The Other Side of the Mirror (manhua)

Infobox manhua
name = The Other Side of the Mirror


imagesize = 200
caption = Cover, "The Other Side of the Mirror" volume 1
zh_hanzi = 鏡子的另一邊
romanized =
genre =
Humor = y
Romance = y
author = Jo Chen
illustrator =
publisher = flagicon|Taiwan Tong Li Comics
publisher_en = flagicon|United States Tokyopop
publisher_other =
demographic =
magazine = flagicon|Taiwan Star Girls
first = 1998
last = 1999
volumes = 2
chapter_list =
related =
subcat = Taiwanese comics
sort = Other Side of the Mirror, The
zh = Y
addpubcat1 = Tokyopop titles

"The Other Side of the Mirror" (鏡子的另一邊) is a comic written and illustrated by Jo Chen. It was originally published by Tong Li Comics in Taiwan and has been translated into several languages, including English.

Publication

"The Other Side of the Mirror" was originally serialized in Taiwan from July 1998 to February 1999 in "Star Girls", and later collected in two volumes by Tong Li Comics. It was Chen's first full-length manhua.cite web|url=http://jo-chen.com/engpage/engpage.htm|title=Jo's Playground|last=Chen|first=Jo|work=Gallery - Comics|accessdate=2008-06-28] Volume 1 included a short story entitled "99 Roses", and volume 2 included "Peggy" and "The Funeral Procession of Stars", all originally published in "Star Girls" in its March, May, and July 1999 issues, respectively. The collected volumes were soon thereafter published in South Korea, China, and Hong Kong.

At Anime Expo in June 2007, Tokyopop announced it had licensed "The Other Side of the Mirror" for release in English.cite web|url=http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/07/05/more-on-anime-and-manga-licenses-from-ax/|title=More on anime and manga licenses from AX|last=Melrose|first=Kevin|publisher=Newsarama|accessdate=2008-06-28] In December 2007, Tokyopop published volume one of the series, and in April 2008, volume two. Translation was provided by J.Y. Standaert with an adaptation by Kereth Cowe-Spigai, and the cover featured praise from Joss Whedon. The release included the short stories included with the original Taiwanese volumes, plus an interview and sketches by Chen.cite book|last=Chen|first=Jo|title=The Other Side of the Mirror|publisher=Tokyopop|date=December 2007|volume=1|isbn=978-1-4278-0316-0] cite book|last=Chen|first=Jo|title=The Other Side of the Mirror|publisher=Tokyopop|date=April 2008|volume=2|isbn=1-4278-0317-X] Chen promoted the release at the 2007 New York Anime Festivalcite web|url=http://www.nyanimefestival.com/en-us/503.cfm|title=Tokyopop booth programming|publisher=New York Aniime Festival|accessdate=2008-06-28] and Anime USA 2007, an event to which she will return in 2008.cite web|url=http://www.animeusa.org/info/2008-guests/|title=Guests 2008|publisher=Anime USA|accessdate=2008-06-28] In 2008, the series was also published in Italian by JPOP.cite web|url=http://www.j-pop.it/manhua/mirror_intro.htm|title=Official Website|publisher=JPOP|language=Italian|accessdate=2008-06-28]

Reception

Chen admitted for years she never thought Western audiences would care to read the "The Other Side of the Mirror", cite web|url=http://jo-chen.com/cgi-bin/main/nicky.cgi?ctgry=2|title=Jo's Playground|last=Chen|first=Jo|date=2008.01.05|work="The Other Side of the Mirror" now available in English and Italian!|accessdate=2008-06-28] despite selling well and winning an award in its native language.cite web|url=http://www.jo-chen.com/engpage/interview_fandom.htm|title=Jo Chen -- racing to draw|last=Contino|first=Jennifer M.|date=2000-10-16|publisher=archived from original source, fandom.com|accessdate=2008-06-28] One reviewer described the English-language release of the work as a "quirky combination of dreamy romance and slapstick comedy".cite web|url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/02/comics_mirror.html|title=Exclusive comics excerpt: ‘The Other Side of the Mirror’|date=2008-02-08|publisher=New York Magazine|accessdate=2008-06-28] Another felt that though Chen's illustrations were "gorgeous" the story at the heart of the work was slightly lacking, and that Chen was still "miles above the pack" in terms of style, artistry, and storytelling ability.cite web|url=http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/7299/167/|title=The Other Side of the Mirror Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)|last=Bowers|first=J|date=2008-02-28|publisher=Playback :stl|accessdate=2008-06-28] The series' art was described as a "refreshing change" from other works in the genre, which ably improved a mediocre story.cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/5/4/lifebookshelf/21116861&sec=lifebookshelf|title=Lost souls become soul mates|last=Wong|first=Pauline|date=2008-05-04|publisher=The Star, Malaysia|accessdate=2008-06-28]

References