|
|||||||||||||||
Jiran Ha is back on the case in this book. There are three new stories included, and they’re pretty lengthy. In the first story, Jiran is supposed to give a speech as an exemplary female officer. She finds out that her the invitation to the event, and other documents concerning the speech have been sent to another police employee who shares Jiran Ha’s name. Detective Ha has been assigned to retrieve the mis-delivered packet, but finds out information that makes her feel guilty. The other Jiran Ha is a lowly juvenile counselor who has never been recognized for her work, and Detective Ha and the officer in charge of the ceremony must decide how to keep from breaking the woman’s heart.
The second story is quite a bit more serious. A criminally insane man, who believes he’s on a mission from god, escapes from prison. Jiran is the one who captured him before, and now she has been given the task to recapture the maniac. She refuses to get involved in the case, because she is secretly being haunted by dreams of having sex with the man. The final story has Jiran on a murder case where the only suspect has suffered brain damage. Jiran has a hunch that the man is innocent, so she begins trying to interrogate the man and decipher what really happened.
The art in this book is drawn with a range from meticulously detailed to comical and cartoony, depending on the situation. Scenes with violence or sex are the most detailed with features emphasized, and accentuated with sweat and spittle. The backgrounds, vehicles and guns are also always drawn with a high level of realism. The more mediocre scenes where Jiran is mingling with coworkers at the police station are shown with a more casual style; not extremely detailed, but still somewhat realistic. It is in times of humor or uncomfortable situations that a more cartoon-like style is used to portray the various characters. All of this leads to a highly sporadic art style that emphasizes the outrageous way that Jiran lives, and the heightened sexual and violent crimes that she must deal with.
This book of Hard Boiled Angel stories is as dark and gritty as the first. It is a reflection of all the perversities within society, and uses a hard edged hero to take them on. More about Jiran’s past is revealed in this book, but she is still a mysterious character who is compassionate with the innocent and naïve, but brutal and cold-hearted towards the criminals she faces. If stories involving the solving of graphic crimes are your thing, than this book will not disappoint you.
-brant-
|
|||||||||||||||
