Category: Books

A Not So Fairy Tale
by hyobin
published by Webtoon (44 chapters, ongoing)
2023 – present

This contemporary Korean comic tells the traditional story of the Fairy and the Woodcutter in a modern zombie-fighting context!

A thousand years ago, a goddess came to earth, and (under instruction from a suspicious deer) a human man stole her clothes (her keys to heaven) and demanded that she have his children, only to die without returning them, leaving her trapped on earth with humans. (See Wikipedia’s summary of the variations of this folktale.) In the contemporary Korea of this comic, she is still here – and she is PISSED. Zombies (called Fiends) are killing people, and Moran Cheon, as she is now known, is a famous actress who SECRETLY can kill zombies with her bare hands. She can also leap from tall buildings, is inhumanly strong, and is unnaturally beautiful.

She wants to go back to to the celestial realm, is angry at that evil deer, and has been waiting impatiently for that damned woodcutter to be reincarnated so she can get her situation sorted out.

There is more to the fiend situation than anyone knows, and the detective who is investigating isn’t dazzled by the goddess at all – a sure sign that HE IS THE PROBLEM – I mean, the reincarnation she has been waiting for. The goddess has struggled with with loneliness, resentment, a fox-spirit child she raised as her only other potentially immortal companion, and the risk that she will miss the chance to return to the heavens forever.

This story has: a celebrity, zombie-fighting, immortal actress; a handsome cop who may have hidden memories of his past lives; luxury condominiums; corporate cover-ups; secret crime-fighting identities; unnatural healing abilities; characters who lack human ethics; monsters posing as normal people (until they are ready to eat you); eternal villains and their adversaries; and the fox drawn in…vulnerable moments.

This comic is refreshing – contemporary urban settings, a new type of monster, a non-traditional interpretation of a folktale, lovely art – and is the least predictable of the stories I’m reading. I’m looking forward to future chapters.

Made of Stardust
by Kalisami
published by Webtoon (42 chapters, ongoing)
2023 – present

Kalisa falls to earth naked, in pain (from an energy weapon still protruding from her body), and with amnesia. Her human assailant is thrilled, and takes her back to his kingdom to make her his wife.

What Kalisa doesn’t immediately understand is that she is a powerful being from the sky. Beings like her, called stars, can be shot with human weapons and brought down to earth to either spread fertility while alive, or to extend the life of the powerful if consumed while dead. Unclear on what awaits her in the hostile human kingdom after witnessing human violence against innocent creatures, she makes a break for it with her tiny, winged dragon, Lumi.

The story is largely presented as Kalisa experiences it – with no memories of what is happening, innocence as to how the world works, mysterious voices, danger, and the dread of seeing what has become of others of her kind.

The art is pretty: cheeks and lips are rosy, bodies are slender and strong; Kalisa’s clothes are painted on, while those of a handsome ally resemble draped costumes of ancient Greece; her dead peers turn into dark, sparkling glitter; her fertility creates clouds of blossom colors across the landscape…

Chapter 42 is the mid-season finale, and it isn’t clear if Kalisa and her new friends and allies will survive, why the planet is dying (though this seems to be about human greed and a lack of compassion for other living things leading to environmental ruin, making it very relatable), and whether humanity dying out is inevitable. The loveliness of the illustrations will lure me back.

I Abdicate My Title of Empress
by Kim hee sung , galbi
published by Webtoon (54 chapters, ongoing)
2023 – present

When we meet Adelheid, she has given up her crown princess title and left her country for an arranged marriage to a hostile-but-hot blond emperor in a far off empire.

Not only does Emperor Karl exude hostility to Adelheid for not being as passive as a flower in a vase (the way he likes his women), but his jealous young mistress controls the money, and chooses not to fund Adelheid to show her who is really in charge. Karl tells Adelheid that if she minds her own business, she can do what she wants (though we grasp that this would involve having money to live on).

Oh, and the empire is being picked apart by sky monster attacks that the church has responsibility to stop, yet doesn’t seem inclined to do much about, especially if their delays kill off their rivals, those noble knights who actually try to save people from being killed.

Between Adelheid’s ability to read the law to determine her rights, a handsome noble who wants to beat the sky monsters and so becomes her official-aide and official-if-not-actual-lover, and that fact that ADELHEID CAN FLOAT WHILE DEFEATING SKY MONSTERS (!!!) because she is an unusually POWERFUL MAGE (!!), the empire’s power structure starts to crack beneath her booted feet.

Brazen attacks on Adelheid and whiny demands from Karl’s mistress might make Karl rethink his life choices. We will learn why Adelheid REALLY left her kingdom, and how many attractive warriors from back home want to turn up to fight alongside her, and about council meetings (because governance requires those, sadly).

