Oldman
Baby Immediately noticeable in Chang Sheng's artwork is how gorgeous it is --especially from a lighting and composition standpoint. Like you could fool me into thinking these are photographs rather than something someone drew. His storytelling skill is no slouch --I think I find myself most interested in Nine Lives Man. It follows a boy who claims to have nine lives as an adult who actually does and finds himself in a wheel of incarnation. He also takes on being trapped in a virtual world to a virus turning people into murderbots, there's something for everyone in Chang Sheng's body of work. I love reading about crime adjacent plots when I'm not immersed in Shonen Sunday, so Yan's was right up my alley. Cover for Nine Lives Man: Time's Wheel.
The Series
YAN
Yan is a three volume series by Chang Sheng. It was originally published by Dala Publishing in December 2020. An anecdote by Chang Sheng says that the idea for the work came from the idea of heroes such as Batman, Kamen Rider, and others wearing masks. If a hero were to paint their face similar to how it's done in traditional Peking operas, they wouldn't need masks. The Premise Too late, she already has...or has she? Crime, Grudges, Vengeance, Vindication, and ... Peace? In Yan the path forward begins with tragedy. Yan Tieh Hua is a specter of the past, apparently charged with and subsequently died in jail after the massacre of her family ten years prior. Case closed, right? That's what one would think, but a whole decade later a girl who's the splitting image of Yan Tieh Hua is back, and she's got one thing on her mind --revenge. She's not going to let a little thing like death stop her. Detective Lei is a cold case detective that connects past unsolved mysteries with current crimes, and he soon finds himself wrapped up in a supernatural case that he can barely grapple with at first, much less untangle. These are the pieces on the chessboard that is Yan. Right away, the work has the vibe of a Naoki Urasawa work --something between Monster and 20th Century Boys. Sheng hasn't ever said he's even read an Urasawa manga, much less been inspired by him, but that's the overall feeling I got --in a very good way. Despite the series dealing with a familicide from it's opening act, the characters still have a charm that resonates throughout the rest of the story, keeping it from being bogged down from it's admittedly dark plot. On that note, the DNA of Batman in how Yan unfurls as a dark hero searching for vengeance is palatable when the first bad guys get their comeuppance. Even if she has to settle for a stand in --which is darkly hilarious until the time for murder comes. Despite its almost whimsical styling beforehand, Yan doesn't hold back, almost as if to confirm the description on the back of the book is no exaggeration. And that's what makes this read so compelling. It's a potpouri of inspirations, both intentional and otherwise, wrapped in gorgeous artwork and character interactions that intrigue without revealing their hand. Who is Yan? Can a ghost from 10 years ago really come back from the dead and enact revenge? Oh, and of course, the detective whose life went astray being brought back in on the case that was apparently solved 30 years ago, except not --and his misgivings about how it all went down. Certain interactions make it clear that this Yan, if she's not the original, is acting on a motive that could be as simple as revenge, or much more complex. Add in a Japanese Go prodigy with precognitive powers, scientific experiments, superpowers, and some good ol' mech action, and you've got a story that's fast-paced and will keep readers on their feet. That being said, this first volume does feel like at times things are just happening to move the plot along rather than organically. I wish more time could have been spent with Detective Li as well, but we've still got two more volumes to go, so these things could be rectified before the end. The translation is easy to read --though I feel like in some places it lacks some oomph. This is a minor nitpick of course, and unlike my Shonen Sunday reviews I can't refer back to the original. That being said, I didn't notice anything that would prevent readers from understanding the story. The sound effects are in Chinese with subtitles, much like manga releases. The lettering is also well done --it feels much more akin to Superhero Comics than manga, which makes sense with the story's origins. I'm basing this on a digital PDF supplied to me by Titan, as well as a physical copy they sent as well. The physical is bigger than a typical manga volume and comes with cool french flaps, making it a worthy addition to a physical manga library. The Verdict Admittedly, my comics diet as of late has been almost entirely manga, so going into Yan I wasn't sure what to expect. Now that I've come out the other end of volume #1, It feels like I'm right at home, in that the story, pacing, characters and art don't feel dissimilar from what you'd expect from a Seinen manga. Yet, Yan isn't just simply tipping its hat and paying service to Japanese manga, no, it is its own tale rooted in the experiences and inspiration of its author. Chang Sheng mentioned that he believes good stories come from a core concept that is powerful yet incredibly simple, and I agree. If storytelling adheres to this, then it's place of origin becomes a bonus. Admittedly, I don't know much about Peking Opera. However, the idea of an actress putting on or in this case painting a mask to become someone else for the brief moment she is on stage is one I understand very well. That in turn is what makes Yan so engaging. Is the story we're reading one that has masked up to prevent us from peering too deep? Or is this the naked expression that goes from freeing oneself from their mask? Is the fake out that there is no fake out and a 10-year-old ghost really is back on the streets killing for revenge, all without aging a day since her death? The only way to find out is to read Yan from curtain rise to the end of its performance, and no matter what the answer ends up being, one thing is for sure --it'll be a hell of a show.
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