MANGA/CRIME

This is the crime manga that inspired South Korean director Chan-wook Park’s acclaimed Cannes Grand Jury prize-winning film of the same name. Translated into English for the first time since it was published in 1997, Dark Horse have otherwise retained the original format: squat paperback, black and white art on newsprint and reading back cover to front and right to left across the page.

The layout takes a little getting used to, but writer Garon Tsuchiya’s spare storytelling and artist Nobuaki Minegishi’s clear line art makes for an easy introduction to Japanese comics. For those who haven’t seen the film (which follows the comic closely), Old Boy begins with a man being let out of a privately run prison after 10 years of incarceration. With no idea who locked him up or why, Old Boy sets out to find the person/s responsible and dish out some much merited vengeance. The plot twists are shockers, so if you intend reading the multiple volumes in this series, you might want to hold off watching the film.