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https://blacknerdproblems.com/your-letter-comic-review/
Words and Art: Hyeon A Cho
Publisher: Yen Press (Ize Press)
Translation: WEBTOON
Lettering: Abigail Blackman
Design: Ize Press/Wendy Chan
Editor: Abigail Blackman/Ize Press Editorial (Won Young Seon, Ju Youn Lee)
When I first read the synopsis for Your Letter in a license announcement, I was hopeful–hoping that it was the very same WEBTOON comic that I had read eons ago. Finding my way to the Yen Press website–I was elated to…find that it was the very webcomic that I was never able to get out of my brain. This manwha has a special place in my heart as one of my favorite early pandemic rereads and generally a shorter series to recommend and pour back over time and time again. I loved the hopeful message of Your Letter and the way the young main character discovered ways to bond and try their very best in their quest to heal and be the best versions of themselves.
The artist and creator Hyeon-A Cho is currently working in Seoul and made her debut in 2014 with a short story series titled Water tank on Naver Webtoon’s Rookies’s short stories. The following year, she posted another short story, Lunar New Year’s Eve, on the same platform. She received the 2019 Today’s Our Comics Award and the China Jinlong Award for Foreign Comics for the work I’m reviewing today. Currently, Your Letter is in production as a theatrical animation and plans for this English translated version have been underway. While drawing advertisements and cover illustrations for young adult novels, she is preparing for her next work, titled, Santa Scout.
“It was a completely normal day”
When middle schooler Sori Lee stood up for a friend of hers against their entire class, she never expected to become their newest target—but that’s exactly what happened. Later when said friend transfers schools, Sori decides to do so as well. She desires for a fresh start, new friends, and happier memories, yet she is haunted by the bullying and harassment at her old school due to her sense of justice. Luckily, for her, it seems she has a sort of guardian angel who is looking out for her at this new school! Sori finds a mysterious letter taped to the bottom of her desk inviting her on a scavenger hunt!
Standing solidly in the slice of life genre, Your Letter masterfully fleshes out the heartbreaks and happiness of friendships, school social hierarchies and young people discovering just what type of mettle that they are made of. Sori starts to follow the trail of clues to try and uncover the identity of her mysterious benefactor. As she does so, she ends up befriending Dongsoon Park, a quiet and broody schoolmate who seems to be intimately connected to the one who left her the letters.
With Dongsoon at her side helping her collect the rest of the letters, she is able to not only explore this new school but meet new people easier and find new curious and fantastical sights around her. The previously sullen and emotionally beaten girl starts opening up more and more with each new letter she finds as she is reminded why kindness is perhaps the best weapon against a heartless world.
“I hope things work out at the new place”
Hyeon-A Cho really knows how to visually tell a story with much attention to composition, coloring, and such mastery of split panels and pages. One of my favorite pages early on in the book was seeing a spread of two pages with Sori. At the top of the first page the girl is walking to her new desk at her new school, head down looking stressed and uneasy. The very top of the next page shows Sori in a different school uniform with her head up, walking defiantly with her hands in fists. This is a scene from her last school and the bottom half of that spreads of pages shows what the Sori at the last school was walking towards: her desk covered in hurtful words and phrases by her fellow classmates.
The author drapes these pages in darker colors with the classmates of the past faceless, with darker coloring and white jeers for smiles. The pages, as a whole, artfully communicate the readers the emotional battlefield Sori feels that she is walking back into at her new school. The trauma that is following her and threatening to negatively color her new start at this new school; that is until she finds the first letter from a kind student.
Another subtle moment in the panels that stood out for me was Sori’s first meeting face to face with Dongsoon in the rabbit hutch. After the troubled boy aids her in recapturing the lost rabbits, he questions her on how she knew so much about the individual rabbits, especially as a new student. She should be unfamiliar with the school grounds and such quiet places like this. She answers his questions with a question of her own, making the surly boy look unhappy. The author includes a page of panels of closeups of their faces towards the end of the questioning where readers can start to see Dongsoon as a cagey boy with something, like a darker past to hide.
“Those words were exactly……what I needed to hear at this moment.”