This story has: a golden-eyed, monster-fighting, floating heroine; a handsome, ineffective emperor; a whiny, blond, unethical mistress (the primary mistress type in manhwa, from what I can see) with power-hungry allies propping her up undeservedly; a beautiful nobleman who isn’t sure why he stares adoringly at the heroine (duh); a corrupt church; neglectful authorities; and AN EVIL POWER THAT DROPS BUILDINGS AND MONSTERS FROM THE SKY! (This may be crossing into sci-fi. It’s unusual, and I’m here for it.)

The next season promises (even more) pretty men from Adelheid’s home empire, and more Adelheid-floating-sky-battles so I’m looking forward to it.

The Remarried Empress
by Alphatart, Sumpul
published by Webtoon (174 chapters, 3 seasons, ongoing)
2020 – present

While I am tired of reading about royalty, the fact that royalty are always at each others’ throats does make for light entertainment. [Sound] Oh, I meant in fiction. What? [Conversational sounds.] Yes, I suppose that’s also true in real life, but the characters are more compelling in fiction!

Navier grew up as the designated empress-to-be, and was childhood friends with emperor-to-be Sovieshu. They married, appeared to make a great couple, and Navier proved herself to be an effective empress, picking up Sovieshu’s slack. However, as the story opens, Sovieshu is demanding a divorce in favor of his childish mistress. Navier shocks everyone by not only accepting the divorce, but demanding remarriage to the emperor of a neighboring state, who makes an entrance and marries her on the spot!

How did we get here? That’s what the first two seasons set out to explain, while the third season proceeds once we’ve caught up.

This comic features: men who like their women childlike and dim; the stress of losing a not-great partner to a tantrum-throwing younger woman (I was going to joke that ‘we’ve all been there,’ but realized I have experienced this, and am unsure how to make it funny beyond assuring you that it is funny); blackmail; love potions that might work; pity; people who think power means being able to mutilate one’s own domestic staff; an empress who trained for one job her whole life, and isn’t sure how to pivot; divorce lawyers; love letters delivered by unusually clever birds — a reason not to EVER eat birds for dinner; secrets; regret; an attractive man with an improbably muscled torso standing in a fountain in a way that burns his likeness into Navier’s mind…

The art evolves over the course of the story in a way I like: the lines firm up in pleasing ways, so give it some time.

This is a story that teaches us to let go of partners who aren’t that nice to us, and let them reap what they sow; to accept flirty love letters from pretty birds, and flirt right back; to do right by people; not to harm the family members of journalists; to get to know friendly men who look amazing naked after you spy them in abandoned places; and to find a place that will appreciate your leadership.

Twilight Poem
by Kim Suji, MIDNIGHT STUDIO
published by Webtoon (69 chapters, complete)
2022-2024

This story has a controversial ending that set the comment pages afire.

What if… the angelic heroine of a story, who was abused terribly from infancy until the age of marriage, can’t stop crying? What if… the handsome, heroic male lead forced into marriage with the female lead is a self-absorbed jerk whose character growth heads in the right direction, but too slowly to benefit the female lead? What if… the villain is the only character who behaves consistently? What if all of this happened in a gorgeously drawn Chinese period costume drama?

THAT is this story!

Yes, female leads are usually perfect, and male leads usually grow up to be admirable human beings. That… just doesn’t happen here. The female lead is so busy weeping and trying to martyr herself that the male lead can’t even deal, terrible things happen as a result of his neglect, and then everyone makes bold choices accordingly.

I won’t post spoilers, but I think the ending was fine! Perfectly reasonable! MORE dramas should end this way!

(If this sort of thing amuses you, I encourage you to peruse the angry reader comments at the end. The best comment was a complaint from a botanist resolving a character disagreement on whether a valley had moss or flowers in it – HILARIOUS.)

The drawings are lovely, the glowing-lantern-filled scenery and palaces are well executed, the ribbon-style hair is shiny, the male lead looks like a face painted on a traditional kite when he is angry (which is most of the time)… I enjoyed that characters are flawed, I enjoyed not liking the characters, and I even enjoyed the fact that the ending is controversial to some readers.

I Tamed My Ex-husband’s Mad Dog
by CMJM, Jagae, Jkyum
published by Tappytoon (71 chapters, in season 3, ongoing)
2022 (?) – present

I didn’t expect to try to read all available chapters of this story in a few days, but it is fun enough that I didn’t want to put it down.

Reinhardt is a woman who has been wronged. She spent her youth engaged to the crown prince, only for him to send her father off to quell unrest the crown prince caused himself, get her father killed, and THEN call off the marriage and send her far away… Embittered, Reinhardt wishes for another chance – and when she gets it, and finds herself at her father’s casket 15 years in the past, she uses that chance to stab the crown prince in the leg with a sword in a way he’ll never recover from.

Her exile is harsher this time, but she is rescued from a mercenary by a feral boy – whom she recognizes as the crown prince’s henchman from the bitter version of her life. Perhaps she can raise this young version of Wilhelm in her exile to turn out differently. Perhaps he can be a tool of her revenge.

Or, as Will grows up into a powerful knight who is obsessed with her, perhaps he can be more than that – her partner or… her downfall.

