REVIEW: Manta Comics' A Hard Day
© Courtesy of CBRWhen most American moviegoers think of Korean cinema, they think of 2019 Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho, but 2014's A Hard Day had the same impact on Korean moviegoers. Based on the original film written and directed by Kim Sung-hoon, A Hard Day was adapted into a webcomic by publisher Manta Comics with Sammy Kim as producer, Kwang-yu Kim for adaptation and Studio Manta for art.
One of the biggest differences between the webcomic and the movie is that the protagonist of the comic is female. It's been a tough day since Detective Hans Ko hit and killed a man and ran away while driving drunk. She thinks about calling the police, but decides to do it because she left her daughter alone. To cover the tracks, the detective hides the body in the mother's coffin. He does not know that his crime did not go unnoticed. He was soon found by a stranger who knew exactly what he was doing.
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Much of the tension is rooted in the characters' facial expressions, especially the eyes. In the first chapter, there is a close-up of Hansu's eyes as he drives, and in his dilated pupils, readers see the shadow of someone walking straight towards them. This is a beautiful shot that tells the story of an event that will change his life. The image of the deceased's face becomes paralyzed, and Hansu and the reader freeze in place. Readers are immersed in the scene with close-up shots of Hans that perfectly capture the tension and panic you feel when you know one wrong move will expose him. The artist often doesn't put any detail into the eyes and instead uses a stark contrast of red and black to emphasize how Hansu becomes both hunter and hunted at the same time.
Showing tension in a comedy network can be more difficult than in a movie. Fortunately, the tension in "Hard Day " is evident in both the lettering and the colors, as well as the calligraphy. Readers can practically feel Hans' heart beating faster and faster thanks to the increasing sound effects with each iteration, interspersed with shots of Hans' eyes as he searches for the killer. The colors are stark, harsh and unrelenting in scenes where the artist uses mostly black and red to symbolize the blood on Gunsu's hands and his descent into darkness.
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Hansu is nothing but a likable hero. He's brave, tough, and depraved, but there's a lot of complexity to his character. She is a single mother and has a daughter whom she loves very much. He recently lost his mother, which explains why he tries so hard to hide what he does. Hans' mother has just left him and he doesn't want to do the same to his daughter Mina. The art team uses soft and warm colors to symbolize Hans' love for his daughter. Mina is the light and purpose of Hans's life. The decision to introduce the main character as a single mother makes the story even more touching and emotional.
As Hans becomes increasingly desperate, his motives change. While many of his actions were the result of his desire to stay out of jail for the sake of his daughter, it all started out of self-preservation. Hans is getting more and more paranoid. While the downward spiral makes sense, the pace seems a little fast. Although the story tries to bring him back to his daughter, he remains an afterthought.
A Hard Day is described as a thriller, but there aren't many action scenes in the first eight seasons that resolve the final conflict between Hans and the mysterious stranger who witnessed his crime. However, it makes up for the lack of suspense and sets up the rest of the chapters for an interesting read.
