Jina Han was just a normal girl until she learned that she was destined to be the victim of a curse placed on her family generations ago by a magical serpent that was killed by her ancestors. Since the revelation, various people close to Jina have attempted to kill her, but she is staying strong. Determined not to let the curse defeat her, Jina tries to put together the clues and figure out whom among her friends and family could really be the one destined to murder her.

Two Will Come is an enjoyable supernatural tale, reminiscent in some ways of a horror movie, but one that emphasizes psychological suspense rather than gory visuals. I never anticipate any of the attempts on Jina’s life, and even here in the final volume they manage to surprise me. Unfortunately, I didn’t experience the same reaction to the climactic reveal, since I found it rather predictable. I do like that the origins of the curse are fully explained and all subplots neatly resolved. A chapter of side stories also fills in some backstory for a few of the characters.

While Kyungok Kang’s art certainly has a retro style—it’s supposed to be 1999 but the fashions remind me more of late ’80s shojo—it’s also quite appealing. Kang uses the contrast of black and white spaces effectively in the context of the story while maintaining a smooth sense of flow that contributes to the overall atmosphere. This, combined with skillful storytelling, results in a very satisfying reading experience.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Book description:
Jina is through sitting around in terror and accepts an invitation for a night out with her friends. En route, however, she has a vision that indicates one of them will be responsible in some way for her death. She begins to try to puzzle things out, working to figure out which one of her friends could have a motive for wanting her dead.

Review:
Last time, I talked about the continuity in this series as one of the things I like best. Well, another of those things is the ability to surprise the reader with shocking images without resorting to violence and gore to accomplish it. Kang does a good job of building a suspenseful atmosphere then bursting out with a panel of psychological creepiness. Any time someone tries to attack Jina, it’s out of the blue and surprising, and there’s also a very cool moment where she’s thinking about one of the murdered victims—sort of imagining the victim in her mind’s eye—and then suddenly that victim turns around and seems to start talking to her. It’s very nifty.

Also in this volume, the two parts of Jina’s life—school romantic drama and family curse drama—begin to come together and one can see what Kang has been planning all along. You see, it’s true that there will be one person who tries to kill the intended victim, but there will also be a second person, an “enabler.” Someone around Jina will incite someone else to kill her, in other words. And as the relationship drama escalates, two girls obsessed with Jaesuk and angry at Jina because he likes her begin to look like serious suspects. It’s quite well done. I had never really questioned the presence of the school drama, so I hadn’t expected it to all tie in together like this.

Too, the subplots are not forgotten, and it looks like all of them will be successfully resolved in the final volume. Just one more to go!

Review copy provided by the publisher.

From the back cover:
A mysterious “auntie” has just told Jina her family’s chilling secret. Jina is marked for violent death—and her killer is going to be one of two people very close to her. Meanwhile, her schoolmate Jaesuk is determined to make his feelings for Jina known, even if it means exposing his own shady past. But then a nighttime rendezvous with Jaesuk leads to a shocking scene right in the family kitchen… and Jina learns that her two worlds are about to become irrevocably intertwined.

Review:
One of the things I like best about Two Will Come is its continuity. A couple of things happen in this volume that reference or build upon small moments from the first volume, and one must pay attention to be able to catch the subtlety because Kang doesn’t point out, “Hey! Remember that time Lloyd talked about a girl from his past? Well, do ya?” She just lets you put things together on your own. Similarly, I’m quite sure now that the figure I saw skulking in a car in volume one was indeed Jina’s aunt.

This volume is a lot more action-packed than the first. Jina has the worst day ever, as she learns about the family curse and then, in quick succession, survives one attempt on her life, learns all about her boyfriend’s duplicity, and then survives a second murderous attack. Her reaction to learning about the curse is well done, prompting many lovely two-page spreads and thoughtful soliloquies like this one:

Layer after layer… If you keep peeling away the shells, all sorts of hypocrisy and truth you never imagined lay themselves bare before you.

After the second attempt upon Jina’s life, her cousin and his friend, Lloyd, take her on a road trip for a bit, where they meet with a fellow who had, thirty years ago, been compelled by the curse to murder his wife and who has since devoted his life to researching its origins. The encounter ends up heartening Jina and she ends the volume determined not to let the curse defeat her. It’s all very interesting, but I do have to wonder why this fellow is not in jail. It looks like there were witnesses to his act and everything. With everything else fitting together so well, this unanswered question is quite jarring.

In addition to all of the main plot advancement going on, there’s also some development on a couple of subplots. All in all, the story feels very balanced and purposeful, two qualities I greatly appreciate.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Book description:
Ordinary high school girl Jina discovers that she is heir to a terrible legacy handed down from her family’s sinister history. Long ago, her ancestors killed a magical serpent known as an Imugi, believing that it would bring them good luck. Unfortunately, the creature cursed them as it died, decreeing that one family member of each generation for that day forth will be killed by two people closely acquainted with that person. In this day and age, no one wants to believe in such outmoded superstitions, but one of Jina’s relatives has been murdered without fail in every generation. Now, Jina has been informed that she will be next to die…

Review:
Two Will Come is a suspenseful manhwa series involving a family curse that dooms one member of each generation to be killed by two people they know whose identities are unknown. This first volume sets up the story and introduces Jina, her friends, and her family. Not a great deal actually happens, aside from Jina acquiring a boyfriend who is, unbeknownst to her, a liar and a jerk. Jina’s also in the dark about her supposed fate, and the volume ends just as her aunt is about to tell her what happened to the previous generation’s victim.

Despite the lack of action, the volume is still entertaining. There are quite a lot of characters to get to know and their personalities and relationships are clearly established throughout the volume. A few subplots are brewing, too, primarily the mystery of the motives of Jina’s new boyfriend. There are some other things that I think might later be important, but I’m not sure, like the shadowy figure sitting in a car outside Jina’s house. Was that supposed to be her cousin or aunt watching out for her or someone with nefarious intentions? I’m not even sure whether I should spend brain cells remembering it for future reference.

Kang’s art has a retro feel, with eyes reminiscent of ’70s shojo but fashions and postures that remind me more of something from the early ’90s like Please Save My Earth. Though I’d describe most of the panels as “light,” with plenty of white space, Kang does employ black backgrounds, too, usually in more suspenseful scenes or in the several between-chapter drawings that depict Jina with two unknown hands reaching out to grab or touch her. All of the characters are easy to tell apart, even obscure family members, which is important when introducing so many characters at once.

After a volume of getting to know everyone, it seems the story will really kick into motion next volume. I’m looking forward to it.

Two Will Come is a four-volume series published by NETCOMICS. Volumes one and two were produced in print editions, but the whole series can also be found online for only $0.20 per chapter.

Review copy provided by the publisher.