Revenge is a tricky business, and one needs more than that to live a good life – as our characters discover! This story involves: speech therapy, loyal knights, daddy’s sword, stolen corpses, younger men, peat (no, seriously, peat), jealousy, teleportation crystals (!), empire-building, wars, love, obsession, annoying empresses, dungeons, capable female heads of state, wars, head injuries, male line verification science, fancy outfits, and lies… I’m very much in suspense in chapter 71, and am eager for more.

The Castle: Keeper of the Sacred Eye
by Jin Soye, hyeyong, pecan
published by Tappytoon (50 chapters ( 1 season), on hiatus / to be continued)
2023 (?) – present

Back in February, I summarized this comic as “contemporary imaginary Korean royalty battle evil spirits trapped in paintings through heterosexuality.” That is still a concise and funny summary, but I can do better… Maybe.

Jo Yuyeon is a redhead in a bad situation in contemporary Korea. She is indebted to her boss, who is keeping her comatose mother on life support in exchange for her complete devotion to running his businesses, while living in her boss’ home, and being an exploited girlfriend of the boss’ disagreeable son. A chance encounter with an evil spirit in a painting reveals that she has skills the Korean royal family needs – and she catches Prince Geon’s eye. Her adoptive family would rather get their spoiled daughter into the palace, and not give Yuyeon up. And the palace itself has a powerful spirit with its own opinion.

This has a story quite unlike the other comics I’m reading, and I have no idea how it will turn out. I want more contemporary Korean content, and so I’ll pick this up again in Season 2.

Like Wind on a Dry Branch
by Dalsaeowl, Hwaeum
published by Webtoon (ongoing, currently at chapter 177)
2021 – present

I’m 177 chapters into this enjoyable illustrated novel, and it isn’t going to end anytime soon, so I should review and recommend it! Admittedly, this one starts rough – the author notes that they like stories of overcoming adversity, and this one starts out ALL ABOUT ADVERSITY.

When we first meet our heroine, Rieta, she is sedated and being led to a graveyard to be buried alive by the man who sold her child into slavery… No, wait, come back! This would be a one issue comic if that played out – there’s more!

AHEM. Where was I? Rieta is saved from being buried alive by a prince with a bad reputation, but it turns out that is a front – there’s a lot more going on than appearances suggest. Prince Killian Axias pretends to be a playboy, but this masks the threat he poses to the current order. Rieta seems like a hapless commoner hollowed out by grief, but has healing powers beyond explanation, raising questions about how she flunked out of religious school. Plague is spreading strangely and with suspicious timing. Magic is real, and is the subject of religious training involving the state church AND ALSO demons. And there is a curse left by a dying princess, which the current royal family is desperate to lift.

While Rieta devotes herself to healing others, the situation around her shifts, clear threats to her life emerge, and new allies refuse to let her give up on living.

The story is engaging and unpredictable, despite themes in common with other manhwa I am reading, such as: secret ancestry, corrupt religious officials, murderous royals, demons with good hair who never skip chest day (or any other day) at the gym, a harem that is not what it appears, curses, and sweet women who can cure plagues. What sets it apart is that it is well written, illustrated in subdued tones, has an unexpectedly reasonable prince, and takes non-obvious plot turns.

Plus, there is a quirk to the illustrations, where side-eye (you know what this is, don’t make me look at you this specific way with scorn) is unduly dramatic, and this delights me.

If I look forward to more even 177 chapters in, it’s good!

Like Wind on a Dry Branch

As plague and turmoil afflicts the empire, enchanting widow Rieta Tristi finds herself at the mercy of a malicious nobleman and his dying wish to have her buried alive beside his corpse. The plague has taken her husband, slave traders have taken her young child, and now her own life is at risk — until an unexpected visit from the empire’s outcast prince changes everything.

The East Wind of the Altas
by Tappytoon Studio, Ziseo
published by Tappytoon (chapters 1-50 (season 1); season 2 in progress (ongoing)
2023 – present

I described the setup for this to a friend in a way that made him not want to read it, as the start was a bit grim. I told him a widowed mother of three has to give herself to a violent nobleman to compensate him after he kills his horse to prevent it from crushing her kids… and I lost his interest right there. But there is more to it!

Claire… is not really a widow, the kids aren’t really hers, she is in hiding under a false identity, she is fearless and assertive, she is multilingual (sexy!), and she has pretty eyes and big plans. The violent Marquess Balt (tee hee hee) Morenheitz is handsome, warm, good in bed, looks after her loved ones, and (eventually) is one of the better men in her life. That’s barely a compliment, considering what she’s been through, but she has the usual heroine-making-everyone-love-her qualities of inherent goodness, so when starts enjoying herself with him, we want that for her, even though we don’t know her plans or all of her secrets. Her wanting to enjoy him (for now) is good enough! (Hooray for women enjoying bedtime with fond, handsome men!) We might even root for Balt’s powerful eyebrows when they go to battle for him in season two, though Claire’s many unspilled secrets may defeat them.