people compete against each other to be stronger, faster, better. One is the Kenichi, the son of a great samurai, and the other is Hana, a Korean refugee and outcast. When a strange Shogun lands on their shores and demands fealty in return for protecting the island from the oncoming horrors, the villagers try to refuse. It becomes clear that the horrors are forces that they are not prepared to face. A strange plague has created a zombie-like horde bent on destroying the living. Hana and Kenichi go with the Shogun and quickly realize the young man has very sinister ambitions for an army of byonin, the plague infected humans. At the end of Volume 1, Hana and Kenichi take different paths to combating the mutants, Hana alongside the Shogun, trying to be the voice of reason, and Kenichi, cast out of the Shogun’s forces and protection.
Volume 2 opens with the two on separate paths back to the Island. Hana is traveling with the young, arrogant Shogun, and she tries to reason with the samurai Sato. Sato reveals why he is so loyal to the Shogun, despite the foolishness of most of the Shogun’s plans. The Shogun travels with his army of mutant byonin and humans to the island, where he believes he will be able to live in a paradise-on-earth after he’s bent the villagers to his will. Meanwhile, in exile, Kenichi is captured by bandits and has to fight his way out of a pit full of infected byonin. Both are fighting to protect their island from the monsters, both human and plague-ridden. Interspersed in the narrative is a series of flashbacks that provide insight into the childhood and training of Hana and Kenichi, and we see how their rivalry developed by the way each was treated. Kenichi, being born to privilege, was given more luxuries, but forced to learn difficult lessons and undergo taxing training from a young age. Hana was taken in by their sword master and often used as a training partner for Kenichi, but the villagers distain for Hana as a Korean and orphan motivated her to absorb the training that was meant for Kenichi.
Volume 2 provides some much needed backstory to our lead characters, and we get some insight into the Shogun and Sato, but the ancillary characters still have very little depth to them. In the first volume, villagers, and even the duos master, are given little depth or space in the narrative. In volume two, Hana inspires others to break off from the Shogun and fight with her to protect against the byonin, but they are little more than page filler. Hana and Kenichi are the singular focus and tend to steal the page any time they are there. After two volumes, we still don’t know much about the Shogun’s motivations other than he’s a spoiled, immature ruler who doesn’t understand how to keep people loyal to him. Rather, most of the narrative focuses on the admirable dedication Hana and Kenichi show to the island, both for very different reasons.
The first volume was published just as COVID-19 was becoming worldwide news. Now, this second volume hit shelves in the height of the pandemic. The publishing business plans out storylines years in advance, but this is another one of those coincidences of storylines hitting just at the moment they are most topical. The hysteria, lack of solutions to the byonin, the evolving nature of the plague, and the character’s evolving understanding of it is extremely similar to the events of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.
Milonogiannis’s illustrations are reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series with a little less finite detail in the facial features of characters. The action sequences are enjoyable and easy to follow, and her use of a different color palette to indicate flashbacks is helpful for keeping track of the narrative shifts.
Overall, this is an interesting story to draw parallels, but there needs to be a bit more depth and development of more than just the main characters for this series to be worthwhile.
Ronin Island Vol 1 By Greg Pak Art by Giannis Milonogiannis ISBN: 9781684154593 Boom, 2019 Publisher Age Rating:
Ronin Island Vol 2 By Greg Pak Art by Giannis Milonogiannis ISBN: 9781684155576 Boom, 2020 Publisher Age Rating: Series ISBNS and Order
Title Details and Representation NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Character Traits: Japanese, Korean Creator Highlights: Korean-American
Korean, is a fun addition to their catalog. Illustrated in manga style, in full color and translated for Western readers to read left to right, it offers a fun mystery with a spooky element as well as some scientific facts.
answer to all his problems—but the ability to craft godlike equipment certainly goes a long way toward changing his circumstances.
In 1978, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il had South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee kidnapped because he loved her films. Spat’s graphic novel recounts this true story, interspersing it with a reimagining of a folktale that Korea’s first kaiju film, Pulgasari, was based on. This serves two purposes – it becomes an allegory for political strife in both Koreas, but its also a failed South Korean film that Kim wanted remade. To do so, he later captured Choi’s director ex-husband, Shin Sang-ok, as well.
of them are allowed to have pets. Determined to get quality cuddle time with some critters, they try out several schemes before creating a dog-walking business, which they name PAWS (an acronym—sort of—for Pretty Awesome WalkerS).
The Naked Tree is an autobiographical novel by Park Wan-suh that was published in 1985. It was adapted to a graphic novel by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translated by Janet Hong, in 2023. Booklist has spotlighted the graphic novel in its best of 2023 line-up and it has popped up in other places as a noteworthy title from the past year.
her mother’s work as a shaman, she’s been an easy target, and none of the adults in her life seem to notice or care. She dreads each day going to school, only to return to an empty home, as her mother’s work often is her sole focus. 
A Business Proposal is a comedic story about a sneaky plan, born from desperation, and carried out by two good friends. 
Born in Japan and raised in the United States, high school graduate Nao has moved to Tokyo for a year to reconnect with her Japanese heritage. At Himawari House, a shared house for students, she befriends two fellow Japanese-language students: Hyejung from Korea and Tina from Singapore. Himawari House follows a year in the lives of the three young women, delivering a spirited, heartfelt slice-of-life story about friendships and identities that bridge cultures.
This story begins on a peaceful island off the coast of Japan, where two young people compete against each other to be stronger, faster, better. One is the Kenichi, the son of a great samurai, and the other is Hana, a Korean refugee and outcast. When a strange Shogun lands on their shores and demands fealty in return for protecting the island from the oncoming horrors, the villagers try to refuse. It becomes clear that the horrors are forces that they are not prepared to face. A strange plague has created a zombie-like horde bent on destroying the living. Hana and Kenichi go with the Shogun and quickly realize the young man has very sinister ambitions for an army of 
