The series Extraordinary Attorney Woo is new to Webtoons, and is something of an oddity. We often hear about television series based on comics and webcomics, but this is a webcomic based on a phenomenally-successful Korean TV show which recently premiered on Netflix. Screen-to-comics used to be published all the time, but for years they’ve been a rarity; seeing them again is a hopeful sign for the medium.
The premise from screenwriter Moon Jiwon is that Woo Young-woo, an autistic young woman with an aptitude for legal analysis, graduates with honors from law school. We follow her on her first job as an attorney, where she faces discrimination and the unique challenges of her condition, such as difficulty walking through a revolving door. A portrait of brilliance and vulnerability, Woo Young-woo captures our sympathy and attention from the very beginning.
I have not yet watched the Netflix series, but the webcomic adaptation by Yuil, with art by HwaUmJo and LeeYeJi, made me sit up and take notice. It has a beautiful simplicity about it, and is adept at conveying the story and the underlying emotions. The creators have a firm grasp of the expressive potential of Manhwa and infinite canvas. The series is rendered in the Seinen style, but often switches to Chibi style to show Woo Young-woo under stress. The character’s internal monolog is shrewdly merged with live dialog that reads easily and is never confusing. The creators bring Woo Young-woo fully and vividly to life.
The takeaway is, in the right hands, when you have raw material as excellent as Jiwon’s original character, a webcomic can really sing!
