Manga Reviews: Catching Up With Black God Volumes 1, 2 and 3

When Black God Volume 1 by Dall-Young Lim and Sung-Woo Park first came out from Yen Press in Fall 2007, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this manhwa / manga series. Was it a Korean manhwa? Kind of. It's by a well-known Korean author and artist duo, but it was originally published in Young Gangan, a Japanese bi-monthly seinen manga magazine from Square Enix. But perhaps most confusing of all was how the characters in Black God rattle off strange terms to explain what's going on, but mostly leave readers scratching their heads. What's a "mototsumitama?" How does an "exceed" work? And why are doppleliners doomed to die if they see their doubles?

What kept me hanging on despite my confusion was Park's appealing artwork and his high-intensity fight scenes. Superhero artists take note – if you want to see what "clobbering time" can really look like, check out Kuro's bone-crunching, blunt force trauma-inducing martial arts moves. You never doubt that the survivors of these fights will be left aching (and likely in the hospital) for days.

However, without translation notes in the back, Black God pretty much leaves readers in the dark about the details about where Kuro is from, why she's so strong and why someone's out to kill Akane, Keita's kind-hearted big sister figure. It's all very exciting, but it's also somewhat confusing.

But I have good news. After reading three installments, Lim and Park's rock 'em - sock 'em story is kind of making sense now. Check out my reviews of Black God Volume 1, Black God Volume 2 and Black God Volume 3, and see if it inspires you to take a chance on this unusual (and slightly challenging) action / suspense / humor / fanservice series.

Image credit: © Lim Dall Young, Park Sung Woo / SQUARE ENIX