The Webcomics Weekly is back in your life and despite what yesterday may have been, I’m still feeling a bit foolish. I think Mike is too as he reads “It’s Just Business” and reacts very differently to it than expected.
It’s Just Business
Episodes 1-7
Schedule: Thursdays
Written by Youngha
Illustrated by Gongsa
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
When I saw the preview banner splash across the homepage of Webtoon I was immediately intrigued by the image of a woman holding two fashion magazines. It was giving me The Devil Wears Prada energy. While “It’s Just Business” is not set in the world of high fashion it is an office drama set in the world of advertising following the career minded Eunho, a fast rising “young boomer” within the company.
Youngha’s plotting and dialogue stand out and help to push this strip beyond its generic conventions, but the standout is Gongsa’s art. Their art is why you should read this strip. As with most Webtoon’s done in the Manhwa style the panel designs in this strip are not particularly dynamic. Everything is very square for the most part. That one note paneling, however, becomes the foundation for the formal rhythm that makes this strip so readable. Throughout these episodes Gongsa gets very detailed for several panels to highlight figures in a luxurious line art style. “It’s Just Business” formal rhythm is the play in art styles that Gongsa employs highlighting POV and for comedic effect. That play between normal figure work and chibi designs for effect is incredibly effective. You could describe this as “one note” as it is largely the same basic trick done repeatedly, but that descriptor implies a certain amount of boredom after a while. After 7 episodes I have not grown bored of it. As the series progresses Gongsa leans into this rhythm to explore the points of view of their characters which helps to add depth to this piece. Such as when Eunho’s friend Yeojin is in a meeting for a campaign and trying to find out if more revisions will be necessary. The way Gongsa shifts art styles from normal representation, to chibi, to horror, makes these moments work as a whole.
This playful art style helps to elevate a drama that isn’t bad, but not one that immediately grabs me. At the center of the story is Eunho, a fabled, legendary, worker within the organization. She was hired 5 years ago and is already an account executive. She is career focused, combining the wiliness of the fox and steadiness of a cow(?) … I’m not entirely certain the working like a cow meaning. Youngha’s dialog is legitimately funny in parts as Eunho surgically dissects her underling’s shortcomings. A moment that is further made comedic by Gongsa adding in “stab” sound effects with little spurts of blood. Unlike Miranda Priestly her evisceration of her colleagues isn’t out of a playful malice, she is offering legitimate criticism and advice on how to work with clients. All of this banter, however, goes a long way in coding Eunho as a bit of a bitch, a career centered person with no social skills or love life. Which brings us to the conceit of the series, which is the romantic comedy.
I love romcoms. Youngha and Gongsa do a fantastic meet cute in the first episode and follow it up well in the second. I honestly can’t think of many better examples of that sequence in webcomic form. Which is why my feeling of disinterest in this slow burn office romance is so perplexing. They aren’t doing anything wrong on a technical level, it’s just not engaging to me. Meanwhile the office comedy/work-life story of Eunho and her friend Yeojin have their hooks in me. The meeting Yeojin goes through is at once hilarious and yet totally recognizable as an everyday occurrence. The way the creative team works together to develop and demonstrate these characters is very well done. I just don’t care for the romance that is being made at the center of it. Maybe it will work out better for you dear reader. Or maybe it won’t work out textually at all and the creative team just shifts to making this a workplace comedy instead.
The art and the way the art is used to enhance the comedic rhythms of this strip make it worth at least checking out. Youngha has some solid dialog and the overall structure of episodes is sound. I’m just perplexed at running into a romantic comedy I’m not at least somewhat charmed by in spite of the compulsory heterosexuality of it all.