Your Letter is made up of ten chapters, aptly numbered as Letters–Letter one through nine. Through the hunt of each letter, Sori then joined by Dongsoon grow closer, uncover new revelations and find themselves hurtling to uncomfortable truths about each of the past school lives before they met each other. The author brings together this heartwarming and also heart wrenching narrative about the depths of friendships and what makes them worth pursuing and remembering. The author also manages to thread into the tale the value of integrity and doing by others as the key to being the type of person you’d be proud of. Through uncertainty, unstable emotions, and the fear of standing out of those to do harm to others, Sori is reminded of the right path through letters, not just the ones she’s been hunting for with Dongsoon.
What also should not be overlooked in Your Letter is the narrative theme of having hope and being hopeful in the despite unfortunate circumstances. Both schoolmates go from feeling abandoned to bonding anew and having their morals tested. Promising to stay true to themselves, they agree to make a sacrifice, perhaps the biggest one. Yet that doesn’t end the hunt for the letters and Sori and Dongsoon come to a realization that changes everything that they know about the letters and the not so mysterious writer of the letters towards the end of the book. This manhwa brings together a beautiful story about the magic of friendship that connects people through years and places–near and far.
While reading through Your Letter, I am reminded of all the little miraculous moments made with those I called friends during my adolescence. I think of the times that I battled for them and found myself at the receiving end of their love and care, too. There is a profound wrap up in the last chapter that connects all three students together that is not to be missed. These middle schoolers choosing each other and kindness–makes for an enthralling journey of healing that I originally found perfect to reread during the darker days of the pandemic–and now.
If you are looking for more teen appropriate series for those looking to get introduced to manwha or just find more of it, my heart recommends Your Letter in a heartbeat. As much as the narrative emphasizes healing, it is also an endearing comic about connecting with others, forging true friendships, and focusing on becoming someone you’re proud of. Your Letter will surprise readers with a story steeped in reminders that we are all connected in some way–and the lengths we go for others is the true testament of friendship.
As one of my favorite pandemic rereads, Your Letter is an incredibly hopeful reading recommendation from the realm of manwha, finally in print. I am very impressed with the adaptation and level of care paid to this English print edition of the manwha. The artwork in Your Letter moves from dark and striking to fantasy like and dreamy at the drop of a hat. Readers will get a hint of this as they can open the front cover to find a mini poster that opens up in full color, front and back of Sori, Dongsoon and a mysterious student eventually finding their way to each other. Readers will find a fun surprise at the end of the book as well that not only serves as a fun detail but also cements the ways friends find each other again and again. Not to be missed, Hyeon-A Cho’s Your Letter cements itself as a short but sweet comic beloved by online readers finally in print.
Your Letter is published through Yen Press’ Ize Press imprint and can be found where comics and manga are sold. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to have a review copy!
Love reading manwha and manga? See more on our site!
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The post Review: ‘Your Letter’ is an Incredibly Hopeful Comic from the Realm of Manwha appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Words and Art: Hyeon A Cho
Publisher: Yen Press (Ize Press)
Translation: WEBTOON
Lettering: Abigail Blackman
Design: Ize Press/Wendy Chan
Editor: Abigail Blackman/Ize Press Editorial (Won Young Seon, Ju Youn Lee)
When I first read the synopsis for Your Letter in a license announcement, I was hopeful–hoping that it was the very same WEBTOON comic that I had read eons ago. Finding my way to the Yen Press website–I was elated to…find that it was the very webcomic that I was never able to get out of my brain. This manwha has a special place in my heart as one of my favorite early pandemic rereads and generally a shorter series to recommend and pour back over time and time again. I loved the hopeful message of Your Letter and the way the young main character discovered ways to bond and try their very best in their quest to heal and be the best versions of themselves.
The artist and creator Hyeon-A Cho is currently working in Seoul and made her debut in 2014 with a short story series titled Water tank on Naver Webtoon’s Rookies’s short stories. The following year, she posted another short story, Lunar New Year’s Eve, on the same platform. She received the 2019 Today’s Our Comics Award and the China Jinlong Award for Foreign Comics for the work I’m reviewing today. Currently, Your Letter is in production as a theatrical animation and plans for this English translated version have been underway. While drawing advertisements and cover illustrations for young adult novels, she is preparing for her next work, titled, Santa Scout.
