My Soul Mate
Creative Team
writer/illustrator: WAH KEE
publisher: MAD CAVE STUDIOS/NAKAMA
Written by Seth Adrian Romo
My Soul Mate has an interesting premise: A comic book artist dies with unfinished business and his soul connects with a junior comic artist allowing him to see his project through. However, in what could have been a deeper story that leverages the history of comic book artists and celebrates the hard work that goes into illustrating constantly—readers instead are left with a surface level ‘feel good’ story.
The story begins with Chung Chuen Ming, a seasoned artist, exhausted from working on blockbuster comics. As a lover of comics from a young age, it’s apparent the commercial side of the industry has removed his passion. Determined to create his own works, he quits, begins working on his series, and then abruptly dies from a heart attack. As Ming’s soul leaves his body, he attaches to Cheung Shan—a newbie to comic book illustrating. After awkward introductions, the two decide to work together to create art and see Ming’s project through.
Written and illustrated by Wah Kee, My Soul Mate has some heart in its story. Ming and Shan have good chemistry and the plot is interesting enough. While Kee’s illustrations are strong in how expressive characters are, the story itself struggles to create a meaningful cadence to truly captivate readers.
Part of what hinders this story is its length. At 100+ pages, this story would have benefited from being a 48-pages one-shot as much of this comic is Ming and Shan at different desks working. There’s some alternate locations, however, there is no emphasis in the city where they live. Which, to be fair, isn’t entirely relevant to the story, but without setting a background, the art feels like one talking head after another.
Another challenge is that readers aren’t given a reason to root for Ming. Sure, readers witness Ming’s last days, but without time dedicated to allowing readers to connect with Ming, the plot is rushed to the ‘hook.’
My Soul Mate isn’t a bad story. The art is detailed and emphasizes little elements of each character, and the story gets its point across—even if the pacing could have been restructured. However, should this slice of life story ever come across you at your library or comic shop, there is enough to make for an enjoyable afternoon read.