Time and Again

The recurring characters of Time and Again are Baek-On, a traveling exorcist who likes his liquor, and Hu-Yeon, his androgynous sword-wielding assistant, will take your case… for a fee. However, the stars of each issue are generally the characters they meet and “help…” Though usually, instead of the help they want, they end up with the help they need.

In the January 2009, Yen Press editor JuYuon Lee teased that a new Korean comic would make an appearance in the next issue, but the actual series which would make its debut was kept a secret until the February issue. That series was Time and Again.

The art of Time and Again is iffy, with lots of empty backgrounds and some awkward character proportions or angles. Also, it’s generally difficult to determine what the genders of the almost universally androgynous characters are until they’re referred to by a pronoun. All this is saved, however, by some genuinely spooky and atmospheric storytelling. Though it’s usually pretty easy to pick out which characters are going to come to a tragic end by the last page, the lead up to it is a good deal of the fun.

Time and Again is a creation of JiUn Yun. Her previous work, Cynical Orange, is also being released by Yen Press. It’s about a beautiful high school girl trying to keep her emotional turbulence in check in the presence of her secret crush.