These three comics have the unfortunate luck of being reviewed on the Shakespearian day of tragedy. Don’t let that fool you, though. These comics are no slouch. Or at least one of them usually isn’t. Join “Aza” as “The Messenger” for “Dr. Frost” as soliloquize about betrayal and Rome.
All this without the betrayal and Rome in this issue of The Webcomics Weekly.
Aza
Episodes 1-3
Schedule: Mondays
Written and Illustrated by usaesae
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
Look I’m a simple guy the preview art for “Aza” and the logline reminded me of “Demon Slayer” and so here we are. Is this like “Demon Slayer”? Other than there being a war between humans and supernatural humanoid creatures with monstrous elements, no. Is it closer to something like Silence of the Lambs? Yes, and that’s far more interesting. After the King of the Fallen, Azazel, is captured by General Mu Ryang the good General begins to slowly find himself caught up in courtly intrigue and diplomacy. It isn’t as action packed as you’d hope but writer-artist usaesae has expressive art that captures both subtle interactions and the core of who someone is. Like the sadistic arrogance of the crown prince or the trickster qualities of Aza. The dynamics at play are standard but the technique that realizes them makes up for it.
Usaesae has your standard digital mangaka style of art, delicate line work mixed with extensive digital coloring that you see in plenty of Webtoon originals. The difference here, at least in this opening trio of episodes, is how well they use light to render everything. The majority of these episodes take place at night or early dawn with just the faintest of sunlight peeking through. Normally these low light conditions would just result in washed out colors and plenty of hard shadows. This artist goes the opposite route by setting it during a full looking moon with mostly clear sky everything is just subtly luminous. Usaesae’s strip construction is standard with smart use of diagonal panels to give a sense of action to these largely still moments.
“Aza” is just well constructed; it isn’t what I expected going in but has enough surprises and quality execution to warrant checking out. The ethical and moral quandaries are obvious but well executed, the way they make evident and slowly ramp up the sadistic qualities of the Prince is plainly good character work.
Dr. Frost
‘A Fox Hole’ (1) – (4)
Updates: Saturdays
By Jongbeom Lee
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
Not a lot happens in ‘A Fox Hole’s’ first 4 chapters. It’s a lot of the same set up from previous arcs and while the ongoing plot continues to be engaging, as the desire to see how each team’s machinations and responses will affect each other, there’s not much more to comment on just yet. That said, the first few panels of chapter 1 were absolutely gorgeous. They blew me away and more than made up for the panels and panels and panels of talking heads. I love “Dr. Frost’s” talking heads but sometimes we need a bit of a break from them. I do, however, want to talk a little about an aspect that has, up until now, been excellent: the translation.
For those who’ve been reading Webtoons since the platform launched in the US, weird translations are nothing new. Many of the early Webtoon chapters were translated by fans or creators, which allows for a certain amount of leniency when encountering sentences that don’t read right. The same is true for typos or stiffness in comics that are updating weekly on a very quick turn around – such as Shonen Jump simulpubs. However, both of these options don’t explain what happened to “Dr. Frost” during these first four chapters of ‘A Fox Hole,’ where the translations suddenly became rife with odd turns of phrase, missing articles like “the” or “a,” and a general loss in understandability.
“Dr. Frost” has completed its run in South Korea as of October 2021. As such, each chapter has had plenty of lead time between its completion and its appearance on Webtoon in the US. Additionally, the translation for “Dr. Frost” has never been particularly shaky, even at the start. It’s very odd and for those who are paying for coins, I’m sure it must be disappointing to see. A company this big should hold their translators to a higher standard, in addition to paying them commensurately for that higher standard.
Continued belowIt’s not bad enough to make the chapters unreadable, or even fairly difficult, but it is enough friction to harm the reading experience. For a comic that is as technical as this one, that’s not great and if it continues, will cast a shadow – though not an unfixable shadow – over the latter half of this finale season.
The Messenger
Pages 000-018
Updates various
Written and Illustrated By Indui
Edited by Isa and Atla
Reviewed by Mel Lake
I haven’t checked out a Hiveworks comic for a while now, so when I saw a gorgeous ad for a comic featuring a boy riding a giant bird, I was pretty much sold. “The Messenger” is only partway through its first chapter as of right now, so the story and characters are still being introduced. So far, all we know is that a giant birdlike dragon emerged from the ruins of a town and flew off into the distance. One hundred years later, a boy named Kai is helping his family prepare for a celebration of the “second summer.”
Even though I don’t know much about the world being created in “The Messenger,” I’m glad for the way the information is portioned out in small bites in the first chapter. We know Kai has had an injury because of the way he reacts to being touched, and we know that a celebration is happening because of what the characters are doing to prepare. We get little hints about what is happening in the world but we’re not presented with an overwhelming amount of exposition right upfront. There’s a lot of dialogue between characters to let you know what their relationships are, which could possibly be trimmed down a little. But it does make the reader feel like they’ve been immersed in Kai’s world, joining him as he goes about his daily life.
The main draw for me with this series is the warm, inviting artwork. Character faces tend to be a little cartoony, but expressive enough to not seem like they’re out of place in a fantasy series. The landscapes and the city setting are gorgeous, though. And Indui lays out the panels in a smooth flow so that you can follow the action from one panel to the next, with enough dynamism that you can understand the action and see clearly what’s happening in the background and foreground. Though you only see the dragon once, it’s a very cool dragon, indeed, looking more like a giant bird than a serpent.
“The Messenger” doesn’t look like it’ll be a fast-paced action series from its beginning pages but the cozy colors and beautiful backgrounds invite readers in for the long haul, getting to know Kai as he goes on his journey.
