A Manwha Opus

I recently finished a graphic novel from a Korean artist and writer named Yeong-Shin Ma.

His previous work was called Moms, and it was released (in my neck of the woods) in 2020. It's a story about four middle-aged women who've had it with the way they've been treated for much of their lives. They're not afraid to speak their minds anymore, and will unabashedly go for what they want despite the encroaching limitations of their aging bodies. It was a funny, often poignant story, a window into life for a generation that felt they'd been given short shrift in Korean society. The book was based on a diary kept by the author's mother.

Artist is Ma's latest book, and it reads like a magnum opus. This story concerns three men in their thirties who are friends. One's an artist, another's a writer, and the third is a musician. As the story opens, they appear to be very close, but it doesn't take long before we see fissures. Thought balloons reveal true feelings, and often result in name-calling or insults. As the musician gains fame and wealth, not through his music but through a book that his writer friend encouraged him to write, envy rears its corrosive head. Though the writer finds success later on after starting a literary magazine with his wife, it's all undone after his staff confronts him about the amount of control he wields over creative decisions. The painter fares worst of all, ruining his chance with a prominent arts center after he uses his position to threaten other employees and uses the company card at a sketchy establishment. His art no longer sells, and he has a daughter to support.

By the end, the friends have drifted apart, the opening scene of them dancing joyously together a distant memory. The events take place over a number of years. The painter and musician meet up one more time for dinner, and the thought balloons reveal how far they've fallen in each other's estimation. The writer almost leaves the magazine, but returns to help out another writer and his friend, the painter. They're still linked, but not in the same way. The friendship has not just mellowed, but dimmed. At this point, maybe it just survives on those gilt-edged memories from the past.

The story is over 600 pages long, but I could've read it one sitting if I'd allowed myself. The events in these men's lives carry you along, from one awkward moment to another. You wonder how things will turn out for each of them. I enjoyed Moms, but I loved this book, and I purposefully rationed it out over a few weeks to savor the work. I can't wait to see what Ma will cook up next.