A few months ago I'd seen a preview copy of The Color of Earth and was eagerly awaiting its release. Today The Color of Earth came out and it was / is FANTASTIC! The Color of Earth is a 312 page manhwa (the Korean word for manga / comics) by Kim Dong Hwa and published by First Second. Cartoonist Kim Dong Hwa is male, not female, and I think this is an interesting aside (of which I didn't know until I read the liner notes at the end of the book) because The Color of Earth seems to have a complete understanding of what it is to be a young girl and a young woman (and I should add that of course I don't have these insights that I'm assuming Hwa has, never having been of the female gender myself and that of course men have written books from the female point of view just as women have written books from the male point of view probably almost since the written word was first put to paper). Anyway, I'm fairly certain that women of any age will love The Color of Earth as long as they love great stories and characters filled with quiet moments about coming of age, falling in love, and the relationship a girl can only share with her mother, with lush illustrations that would make almost any artist green with envy and or admiration. Guys that like stories that have something else to offer besides fight scenes, explosions, or forced drama, will also like The Color of Earth and will want to share it with women they know. The Color of Earth is part one of a trilogy, with the other two volumes also coming out later this year by First Second, and they are called The Color of Water and The Color of Heaven - this should be a big year for First Second.
1 comment:
Okay. Add "The Color of Earth" to my box. It sounds like just the kind of story I need to read to get a fresh take on things, especially those I have so little in common with, y'know, like the perspective of a young woman.
Chalk that up to living so close to the military life for soooooo long.
Rick
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