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 (From Red String. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
Okay, if you've been reading these reviews for any length of time, you know I'm a story whore. Give me a good story and I'll put aside everything to read it. It's not procrastination, but sheer enjoyment and delight in a well-crafted world, with characters that I feel for and people I want to know better.
Red String pushes those buttons with me. Of course, it also pushes certain other buttons with me... and that's a problem I have with emotion. It's a sad truth that I don't enjoy television or the like because I start blaming myself for the stupid actions of others. And there were a few points in Red String that resulted in me minimizing the page and waiting a bit before returning to the story.
This is rather interesting, as few comics actually trigger that response in me, and part of this has to do with the utter realism of this comic. While it's set in Japan and focuses on a Japanese teen and her life, in school and with her friends, the art style seems closer to realism than manga. By that I mean that the characters eyes don't take up a third of their faces, and they don't turn into chibis (miniature caricatures of the characters) when emotionally wrought. Really, it more reminds me of Colleen Doran (often Doran's work is compared to manga and anime, though she developed her style before manga became big in the States).
The fundamental, underlying story is about Miharu Ogawa, a 16 year old girl who finds out from her parents that she's been engaged (without her knowledge or say in this) to a young man she doesn't even know. The first "book" follows her from learning of her engagement to a first date with a young man she barely knows, Kazuo, complete with her first kiss... and then the "surprise" climax days later when she finds out that he's in fact the young man she's been engaged to.
Kazuo gives her a choice, to meet him again at the Moon Watching Festival, and she finally (late, but finally) meets him there. It was kind of sweet, looking at him glancing at his watch, a sad smile on his face. He was willing to let her go, to have her freedom... and she decided to see if the red string of destiny, a bond the Japanese believe in, linked the two of them.
This doesn't mean that things are all sunshine and roses for our young couple. Miharu is a strong-willed young lady, and struggles from time to time with her feelings for Kazuo, as well as the fact she's in an arranged marriage with him (despite the fact she likes him a bit and seems to be falling in love with him). Add into that another young man (Makoto) who is very interested in Miharu, and Miharu's cousin, Karen, who is interested in Kazuo as a means to escape her own arranged marriage and because she's also attracted to him... well, the red string of fate might be dyed with blood (though the most violence we've seen is a slapped face).
While the comic focuses primarily on Miharu and Kazuo's relationship, it will also shift focus to Miharu's friends from time to time, and not just a cursory glance at them. Entire storylines have focused on Reika and Fuuko, Miharu's two best friends, and their own trials and tribulations. Indeed, their stories are often as intriguing as the love story of Miharu and Kazuo.
Another interesting touch, however, is when you read through the cast page. Each character was named specifically with certain traits in mind. Miharu's name means several things, one of which is beauty (and she is that), as well as river (which also reminds me of her, as rivers are wont to overflow their banks and change their paths over time). Kazuo is harmony (among other things) and often there seems to be a calm about him that helps center the others. An adversary (at the beginning, at least, though he seems to be becoming more of a friend to Miharu as time goes on) can be found in Eeiji Hayashihara, whose name can mean honor (and indeed, he seems to have a personal code of honor to him that dictates how he acts, even if at times he seems the jerk). Rather than blather on, I recommend that you check out the names for yourself.
The comic is starting its 12th chapter, though Gina Biggs plans for the comic to continue for at least 30 chapters. She has a definite beginning and ending to the strip, and from what I've seen, she's got a good idea of the path the comic is going to take. So if you feel like a good relationship-based comic and enjoy art that is on the border of manga and realistic style, I definitely have to recommend Red String.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to untangle the Kittens, they seem to have gotten caught in some ribbons in Gina's artwork over to the right....
Robert A. Howard
I've long been a fan of Amber "Glych" Greenlee, back when Glych was first doing No Stereotypes on Keenspace. I like to think of myself as her friend, though to be honest I'm probably no more than an acquaintance. I've talked to her on-line several times (though not often of late, real life on both ends restricted that) about No Stereotypes, her other projects, and on the rocky road of self-publishing.
Years ago I came up with an idea for a comic, about a group of paranormals who took the path of the vigilante, in a world now 25 years in the future. But I couldn't draw. I was sure I couldn't draw. And I couldn't find someone to draw for me. Still, I did research, I found out everything I could, and I planned out a comic book world that was complex, interesting, and fairly unique (at the time). All it would have taken was $3,000 to start and an artist to draw my dreams. (This was before I knew of webcomics, over a decade ago.)
The dream faded. The comic book world was turned into a novel which I've yet to finish, but the knowledge remained, and I let Glych know what was waiting for her out there. It was outdated knowledge, true, but every little bit helped. And finally Glych decided to take No Stereotypes and bring it to Modern Tales (and in doing so she brought me to Modern Tales as well, for while I was unwilling to subscribe to read the archives of Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan once Reinder moved, I was willing to subscribe for two of my favorite comics. That was before I found Narbonic, of course... and before Faith started up Ice at MT as well).
Unfortunately for Joey Manley, Modern Tales suffered massive technical difficulties, and all of the archives of all of the MT comics were lost. Including No Stereotypes. I'm not sure if Glych had been contemplating a move before then, if this was the catalyst or just poor timing, but Glych decided this would be the perfect time to stretch her wings, and go solo.
Panel2Panel has been in the works for a bit now, and I actually was one of those who was given a link to the site while it was under construction. And while some might claim the dark red-on-black is a touch depressing, I think it's a rich color, easy on the eyes, and mood-setting. Because part of the reason I'm so drawn to Amber's strips is her skills as a storyteller, and she tells dramas, not comedies.
There are several stories available currently at Panel2Panel, from No Stereotypes to Red Dahlia to a few little gems in the Other Comics section. The regular comics are going to start updating in a few days now that the site is up, so now is the perfect time to go and read her archives and get up to snuff.
And yes, all the comics are well worth reading. Take care!
Addendum: Reinder has revealed that not all of MT's archives vanished. Most of RoCR's archives remained, for instance. It's just comics I was trying to find archives for (Ice, NS, and a few others) seemed to be lacking archives. Just my bad luck. Thanks, Reinder!
Robert A. Howard
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