Revelations about the Amityville universe make this a much more entertaining volume.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: JinHo Ko
Translation: JiEun Park
Adaptation: Arthur Dela Cruz
What They Say
All hell breaks loose when gangs from schools all over Amityville erupt into an all-out war for supremacy. But even as they battle one another, these powerful warriors from the South, East, and West Districts all have the same goal – to be the brave soul who defeats Jack Frost and claims to the title of greatest fighter Amityville has ever seen. Jack has a mission of his own: escorting Noh-A, the much sought-after Mirror Image, to a place where a great evil was sealed many years ago.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Noh-A still can’t remember her past, but strange and haunting dreams may provide some hints. She can remember attending school, and a girlfriend named Cha-Hee who seemed to really like her. They seemed to have a good time together, but Noh-A could always see a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye. She thought it was just her imagination until Cha-Hee started saying strange things about a weird guy she had seen. None of it seems too important until Cha-Hee invades Noh-A’s room at night and blames her for something horrible. Then Noh-A wakes up back in Amityville wondering who Cha-Hee was and why she can’t remember anything else. Personally, I’m left wondering if Noh-A’s memories are even real.
This slow bit of character development for Noh-A makes it much easier to be empathetic towards her plight. Jack also receives some character development in this volume, albeit sprinkled very sparingly throughout the book. It is interesting to see how much the other three school districts seem to fear the North District and Jack in particular. Is he really that big a badass, or does his magical trench coat provide him with all his power? I can’t help but be reminded of Todd McFarlane’s ‘Spawn’ character when I see Jack’s trench coat wrap around him and form blades off his arms.
The Forest of Unicorn arc in this volume continues some of Noh-A and Jack’s character development. I also found this arc interesting as it shows there is more to Amityville than just the four school districts; there is also the Kite Clan that have been protecting something for Jack and the group that protects the Pillar of Solomon. Apparently, the Pillar of Solomon is a prison for Amityville’s strongest devils, but does that mean it traps characters as strong as Jack or stronger. Even if those devils are not as strong as Jack, I can see how it would be in the North Districts best interest to keep them locked away.
Near the end, we learn that Jack’s magical trench coat is called the Devil Thread, which is interesting if it has sentience. The Devil Thread’s former partner, Immortalizer Ji-Hon, also confronts Jack demanding a battle to the death. Ji-Hon is some weird dude that can heal himself after being cut in half and he generally has his partner Eva do all his fighting for him. Jack is tough, but how is he going to kill this guy? And how is he going to do it soon enough to rescue Noh-A from Eva?
I was not that impressed with the first volume of this series. Granted, ‘Jack Frost’ is very different than the other story I’m about to compare it to, but the characters do show a heavy influence from Kohta Hirano’s popular ‘Hellsing’ series. Jack is comparable to Alucard in both his devil-may-care attitude and tattered trench coat, Noh-A Joo is very similar to Seras Victoria in both naivety and being dragged into an organization against her will, Hansen reeks of Alexander Anderson, and Helmina’s similarity to Integra Hellsing is uncanny.
In Summary:
While I thought the first volume of ‘Jack Frost’ was somewhat interesting in its alternate reality and powerful fight scenes, the similarities to ‘Hellsing’ turned me off. However, much to my appreciation, this second volume of ‘Jack Frost’ shakes off many of those similarities to travel its own path with some character development along the way. It also develops Noh-A just enough to make me empathetic to her plight, something lacking in the first volume. The Forest of Unicorn arc is also enjoyable as it explains more about the story universe and shows how much clout Jack seems to carry. Add to that Jack’s encounter with the man that was the former owner of Jack’s magical trench coat, The Devil Thread, and we have a series starting to hit its stride.
After a somewhat unstructured first volume, this second volume of ‘Jack Frost’ is a step in the right direction and has me looking forward to more.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 17th, 2009
MSRP: $10.99