“It was a completely normal day”
When middle schooler Sori Lee stood up for a friend of hers against their entire class, she never expected to become their newest target—but that’s exactly what happened. Later when said friend transfers schools, Sori decides to do so as well. She desires for a fresh start, new friends, and happier memories, yet she is haunted by the bullying and harassment at her old school due to her sense of justice. Luckily, for her, it seems she has a sort of guardian angel who is looking out for her at this new school! Sori finds a mysterious letter taped to the bottom of her desk inviting her on a scavenger hunt!
Standing solidly in the slice of life genre, Your Letter masterfully fleshes out the heartbreaks and happiness of friendships, school social hierarchies and young people discovering just what type of mettle that they are made of. Sori starts to follow the trail of clues to try and uncover the identity of her mysterious benefactor. As she does so, she ends up befriending Dongsoon Park, a quiet and broody schoolmate who seems to be intimately connected to the one who left her the letters.
With Dongsoon at her side helping her collect the rest of the letters, she is able to not only explore this new school but meet new people easier and find new curious and fantastical sights around her. The previously sullen and emotionally beaten girl starts opening up more and more with each new letter she finds as she is reminded why kindness is perhaps the best weapon against a heartless world.
“I hope things work out at the new place”
Hyeon-A Cho really knows how to visually tell a story with much attention to composition, coloring, and such mastery of split panels and pages. One of my favorite pages early on in the book was seeing a spread of two pages with Sori. At the top of the first page the girl is walking to her new desk at her new school, head down looking stressed and uneasy. The very top of the next page shows Sori in a different school uniform with her head up, walking defiantly with her hands in fists. This is a scene from her last school and the bottom half of that spreads of pages shows what the Sori at the last school was walking towards: her desk covered in hurtful words and phrases by her fellow classmates.
The author drapes these pages in darker colors with the classmates of the past faceless, with darker coloring and white jeers for smiles. The pages, as a whole, artfully communicate the readers the emotional battlefield Sori feels that she is walking back into at her new school. The trauma that is following her and threatening to negatively color her new start at this new school; that is until she finds the first letter from a kind student.
Another subtle moment in the panels that stood out for me was Sori’s first meeting face to face with Dongsoon in the rabbit hutch. After the troubled boy aids her in recapturing the lost rabbits, he questions her on how she knew so much about the individual rabbits, especially as a new student. She should be unfamiliar with the school grounds and such quiet places like this. She answers his questions with a question of her own, making the surly boy look unhappy. The author includes a page of panels of closeups of their faces towards the end of the questioning where readers can start to see Dongsoon as a cagey boy with something, like a darker past to hide.
“Those words were exactly……what I needed to hear at this moment.”
Your Letter is made up of ten chapters, aptly numbered as Letters–Letter one through nine. Through the hunt of each letter, Sori then joined by Dongsoon grow closer, uncover new revelations and find themselves hurtling to uncomfortable truths about each of the past school lives before they met each other. The author brings together this heartwarming and also heart wrenching narrative about the depths of friendships and what makes them worth pursuing and remembering. The author also manages to thread into the tale the value of integrity and doing by others as the key to being the type of person you’d be proud of. Through uncertainty, unstable emotions, and the fear of standing out of those to do harm to others, Sori is reminded of the right path through letters, not just the ones she’s been hunting for with Dongsoon.
What also should not be overlooked in Your Letter is the narrative theme of having hope and being hopeful in the despite unfortunate circumstances. Both schoolmates go from feeling abandoned to bonding anew and having their morals tested. Promising to stay true to themselves, they agree to make a sacrifice, perhaps the biggest one. Yet that doesn’t end the hunt for the letters and Sori and Dongsoon come to a realization that changes everything that they know about the letters and the not so mysterious writer of the letters towards the end of the book. This manhwa brings together a beautiful story about the magic of friendship that connects people through years and places–near and far.
While reading through Your Letter, I am reminded of all the little miraculous moments made with those I called friends during my adolescence. I think of the times that I battled for them and found myself at the receiving end of their love and care, too. There is a profound wrap up in the last chapter that connects all three students together that is not to be missed. These middle schoolers choosing each other and kindness–makes for an enthralling journey of healing that I originally found perfect to reread during the darker days of the pandemic–and now.
