Recast, Vol. 1
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer & Artist: Seung-Hui Kye

192 (184) pages.
Original Language: Korean
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: 2003. US edition November 2006.
English Translation: Woo Sok Park
Re-touch & Lettering: Nathan Kaestle
Graphic Designer: James Lee
Editor: Hope Donovan
Publisher’s Rating: Teen, Ages 13+

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Premise: In a world where just about anyone can use magic–if they bother to pay attention in their high school classes–JD is an apprentice mage being raised by his grandfather to be something exceptional…

Synopsis:

JD is trying to follow in his grandfather Grifford’s footsteps; problem is, Gramps is a kick-ass mage, and he doesn’t bother to teach much, believing in something along the lines of “Well, toss ‘im in. If he doesn’t drown, he’ll learn to swim.”

JD runs into all kinds of crap in the zombies-coming-to-get-us line in this first instalment, which he manages to deal with, both with and without his grandfather’s help. Along with Professor Celine, who is too hot by half to be stuck teaching kids magic, and the currently-unnamed-but-persistent foes, JD has his hands full. I’d love to go into more details, but there are a lot of spoilers I won’t get into

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Review:
…because you should read this for yourself.

This is not your standard fantasy. Oh, some of the usual props and tropes are here–from spells and magic weapons, to wise old mages and young, brash apprentices. And then after that, all your expectations are going to fail you. This isn’t just another D&D rip-off.

There’s a cosmology here, something that seems new. It may be old hat to someone conversant with Korean myths… but then again, I don’t think so. (I don’t have a degree, but I’m pretty sure I’d heard about most world myths already.)

Not that anything will fit into my neat Western-derived categories, but the basics are “heaven” (the 6th world) and “hell” (the 4th world) and the goldilocks-zone of the 5th world (which has a top and bottom– the inside of the sixth sphere and the outside of the fourth sphere, near as I grok it) where all our characters are starting out. And while some restrictions apply, there seems to be a lot of back-and-forth movement between the three. From here, though, who knows where Kye is going to take us next.

There is a lot of other stuff dealing with the mechanics of magic that I won’t go into, either because it’s barely been mentioned yet, or because it has something to do with major plot points related to our characters. And there we are. A complex fantasy story that I can’t describe in detail because I don’t want to ruin it for you.

Back to nuts and bolts: So, even with new clothes, is it just the same old hoary story? Yes and no. I can see the setup: Young hero must overcome obstacles, realize his own power, collect the plot coupons, find the Magic McGuffin and then face off against evil (“You’re not my father!”) before cashing in on the happily-ever-after voucher. And while I want to write this off as just another derivative fantasy, so far artist/writer Kye doesn’t seem to be falling into that well-worn and well-padded rut. I’m not sure what to expect from future volumes, but the usual clichés don’t seem to be any part of the story yet.

It’s that promise that raises my eyebrow, and my review by a point. Otherwise I might have only given this a 3 (for uneven pacing, and the annoying habit of not explaining anything) but his hook has worked. I want to read more.