Shoplifter

June 30, 2014
Corrina Park supplements her dead-end social life and mind-numbing urban existence with the thrill of shoplifting. It’s not even particularly adventurous theft, self-described as both “small time” and “magazines only, honest.” Between grumpily writing advertising copy for children’s perfume and catering to the whims of a banshee-howling cat, Corrina sates herself with frozen dinners for one and second-guessing her own apathy. It’s more a vignette than a novel, but illustrator Cho’s debut is a funny and touching portrait of urban angst. What’s exceptional is the eye-catching art in two colors, black and rose. The adept use of black ink delineates but does not complete the outlines of people and buildings; the rose tones shadow and spotlight, subtly drawing attention. Large swatches of rose or black physically define Corinna’s distance, both enforced and self-imposed, from her world. The delicate ink line articulates the facial expressions, and the intricate background and character details tie the narrative together. With its appealing story and quirky heroine, Cho’s debut is a visually electrifying, if minor, tale.

September 15, 2014
Making something sad and empty look great is central to the work of both the creator and the main character of Shoplifter. Cho has an immaculate deco style reminiscent of a softer-edged Darwyn Cooke, with which he depicts the sad and empty life of Corinna Park, an ad-copy writer who is sick of making empty products sound beautiful and alluring. Corinna is an archetypal example of a twentysomething professional struck with malaise by the dawning realization that she's exchanged youthful dreams for real-world practicality. To help cope with this emptiness, Corinna has taken to carefully arranged acts of shoplifting, acts that ultimately lead to a confrontation with her outer world and her inner one. Although you can feel the bitter misanthropy and disappointment of Daniel Clowes and the social existentialism of Adrian Tomine prowling beneath the surface, Cho's ending basks in a somewhat amateurishly executed optimism. But in light of his recognizable characters and gorgeously produced images (his cityscapes in particular), it's impossible to be angered by it, and twentysomething professionals will find it all comfortingly alarming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)