If you are looking for more teen appropriate series for those looking to get introduced to manwha or just find more of it, my heart recommends Your Letter in a heartbeat. As much as the narrative emphasizes healing, it is also an endearing comic about connecting with others, forging true friendships, and focusing on becoming someone you’re proud of. Your Letter will surprise readers with a story steeped in reminders that we are all connected in some way–and the lengths we go for others is the true testament of friendship.
As one of my favorite pandemic rereads, Your Letter is an incredibly hopeful reading recommendation from the realm of manwha, finally in print. I am very impressed with the adaptation and level of care paid to this English print edition of the manwha. The artwork in Your Letter moves from dark and striking to fantasy like and dreamy at the drop of a hat. Readers will get a hint of this as they can open the front cover to find a mini poster that opens up in full color, front and back of Sori, Dongsoon and a mysterious student eventually finding their way to each other. Readers will find a fun surprise at the end of the book as well that not only serves as a fun detail but also cements the ways friends find each other again and again. Not to be missed, Hyeon-A Cho’s Your Letter cements itself as a short but sweet comic beloved by online readers finally in print.
Your Letter is published through Yen Press’ Ize Press imprint and can be found where comics and manga are sold. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to have a review copy!
Love reading manwha and manga? See more on our site!
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you?
Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
The post Review: ‘Your Letter’ is an Incredibly Hopeful Comic from the Realm of Manwha appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Getty Images 
This weekend in fashion included a few moving moments worth your attention. First, actor, musician, and producer Donald Glover made an appearance in a dapper Fear Of God look that we can’t get out of our minds. Meanwhile, African designer Thebe Magugu has announced a new partnership working on special projects with the nonprofit RED.
Next, Dior has announced the launch of a new exhibition highlighting the late fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh. Since its five-year anniversary, Denim Tears has already dropped a new collection with Lil Yachty and his crew as the campaign faces. Lastly, the growing athletic brand giant New Balance has dropped a new sneaker encompassing the feeling of summer. Keep scrolling to learn more about these fashion moments from over the weekend, below.
Donald Glover Wears Fear Of GodOver the weekend for a Mr. & Mrs. Smith tastemaker event in West Hollywood, California Donald Glover wore an oversized neutral-toned Fear Of God suit. The colors were layered over one another seamlessly. The way the pants fell with the single pleat on each leg over his shiny black shoes was the perfect ratio. The large blazer layered over his draped T-shirt in a complementary earth tone to his suit wassrc="https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2165177265-scaled.jpg" alt="In Case You Missed It: Donald Glover Wears Fear Of God, Thebe Magugu Partners With Nonprofit (RED), And More" width="400" height="577" />Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images Thebe Magugu Partners With The Nonprofit RED
The African label Thebe Magugu has announced a partnership with RED titled “The Custom Heirloom Ensemble.” The project was originally launched last year with Michelle Obama and Lupita Nyong’o as the first few wearers of the pieces produced. Both women wore pieces with family members or loved ones immortalized on their clothing. Now in 2024, this edition of the project will include customizable pyjama-collar shirts, trousers, and a tote bag in green, cream, navy, and red. Speaking of RED, this partnership in the collection will have proceeds going to the nonprofit that aims to fight AIDS.
“Heirloom is a very special project for me, because it gets to immortalize through cloth not only my own memories, but the memories of others as well. Creating an archivable ‘log’ of one’s life,” said Magugu in a statement. “It is extra special that this project also gets to contribute to (RED)’s critical mission of fighting AIDS through the power of fashion. I have seen the effects of HIV/AIDS up close, having lost family members to it, and watching others manage the condition, I am personally invested in this cause. Being in South Africa, we have one of the highest rates in the world.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Thebe Magugu (@thebemagugu)
Dior Announces A New ExhibitionIn honor of the late photographer Peter Lindbergh, a new exhibition is to be on display at Galerie Dior in the French fashion house’s Avenue Montaigne flagship store in Paris. The pieces in the exhibition will be unreleased images shot by Lindbergh from a Times Square shoot that included over 80 outfits from the Dior archive ranging from ready-to-wear to Haute Couture and other images from 1988 to 2018.
Dior/Lindbergh will be on view from October 17 to May 4 at Galerie Dior at 11 Rue François 1er, 75008 Paris, France.
