Manhua-ka: Chao Peng, Weidong Chen
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “Time and again, A You finds himself chasing a mysterious rabbit through his dreams. But before he can reach out and grab it…his mother is shaking him awake for another day of work. A You’s not exactly thrilled with his job at the factory, so when a persistent streak of bad luck leaves him unemployed, it seems like a great opportunity to start over. The trouble is, A You doesn’t have anything to move on to. With no goals or aspirations, A You roams the city searching for direction. Deep in thought on one of his strolls, A You suddenly rouses himself only to discover he’s lost in the woods. He catches sight of a rabbit, and in desperation follows it through the forest. But this scene seems familiar…Is it a dream? Or could there truly be An Ideal World within the darkness?”

Chinese comics have been imported to the English comics market since the 80’s, but those were primarily Hong Kong action comics. Now, we’re beginning to see a larger variety, including some titles from mainland China, such as this title – Yen Press’s release of An Ideal World. A mixture of European, Hong Kong and manga aesthetics, An Ideal World offers a change in pace from normal asian comics fare, with vivid colours and a self-contained, single volume story.

Protagonist A You [a pun that works well for the English edition] has grown tired of his luckless life – plagued with constant accidents, and generally unable to find happiness in his job, homelife, or in his encounters with ordinary society. Whether it’s a cantankerous policeman, or a horrific traffic accident involving a bunny, things don’t go A You’s way. A You’s personality clashes with the normal go-getter manga protagonist, a young adult trying to cope with the slightly less then bright future he has attained. Like many young people, his dreams reflect a need to escape into fantasy, yet it becomes obvious that he needs to come to terms with reality. Otherwise, he might lose his job, and possibly his friends, as one can only take so much whinging from a sap like A You.

After a depressing string of events, A You encounters a sage with an uncanny resemblance to a certain short green jedi knight , and find himself flung into another world. The caricatured style of the earlier chapters breaks way for more fantastical surroundings, including a bunny suited circus girl and an anthropomorphic Zebra industrialist. Slowly, A You learns that while this world seems fantastic, it’s not far from his own town, as many of the overly happy townsfolk have seemingly unimportant jobs like cleaning the streets. The aforementioned Zebra then gives A You a lesson in economics, and charity. These scenes are particularly striking, continuing the dense, detail oriented panel work of the earlier chapters. A change of pace from the more negative preceding chapters, the style of art doesn’t change much, but reflects the diverse skills of the creative team, with immersive backgrounds, slick action and perspective, and a slightly whimsical touch reminiscent of Ghibli.

Another element I found intriguing was how the story differed from te usual manga and comics fare with its mild instructional elements. The story offers great morals for readers, reflecting the traditional values of Chinese society. Characters find happiness in any job, in working as a team, and in family life, finding the fantastic in their daily routine. These are morals that could apply to any societies, with the message of making the most of your life , even if it’s an unglamorous one, coming for the forefront and adding universal appeal.

This is a sharp contrast from similar fare from Japan, as A You grows up in the span of a volume, rather than constantly striving for increasingly unrealistic goals like the average Shonen Jump lead. While using many fantastical elements, this is a work that grounds itself in realism. This is reflected in the cute final panel, continuing the emphasis on traditional values in the pleasant tone that informs much of this work.

This is also a work complimented by strong production values. The colour work in An Ideal World is fairly solid, with bright colours in a watercolour style of colouring, opting for a more natural look then most computer colouring jobs. Colour is also used to the stories advantage, as A You’s skin colour changes to a brighter, cherry yellow when he enters the fantasy realm. Normally more neutral toned, he retains this colour throughout the graphic novel, symbolizing his change in personality and world view. Occasional shifts to grey help emphasize some panels, taking advantage of the palette offered in doing a full colour work, making it an element of the story rather then a mere selling point. The paper used is a bit better than usual manga, sturdy crisp white suited to colour printing in place of the usual newsprint manga fans are accustomed to.

Decent extras include profiles of the creators, design files, and a cover art gallery from the French edition, which were released in 5 paperbacks, probably in the thinner style of B.D .releases traditional for colour comics in France. I suspect that Yen might have been working from files of this edition, given the use of what looks to be hand drawn roman lettered sound effects that are occasional subtitled with a more obvious English edition in computer fonts.

While nothing in the content is particularly offensive, the plot is more so one that would be appreciated by older teen readers rather than younger children, so I would recommend it primarily to teens and young adults. This work has gotten me interested in what other Chinese titles Yen has to offer, and makes for a good sample of these offerings.

Review written November 2, 2009 by Andre
Book provided by Yen Press for review purposes

Author: Sun Jiayu
Manhua-ka: Guo Guo
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2009

Synopsis: “Lavishly illustrated in full color and based on the classic Chinese play Xixiang Ji by Wang Shifu, The History of the West Wing tells of the illicit romance between the daughter of a Chinese government official and the roaming scholar who seeks to win her hand. But before he can turn his attentions to his ladylove, the young man must win the heart of her mother! When it seems even heroic deeds in the face of murderous bandits will not please the strict matriarch, the young man goes off to become a civil servant. Will he return in time to marry his true love?”

Love at first sight, and with only deeper to fall, History of the West Wing is a fantastical visual treat that follows the quick-to-bloom love of two fated souls for whom potential suitors, invading ingrates and provincial exams hold no chance of separation. A gift for both the heart and the eyes, this is a quaint one-shot release worth taking notice of.

