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daviddavidkatzman's review
5.0
This comic book series is quite an achievement. At a time when every comic book author is clamoring to break into superhero books, the creator of Yi Soon Shin followed his own path. And in doing so, he has developed something quite original. Comics about war are few and far between. Yi Soon Shin is based on a true story that takes place at the turn of the 16th century in Korea, making it a one-of-a-kind comic book series. I admire what clearly must've been a tremendous amount of research to recreate the battles that took place in the 1590s between Korea and Japan. I have no idea if they actually are accurate, but they are written with such detail that they certainly give the impression of being historically valid.
First to the art. It's quite beautiful. The few female character (this is a war story after all) are perhaps too sexy and perfect, but other than that, the style is quite amazing. The details of the clothing and armor, the weapons, the ships!, the violence and blood, the explosions are all lovingly rendered. It's quite glorious to read.
The writing itself is serious. No exaggerated superhero-ish storytelling here. The author, Onrie Kompan, does a convincing job of recreating feudal Korea. He does use American colloquialisms at times, such as "man up" and "All right boys, let `em have it," which threw me slightly at first. But after following the story for a while, I decided that he had made a good choice going that direction. First of all, we are talking about a translation of what would have been said in 16th century Korean and Japanese. There can't possibly be a true translation of the idioms of something so long ago. Second of all, I came to feel that what was more important was that he was representing the sentiments and actions sincerely rather than trying to mimic something that would vaguely sound like Shakespeare's English. In the end, that would've gotten in the way of the reader enjoying the story and truly following it. Better he took a more natural path that communicated the events. Once I got past that, I felt the writing was outstanding. The story has tremendous suspense and tragedy. Heroism and villainy. Romance and friendship. The dialogue is rendered with both subtlety and boldness. Yet all believable, and amazingly, based on historical records. I'm glad that I didn't discover this series until the first four issues were out because I would've been dying to find out what happens next. These first issues complete one full story arc and apparently there are a couple more arcs to come. I can't wait.
Make no mistake, this is not a children's book. The violence is brutal. The author does not sugar coat the war. It is as intense as anything you might find in Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan or Johnny Get Your Gun. It's as bloody as a John Woo movie but without the "coolness" of the action. Instead, it is rather horrifying and honest. Dark, no doubt about that. This is war, kids. Not play action. I never would've picked up a war comic under normal circumstances, but I'm glad I found this by accident at my local comic book shop.
Lastly, I would note that this entire series was pulled of without being supported by a major comic book publishing company. This is quite impressive because the quality of the book is to the highest standard. Someone like Dark Horse or Image Comics should pick this series up. I think there might be a graphic novel collection of these first four issues coming out soon. If you ever watched Shogun when you were a kid or enjoy epic drama then this series is worth your time. Highly recommended.
First to the art. It's quite beautiful. The few female character (this is a war story after all) are perhaps too sexy and perfect, but other than that, the style is quite amazing. The details of the clothing and armor, the weapons, the ships!, the violence and blood, the explosions are all lovingly rendered. It's quite glorious to read.
The writing itself is serious. No exaggerated superhero-ish storytelling here. The author, Onrie Kompan, does a convincing job of recreating feudal Korea. He does use American colloquialisms at times, such as "man up" and "All right boys, let `em have it," which threw me slightly at first. But after following the story for a while, I decided that he had made a good choice going that direction. First of all, we are talking about a translation of what would have been said in 16th century Korean and Japanese. There can't possibly be a true translation of the idioms of something so long ago. Second of all, I came to feel that what was more important was that he was representing the sentiments and actions sincerely rather than trying to mimic something that would vaguely sound like Shakespeare's English. In the end, that would've gotten in the way of the reader enjoying the story and truly following it. Better he took a more natural path that communicated the events. Once I got past that, I felt the writing was outstanding. The story has tremendous suspense and tragedy. Heroism and villainy. Romance and friendship. The dialogue is rendered with both subtlety and boldness. Yet all believable, and amazingly, based on historical records. I'm glad that I didn't discover this series until the first four issues were out because I would've been dying to find out what happens next. These first issues complete one full story arc and apparently there are a couple more arcs to come. I can't wait.
Make no mistake, this is not a children's book. The violence is brutal. The author does not sugar coat the war. It is as intense as anything you might find in Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan or Johnny Get Your Gun. It's as bloody as a John Woo movie but without the "coolness" of the action. Instead, it is rather horrifying and honest. Dark, no doubt about that. This is war, kids. Not play action. I never would've picked up a war comic under normal circumstances, but I'm glad I found this by accident at my local comic book shop.
Lastly, I would note that this entire series was pulled of without being supported by a major comic book publishing company. This is quite impressive because the quality of the book is to the highest standard. Someone like Dark Horse or Image Comics should pick this series up. I think there might be a graphic novel collection of these first four issues coming out soon. If you ever watched Shogun when you were a kid or enjoy epic drama then this series is worth your time. Highly recommended.
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