String

Graphic novels are still pretty new to me, but I really want to read more of them. When I saw the cover of String, I was immediately intrigued—the vibrant colors and the art style caught my attention right away. The premise also sounded incredibly exciting and unique: Yoon-Sook Namgung can see two types of “strings”—blue ones that connect sexual partners and black ones that link murderers to their victims. Such an original concept! I was really curious to see how the story would unfold. But in the end, it was just okay for me. First of all, the illustrations are fantastic! I absolutely loved the art style, and the bold colors made the story visually striking. Yoon-Sook, as a protagonist, is beautifully designed, and the overall artwork was definitely a highlight for me. However, the storytelling left me a bit conflicted. The plot jumps very quickly between different locations, which sometimes made it hard to follow. I often felt like I didn’t have enough time to fully immerse myself in a scene before being rushed to the next one. The language is also extremely raw—at first, I found it amusing, but after a while, it became too much. Lots of swearing, a lot of sexualization—it could have been toned down a bit for my taste. A big downside for me was the scene where a dog gets thrown through the air for no real reason. That’s just not something I enjoy. I did like the character Luke, but I didn’t really feel a strong connection between him and Yoon-Sook. Their relationship remained surface-level, and I couldn’t fully invest in it emotionally. Despite my mixed feelings, String is still a fast-paced and unique story that made me excited to explore more graphic novels. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was an interesting read. A solid 3 stars.