With more people reading manga and webtoons (aka vertical scroll comics) than ever before, Beat’s Bizarre Adventure gives three writers an opportunity each week to recommend some of their favorite books and series from Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. This week we have pottery, crows, and…no way! Batman, again?!
Unintentional Love Story
Writer/Artist: PIBI
Platform: Lezhin
While most people have probably encountered PIBI through their recent BL Melting Point, their earlier work Unintentional Love Story deserves some love.
After getting unfairly suspended at work, Wonyoung is despondent and depressed, unsure of what his future holds now that his job is in question. Hoping to take his mind off things, he takes a short trip; what was meant to be a quick vacation turns into an important mission when he discovers that the company’s chairman’s favorite artist, the serious and aloof Yoon Taejun, is living there. Wonyoung never expected to fall in love with him. Now he is faced with a dilemma: does he continue lying to Taejun, or does he hurt him to get his job back?
Unintentional Love Story falls in the (sigh) biphobic trope of men being “straight” except when it comes to their love interest, but the story doesn’t dwell on it too much. Wonyoung’s internal conflict comes less from falling in love with a man than from his fear of losing Taejun if he were to find out how Wonyoung lied to him. Throughout the story, you can see Taejun’s walls slowly crumbling in the face of Wonyoung’s cheerfulness and warmth, as well as how crushed he feels after discovering Wonyoung’s deceit. As for Wonyoung, you could see the guilt setting in the more time he spent with Taejun. Eventually he realizes that there is something, or someone, more important than his job.
I especially liked how Wonyoung never wavers in his feelings for Taejun. It was never a question of if he was willing to sacrifice Taejun for his job but whether, knowing the potter’s past, he could stand to hurt him with his betrayal. Even when he was chasing after Taejun to apologize, he made sure to let Taejun know that his feelings for him were never fake.
Unintentional Love Story had a K-drama adaptation, and while it wasn’t bad, I would definitely recommend people read the manhwa. This is one of those BLs I reread time and time again because it has the perfect amount of angst, yearning, and sweetness wrapped up in a moderate-length manhwa. — Hilary Leung
Crow Time
Writer/Artist: Secondlina_Lisa
Platform: WEBTOON CANVAS
This week we’re right back to birbs again! How many bird-related webcomics and webtoons have I already covered at this point?!
Today’s pick is Crow Time, written and illustrated by the surprised Pikachu-faced editor at Hiveworks and Slipshine Studio (spicy~!), Isa! She has created several other webcomics such as Namesake, but I am in such a feathery mood that we will be covering Crow Time.
Crow Time follows a murder of crows and other birds throughout various antics featuring cursed swords, crow witches, opossums, and other critters. Each episode is short, straightforward and self-contained, making them easy to digest and enjoy.
I love how the birds are illustrated. They are simple in design with simple, easy to draw shapes and silhouettes. For example, the crows are drawn as fully black shapes with large eyes and gray line art that emphasizes the feathers in their wings. Another example is the humble cardinal with very thin legs and feet, large eyes and black over the face. Each bird’s design allows Isa to make them expressive when they need to be, and makes me want to analyze how she does it.
I have been a fan of this webtoon for several years and enjoy checking in from time to time to see what hijinks our dorky crows get themselves into. So if you want a nice, chill, fun webtoon about crows, birds, and other critters, I recommend giving Crow Time a read! — Justin Guerrero
Batman: Death Mask
Writer/Artist: Yoshinori Natsume
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC
“…Hate. Is this hate I feel? Then hate I will.”
In 2008, DC published Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume (Togari, Kurozakuro), a four issue series that jumped between Bruce Wayne’s past as a young man living in Japan learning martial arts, and the present, where he is haunted by events from that past that have caught up to him. When I collected this series as it was first released, I thought it was simply okay. Returning to it now, I’m better able to understand its simple brilliance.
In the present day, the Agurama Corporation has come to Gotham from Japan to expand its business overseas. This coincides with the arrival of a serial killer who cuts people’s faces and looks a lot like Batman. Natsume weaves a delicate thread connecting Bruce’s psyche to his civilian and Batman personas, the face-stealing serial killer, and the concept of yokai—particularly Oni—and masks representing them within Japanese culture.
This is an easy to read book despite its more gruesome elements. There are also dramatic creative choices throughout that some might call cliché. But Natsume still has a lot to say about the masks one puts on in any given situation, how they shape us as people, whether they affect our future, and if we can toss them aside successfully.
I enjoyed how this story gives Bruce Wayne a third persona, which feels new and fresh. I also appreciated the Japanese cultural aspects of the story, and how the killer fits into Bruce’s inner turmoil while remaining a separate character. Some questions remaining at the end go unresolved, but that strengthens the story in my opinion.
Natsume’s art is pleasing to look at and easy to follow. His characters have distinct looks to them and the action is well structured and paced. I would love to see this story adopted into mainline continuity, if only to see the character of Aya or the Death Mask return in a Batman comic. — Derrick Crow
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