Snow Drop by Kyung-ah Choi Vol. 6, 7 & 8

I first became interested in anime in middle school. My friends, Lara and Capella, were super into Sailor Moon, and because I wanted them to like me, I was super into it as well. We wrote fan fiction (really) and we also assigned our entire group of friends different Sailor Scouts. I think there was some beef between Lara and Hillary because Lara wanted to be Sailor Moon, and Hillary thought that was ridiculous. Oh, middle school. How we (read: I) were hormonal and crazy. I think at that time Hillary introduced me to some other anime and even showed me how to draw some characters. It was also when I learned that manga were the Japanese comic books, where as anime, was the Japanese tv shows and movies. 

Even though our big group of friends drifted apart in high school, I still was interested in anime. I attended Dulaney's anime club a few times... but I felt like I couldn't connect with any of the members. I also went to Otakon a few times (the first time I went, it was 35 bucks!). I sought out some shows like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Hellsing. I perused the manga section at Barnes and Nobles and splurged on a few series. 

Nevertheless, 10 dollars for a manga that I quickly read in 20 minutes became a hard pill to swallow and the DVDs were 25 bucks a pop in kitschy novelty stores. Eventually, I phased out. I became disillusioned with the Otaku culture. It was hard to make friends, it was hard to acquire and above all, it was damn expensive! 

I'm not sure where I acquired Snow Drop. I believe it might be back when I still visited Barnes and Noble, but Snow Drop is very different than my other manga. First of all, it's Korean, so it's called a manhwa. Maybe I found it at a convention and they were on sale? I know it's how I found vol. 9&10 and possibly even vol. 3&4. 

Anyway, I had vol. 1, 2, 3 & 4 along with vol. 9&10 of this series since high school. I lugged around this series along with my other mostly incomplete sets of manga. When I moved back to Baltimore from Frederick, I had a summer free before grad. school started... so I decided to acquire the rest of the Snow Drop series. I stopped off at volume 6 (wouldn't you know... amazon had the series cheaper than B&N...) but when I started going through my books in preparation to move, I decided to read the rest of the books that I bought and buy the remaining 2. 

What always drew me in to Snow Drop was the art. First off, the covers are magnificent. Each cover is uniquely drawn in this sort of fairy tale, dream like theme. They pulled me in right away, which is probably why I purchased them to begin with. Also, the illustrations and art work throughout the books are also beautiful. I'm not sure what other mahnwa looks like, but this strikes right balance between art and graphic novel. I enjoy reading them largely because of the art. 

I started and stopped this series twice before finally making the commitment to finish them (and this blog holds me accountable). Before I picked them up again, I wondered why it has taken me this long to finish them. Now that I've read 3 volumes, I understand completely. The first time, it was probably due to expenditures. Manga is expensive, no one else was reading that series and I'm not good with the library. I assume the second time I stopped reading the series was due to the 'ride or die' mentality of the characters. I had a horrible break up 6 months prior that also started with a swoony romance depicted in the novel. I was very sensitive back then to relationships like that. I perceived things in a certain way, even if it wasn't meant to. 

Now, third time's the charm! It might be because I'm much older than their targeted audience, but... what is with the androgynistic men in the books? I read somewhere that younger girls, tweens like men that are "pretty" and look more feminine because they are less threatening than adult men. That theory makes sense to me... because it is in full swing in these novels. However, even though feminine looking men is not my preference, I leaned into it and read into the saga between So-Na and Ha-Gi. 

It's a classic Romeo and Juliet story. It starts off with both main characters in high school. She's the daughter of a wealthy politician and he's from the wrong side of the tracks (even though he has money due to his successful modeling career in Korea). There are all kinds of antics from all different sides to break them apart (including other boys and girls). At one point they defy their families and run away, only to almost be killed when the girl's father's croonies find them. 

It's very passionate and very, very dramatic. Once you realize that it's a Korean drama with teenagers... it's easy to lean into and just come along for the ride. There are some twists and turns to the storyline that the reader doesn't see coming, which is an unexpected treat. 

She-Hulk Volume 1: Law and Disorder

Growing up, my mother was never willing to buy comic books. I was a ferocious reader (and obviously, still am) and I went through books like food. Comic books are expensive and didn't have the staying power like some books did. Now, you may be wondering why my family didn't make use of the library. I don't really have a good answer to that, other than my mom never remembered to return books. Library fines are not fun to pay. Comic books, although a potential interest, fell to the wayside. 

