Dokebi Bride # 1, by Marley

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

A promising beginning to a manhwa (Korean comic) about an old woman who’s a village shaman (their translation – a note says the Korean word is mudang), her young grand-daughter who’s inherited her skills, and a whole lot of spirits.

The narrative flashes back and forth in time, showing episodes from the lives of grand-daughter Sunbi and grandmother Okboon, and how their lives are intertwined with the spirit world and the declining health of their little fishing village. I’m being coy about the plot because though the outline of the story is familiar, the details are better left unspoiled.

The expressive art moves easily from spectacular spirit visitations to smaller moments of pathos, humor, or spookiness. The plot is intriguing, the spirits all have distinct personalities, and both Sunbi and Okboon are refreshingly strong-willed women. Though there’s a few male human characters, the main characters all seem to be female. Given the title and that most of the spirits seem to be male, I am hoping for a female-centric narrative with the possibility of human-spirit romance.

Though the translation is clunky, I liked this quite a bit overall and will continue reading the series.

See it on Amazon: Dokebi Bride Vol. 1 (v. 1)