Two Will Come 1 by Kyungok Kang: B+

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.