Until this year. BAE read comic books for much of his life and even now has a sketch comedy show about comics. Though the Batman movies have consistently been apart of popular culture for decades, the Marvel movies and now the DC television shows made superheroes (and comics) more accessible to society. Which leads me to The Hulk. The Hulk has a few movies (and a very famous TV show under it's belt) but I was more drawn to his lesser known counterpart, She-Hulk. I'm not sure where I heard about She-hulk, but without knowing much about her, I was already her biggest fan. Someone that turns green, is super strong and looks like me? Done. 

Now that I'm an adult, I can purchase my own comics and She-Hulk was my go-to. After reading the complete volume 1 and 2 by Dan Slott, BAE bought me Volume 1: Law and Disorder. To give a little background on She-Hulk: Jennifer Walters is a lawyer, whose cousin is Bruce Banner. After an accident, Jennifer needed a blood transfusion, and Bruce was the only match. However, he also passed along the "Hulkiness" (or is it the gamma rays?) and Jennifer Walters is also now a Hulk. The Complete volumes of 1 and 2 do not focus on her transformation, but rather her life as a lawyer and coming to terms with her Hulkiness. 

Alright, Law and Disorder picks up with Jennifer Walters waiting to be brought him by the partners of the law firm she works at. What I love most about the She-Hulk is the devotion to her craft. She is seen in other issues her practicing law, and her defending superheros' rights is a very big theme in the complete volumes 1 and 2. The partners bring her in and they drop a bombshell--she is let go from the firm even though she has worked her butt off and brought in a lot of billable hours. So, she cracks the table (like She-Hulk does) and starts her own firm... with lackluster results. She still has one case opened... the dreaded blue file! 

So I read some of the reviews on this volume on goodreads, and there was a lot of outcry about the art in the last two issues and that She-Hulk looked like a man, etc. etc. So I cracked open my copy of the book and looked at it. And looked at it again. 

First of all, women come in many shapes, sizes and transitions. To say that She-Hulk looks like a man in the last two issues is harmful to the way society views women and the reviewers on goodreads who said that should be ashamed. Now, for the reviewers on goodreads who expressed they didn't like the art, well now, that is a grown up way to express your displeasure. Good job. Did I prefer the work of Pulido over Wimberly? Yes, I did. I thought the panels were not set up clearly enough and I found myself reading over the issue because I wasn't  sure where it was going. Did I have a problem with the way She-Hulk looked? 

To be honest with you, no, I didn't. Along with She-Hulk's commitment to the law, I loved and admire the way Jennifer Walters embraced She-Hulk, almost to the point of hiding behind her superhero mask during points of complete volume 1 and 2. She is aggressive. She knows what she wants and she is not afraid to be sensual and sexual. She is powerful and she physically stands over others. She even goes to bed with men that are shorter than her, and all of that is ok! I feel like I am oversimplifying her character a bit, and that's not all who she is, but the main point is that she embraced all of the physical characteristics of She-Hulk--big, bulky, powerful and green, which are all characteristics that women do not want to be.

At this point in time, I have spent more time being shorter than most power than not, but girls never forget the times where they felt bigger, fatter and out of place. Women are constantly bombarded with the message that the proper woman and the right woman, is someone thin, or even skinny, and petite. They are quiet, sweet and nice. Those are traits that women should strive for and even though many women (myself included) try to fight those messages, it still seeps into our subconscious. It's the idea that women shouldn't take up space. 

Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk, takes up some motherfucking space with all 7ft and 300+ of her. So what if the art in the issues #5 and #6 is funky? She looks different and it's OK for women to look like that! It's OK for them to have angular faces, an Adam's apple and beefy arms. It's OK for them to be svelte or hippy, or have round faces or square faces. It's all OK! I think the point of the art is to show a different version of She-Hulk and that she can represents different manners of women. Women don't have to look good to men. She-Hulk doesn't have to look a certain way to please men (and to make her less threatening). She-Hulk is going to do whatever she damn pleases, beefy arms and weird hair included. 

Now where is my She-Hulk show?!