This sweet if not particularly deep shojo-style story cast in American manga is by the author of the popular Web comic Reman Mythology
. Nicole, a university student and part-time secretary, leads a life of loneliness. Josh, a wanna-be professional heartbreaker who already has a jar full of love-notes from his conquests, falls for her. It's an all-too-common plot—bad boy falls for the mousy girl—and it drags a bit in the middle. The twist is that Nicole's life is consumed by fairy tales and her dream journal, in which she writes the story of the sorcerer Ellon. The art borrows heavily from shojo and manhwa, but has a strong American flavor, slightly reminiscent of such indie comics artists as Dean Haspiel, only gentle and lonely rather than sharp and angry, with a smooth storytelling flow that is so good readers will hardly notice it. Readers will keep expecting Ellon to erupt into the mundane half of Nicole's life; when the sorcerer finally appears, it's not clear whether it's mystical, or if Nicole is simply losing grasp of reality. With this and her complex, involved Web comic, Ganter shows much range, and while still perilously young, she's clearly a talent to watch. (Mar.)
