So, today I thought I might take a look at some books that feature time.

Watchmen – This classic, it’s a classic right?, features the past and time as perception. To me, Dr. Manhattan’s mars dwelling looks a lot like clock gears and we can see it crumbling, an allusion to the end of the world, the end of time as we know it. And really, isn’t time just something we made up anyway?

Bride of the Water God – In this gorgeous manhwa, Soah is a slave to time. By day, her lover is a small boy by night, he’s a man. She better watch that clock if she wants to be awake for the good stuff!

Sand Chronicles – The hour glass is a central motif to Ann’s coming of age. As time slips by, she grows up. It is both quick and slow, sweet and painful.

Road to Perdition – This may seem like an odd choice, since time isn’t really addressed but there is always the feeling of time pushing at the characters’ backs. Hurry hurry hurry to the end is the feeling this book gives me. Of course, the end is tragic and at that moment time stands still. It’s a very strange feeling.

Can you think of any others?

This may be shocking to some but maternity leave is no vacation!  Still I did get to squeeze in a few manga these past couple months.  Here’s how I felt about them:

Bride of the Water God Vol. 2

I had heard that the second volume doesn’t necessarily improve.  The character development is still minimal, the plot is full of holes and the dialogue is laughable.  Still, the artwork makes up for everything.  I don’t care how insipid Habaek and Soah continue to be, if they wear those gorgeous clothes while flying past the moon in an elaborate ship, I will eat it up.

Uzumaki Vol. 2

There’s very little “horror” that I can’t handle.  Uzumaki is pushing the limit.  In this twisted (pun intended) volume, the terror is pushed up as the town possessed by a spiral, uh, spirals downward.  I warn you, it’s seriously disturbing but brillant.  The only thing that bothers me is that the townspeople have yet to figure out what’s going on.  You would think that after multiple frightening incidents, including people morphing in snails for godsake, the folks would learn to stay away from anything strange or believe others when they relate that something is wrong – ah, but no.

Pluto Vol. 1

I should have read this title first.  I’m a huge fan of Monster and was thrilled to see a couple of series by Naoki Urasawa. My comic book guy recommended it over 20th Century Boys, saying it was different than Monster and would make a nice change.   Based on a single Astro Boy story, “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, Pluto takes the concept of a robot murdering serial killer and expands the world to a completely new level.  There is obviously a lot of care and reverence to the master, Osamu Tezuka.   I’m not sure why I resisted, perhaps because Astro Boy is my least favorite Tezuka title?  Whatever the reason, I’m glad I finally got around to it.

So there you have it, my summer reading.  Another good reason to return to work?  The copies of Queen & Country and A Drifting Life on my desk!

I knew there was a reason I left Colorado.

To ride the ‘let’s list stuff cause it’s really really fun and everyone loves lists’ wave – started by John Jakala, then David Welsh – here’s my top 5 Addictive Shojo Manga:

1.  Fruits Basket – this is or should be on everyone’s list, it’s like crack.

2. Absolute Boyfriend – I know a lot of people thought this title wasn’t very good but I couldn’t get enough of Night and Soshi.  They adorn my cubicle walls like Zac Efron in a middle school locker.

3. Sand Chronicles – the plot seems so simple but there’s something about this touching manga that makes me flip the pages of Shojo Beat to read it first.

4. Ouran High School Host Club – It’s basically the same thing volume after volume and yet, I still laugh.

5. Chobits – ok, I don’t know if this technically counts as a shojo title but it’s close enough.  I secretly reread the volumes then pretend to be shocked at the chauvenism.

Whew! That was fun and made me want to read some shojo.  Oh, here’s some honorable mentions that are actually manhwa:

Bride of the Water God – sooo pretty

Two Will Come – I like the jerky/sweet player character

The plot seems to loosely hinge on Soah and man-Habaek clumsly falling into each other, watching each other in intimate moments like sleeping or bathing and occasionally having an actual discussion.  There’s also the matter of Habaek’s mother who’s not too fond of her new daughter-in-law.  But despite the lack of a story, this is not a manhwa to let go of because it is gorgeous.  Every page has something to wonder at, whether it’s the building’s in Habeak’s kingdom or the dresses Soah wears.  The Gods are classic manhwa – stretched out, thin and willowy but Mi-Kyung Yun manages to add another emotional element that keeps them from looking like stock characters.  You can see it in the way Habeak bends his shoulders when he’s a man or the way he tries to stand taller when he’s the powerful child or the way Soah sees her refection in the water.

The kingdom of the Water God is magical.  In the words of Liz Lemon, “I want to go there.”