View this post on Instagram Denim Tears Taps Lil Yachty’s Concrete Boys For A New CollectionDenim Tears has dropped a new collection entitled “Denim University” with rapper Lil Yatchy and his crew the Concrete Boys as the starring faces of the campaign. Yatchy is seen in a pair of purple cut-off shorts, and a zip-up sweatsuit with a yellow Denim Tears crest, as if it were part of a school uniform. More from the collection worn by fellow rappers Giovanna Ramos, Camo!, Draft Day, and Concrete Moe are seen in colorways such as bright red, black, blue, green, and white. The collection also includes full-length sweatpants in the same colorways.
Shop “Denim University” on denimtears.com and in-store at African Diaspora Goods on 176 Spring Street.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Denim Tears (@denimtears)
New Balance Drops A Buttery Yellow SneakerA shoe that holds the feeling of summer has dropped and it’s the New Balance 1906N in a buttery yellow hue. The new shoe comes at the perfect transitional weather time right before things start to cool down and offers a sleek iteration to a usual New Balance running sneaker. As we know, sneakers have integrated their way into the more dressy scene these days and this shoe fits the criteria for being a fashionable sneaker that can be worn casually or out with a suit if need be.
The new 1906N is available now to shop on newbalance.com.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by HIGHSNOBIETY (@highsnobiety)
TOPICS: #fashionnews Donald Glover In Case You Missed ItThe post In Case You Missed It: Donald Glover Wears Fear Of God, Thebe Magugu Partners With Nonprofit (RED), And More appeared first on Essence.
My absolute favorite thing about the state of horror movies in 2024 is how many filmmakers are going real weird with it. Killers, vampires, ghosts, and especially zombies feel incredibly passé on their own. We need a little uncanny strangeness with our scares, and some existential dread. Yum yum yum, I eat it up. The most recent movie to fit this bill like a glove is Damian McCarthy’s Oddity, which has made the festival rounds and which I saw through Fantasia Fest 2024. Oddity is not lying; it’s a very weird movie, but the scares are plentiful, the imagery creepy, and the story strangely satisfying.
McCarthy’s previous film was Caveat, an intensely grimy little movie about a man who takes a job watching over a psychologically disturbed woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island. While that movie didn’t light the world on fire, it did provide some upsetting concepts and imagery that made me curious to see what he’d do next. Oddity takes much of what worked in Caveat and makes an altogether more approachable, “conventional” movie that lulls the viewer into thinking they know what’s going to happen. They might, but probably not.
Dani (Carolyn Bracken) moves into a very remote house in the Irish countryside with her husband Ted (Gwilym Lee), a doctor at the nearby mental asylum. One night while Ted is at work, a creepy stranger (Tadhg Murphy) knocks on the door and tells Dani that he saw someone, or something, enter the house and that she is in grave danger. Now this presents Dani with a predicament. Believe this man, or not. What she decided, and what actually happened is part of the movie’s fun, so I won’t spoil it.
We then cut to some time later, Dani is out of the picture, and Ted’s new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton) is about to move into the house, under duress. Arriving at just the wrong time is Dani’s vision-impaired twin sister Darcy (also Bracken) who plans to stay the weekend. It isn’t just an unwanted relative. Darcy, who owns a shop full of occult and folklore oddities, brings a human-sized wooden homunculus with which she plans to get to the bottom of what happened to her sister.
Oddity is one of those horror movies that refuses to adhere to any usual story conventions. It keeps you guessing all the way through, which in and of itself builds tension. The laws of the natural and supernatural bleed in interesting ways, keeping viewers on edge. I found so much to like about it, especially to do with the unique location. We go other places, but the majority of the action happens in the remote house. It’s beautiful and welcoming, but the lighting at night plus some large, shadowy areas make it sinister in the best way. Similarly, the mere presence of the weird homunculus, and Darcy’s other cursed objects, leaves us wondering when and how they’ll come into the story. When they do, it’s supremely satisfying.
This is a movie where you aren’t sure what you’re watching at times, or why, but everything comes together by the end. Not necessarily how you think it would, or maybe even should, but that’s literally in the name. Oddity is scary, mysterious, upsetting, and effecting and I had a big grin on my face when the credits rolled. Definitely worth your time.
Oddity ⭐ (4 of 5)
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
The post ODDITY Is a Creepy, Delightfully Weird Horror Film (Fantasia Fest 2024 Review) appeared first on Nerdist.