Broken Frontier

Martial arts versus teenage love in the downtrodden Korean part of the city of angels in this second Minx graphic novel.

On the surface the second Minx graphic novel aimed at teenage girls, 'Re-Gifters' is a bit less attractive than their launch title. Where 'The plain Janes' dealt with such universal themes as art and alienation, Re-Gifters is a straightforward teen romance book. What's so special about the proceedings though is not the premise - girl meets boy, loses head, learns a Life Lesson - but the social environment where the story is situated and the multi-ethnic angle. Like the first book though, it keeps its universal appeal for older readers.

Jen Dik Seong—Dixie for her friends—is a Korean American and living on the poor side of town in LA. Her only outlet is hapkido, an ancient martial art and she is good at it. Her Ki is in perfect balance until she falls in love with a shiny LA boy and fellow hapkido practitioner. From then on her life spirals out of control, just like her inner peace. As she struggles to control her love life, family and friends, she needs to deal with a rival high school beauty queen and a national hapkido tournament.

Mike Carey calls Re-Gifters a martial arts rom com and in essence it follows the steps and beats of the romance genre perfectly. But in this case it is not important how it ends - because it is pretty obvious - but the road getting there. The social setting of LA's Korea town is downtrodden and poor but it is a healthy environment for the story of Dixie and her schoolmates. This is not a typical setting for a teenage drama comic, this is more of a Degrassi High than a Beverly Hills 90210.

Carey employs the first person narrator to draw us in, occasionally coupled with breaking through the third dimension, and it has a mesmerizing effect because it lets us look inside the workings of Dixie's brain. The narration is excellently handled, energetic and inventive. It sounds authentic and self-referential and is spiked with pop culture know-how. It sounds like the world of a teenage girl with a wild imagination, temper tantrums and feelings too big for her outer shell.

The key to making such a story work are the characters and they are well handled. There is the dysfunctional but happily supporting family (her twin brothers are especially hilarious), a close friend always ready with advice and various side characters. They all come across as real though a bit flimsy at times.

The art by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel seems to reflect the inner world of Dixie. By times scratchy and wild, other times controlled and detailed. Their cartooning and comedic timing are spot on. They know when to pull back and to forego any detailing and when to go for the broad canvas and show the people in all detail. In combination with the words you can't help laughing out loud sometimes. The panel arrangements are expertly done and stay true to the inner world of Dixie. Never seeming to be at rest, always different but without going for the special arrangements or wild layouts.

What's remarkable about the Minx books is that up to now, every book name checks a real life event. The plain Janes refers to the terrorist attack on the twin towers, Re-Gifters name-checks the Rodney King riots. Almost as if to remind us that these tales do not take place in some fantasy setting that's really life-like where every character just happily lives out their lifespan.

These small references ground the story and characters into a real world setting. It rounds out the characters and makes us oddly aware that these are tales of people that live in a country, part of the world around them. Part of our world, I like it. I wonder if the following Minx books incorporate this approach although the next ones seem to be venturing into more fantastical territory.

Re-Gifters is an entertaining teenage comedy about the importance of keeping zen, even when you're a teenage Korean girl fallen in love. The enthusiasm in this comic is catchy and you'll laugh all the way through. Even during the sad parts, because that's what being a teenager is about.

It's like Oscar Wilde said, "I am not young enough to know everything."