Stepping back from just how much I fell in love with the visuals of this book, the story itself is a sweet, albeit slightly lacking, romance story about a young traveling scholar who falls in love with the daughter of a government official. Through his cunning, intelligence and impeccable level-headedness and patience, he takes on the tasks required of him to win her hand and pave the road for their happily ever after.

The plot plays itself out in a very linear fashion, and short of experiences with Chinese stories of this vein throwing me for a loop in the past, I had no doubt in my mind how things would work out for the blissful new couple. Admittedly the lack of substantial conflict makes the narrative a little lax, and while it leaves the book reading a little one-dimensional, it works wonders in creating a very fairytale-like feeling. I was also completely charmed by Chen Yuqing, truth be told, from his attractive design to impeccable wisdom. He’s a romanticized character and I fell for him hair, quill and luster. Honestly at times he felt too near perfect, which actually left me a bit suspicious of him for a moment.

Without question the book’s greatest and most immediately evident highlight is the artwork. History of the West Wing is hands down one of the most beautiful things I’ve read on a visual level in a long while. The book is in full-colour, each panel a painted image that brilliantly showcases the artist’s work as a costume designer. Her eye for detail and style makes every page worth a stop-and-stare and the chapter covers just beg to be framed and hung on the wall. Each of the leading characters are just as stunning as the clothes that adorn them as well. My only complaint about the artwork is that occasionally some mannerisms look stiff as some of the natural feel of their movements seems lacking. Don’t get me wrong, I say it’s a pretty excusable trade-off in comparison to just how positively gorgeous they all are and it was only something that came up on rare occasion throughout.

On top of Gou Gou’s splendid artistic flair, I’d be hard pressed to find anything that Yen Press could’ve done better with their treatment of the book as well. It’s a cut-size larger than standard manga releases, to the complete benefit of the artwork, and along with maintaining the full colours of the original, they also left in place all the bonus illustrations at the back that serve as a sweet epilogue to the story.

My only considerable protest about the book is that it’s too short, though not for lack of fairly satisfying story. Truthfully a longer book could’ve worn out the shallow plot, but simply put, I was sad to see it end. At least an easily read story bolstered by the fantastic artwork ensures that History of the West Wing has lots of reread value, value that I intend to appreciate again and again.

Review written June 20, 2009 by Lissa Pattillo
Book provided by Yen Press for review purposes

Manhua-ka: Song Yang
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: September 2008

Synopsis: “Coming of age during the Cultural Revolution in China, sixteen-year-old Ma Xiaojun yearns to rebel against the system. But while he manages to get into plenty of trouble with his friends, he also nurtures a more solitary side and a mysterious obsession with keys. When maturity yields a newfound interest in the opposite sex, Xiaojun finds himself intrigued by the untouchable Mi Lan. Will he ever find the key to unlock the enigmas she presents?”

Wild Animals is the story of Ma Xiaojun, a Chinese teen living during the Cultural Revolution. He runs with a questionable crowd, skips school and generally does what he wishes in a society he enjoys rebelling against. It’s 240 pages of life in China-past through the eyes of its youth.

When I first began reading Wild Animals, I had no idea what was going on. I couldn’t pinpoint who the story was following, what kind of pacing the writer was trying to pull of and the art was wildly inconsistent (though intentionally so). Fortunately when chapter two rolled around, the story took a more linear, focused track and I was able to start enjoying the book.

Ma Xiaojin feels like a well-portrayed teenager: reckless, cheeky and laid-back about nearly everything in his life. It was nice seeing his interactions with so many different people and how they showed the varied layers of his teenage personality, from his too-cool-for-you buddies, to an older girl he’s become fascinated with, and on the flipside the occasional run-in with police and his parents. I kept being surprised by some of his actions, those both light and dark, but more than seeming out of place, they served to make him as unpredictable as a person truly should be, especially for someone just learning who he is.

Yen Press’s job on the book is really nice, from the attractive design of the cover and spine, to the well-chosen cut size (which is a little larger than standard English-released mangas). The interior rewrites were done well and they enhanced Ma Xiaojin with appropriate style of speech. One quip I did have was the story’s synopsis, which plays up the lead’s obsession with keys as a pulling point of the plot, when instead it played a very minor role.

The most notable attribute of the story is undoubtedly Song Yang’s artwork. Many parts of the book look like scattered pictures the artist has done and wanted to find a place more, giving spots a very out of place appearance. Some images looked painted, some cartoony and other like over-the-top characterizations. It’s a little disorienting at first but you get used to it. I liked the key style used in the book, which the majority of the story is told through. The characters were expressive and distinctive, especially Ma Xiaojun, and once you reach the end of the volume, the whole thing feels a lot more polished art-wise.

As a whole, I found Wild Animals to be a pretty good read once I made my way over the initial bumps and got accustomed to the unique styling of the book. What makes me wonder though is who this book would best be targeted to. It certainly falls in a vein more indy than mainstream so I suppose I’d recommend it to those looking for something that’s distinctly different than most other books of its kind available in English today. A unique take on the art and a interesting, calmly-paced story told from the eyes of an animated youth, made Wild Animals an interesting read though one that will probably have trouble finding a market.

Review written November 5, 2008 by Lissa Pattillo.
Book provided by Yen Press for review purposes