Review : 12 Days.

Ever wondered what an art-house romance story would be like as a manga? 12 days by June Kim is just that. Not really depressing, not really bursting with action, yet it's still quite interesting in a melancholic way, which probably adds to the realistic nature of it's narrative.

A young woman named Noah dies in a car accident on the way back from her honey-moon, however, 12 days is not really her story, it is the story of her lesbian lover Jackie and her brother Nick, as they come together to try to deal with the grief and loss of a loved one. They go about this in a rather interesting way, by drinking Noah's cremated ashes over 12 days, mixed in with wine, smoothies and other assorted beverages. Together they reminisce about Noah, in particular, slowly uncovering Jackie's past with her. There's also a few nice touches of comedy strategically placed through out the narrative, giving you a break from the melancholic vibe.

The art of 12 days is nice, clear and vivid. Sometimes the characters say little, leaving the pictures to do the talking. The characters are drawn on a more realistic side to most manga, which adds nicely to the books verisimilitude . The only real reason the book has a +16 age rating is it's themes, realistically someone 13+ could enjoy this, but it's clearly been crafted for an older audience. Being a Korean made manga, it's also written in the english format, which makes it more reader friendly to beginners of the graphic novel medium than their Japanese counterparts.

12 days is a nice, simple, interesting story of two people working their way through the loss of a loved one. If your looking for a one volume drama/romance graphic novel to sink your teeth into, look no further.