Review: Fool’s Gold Vol. 2 by AMy Reeder Hadley
Somehow I missed the first volume of this manga series by Amy Reeder Hadley. This is a story of two girls. Penny, high-school student and clothing designer, has formed a club in her high school for girls only to learn how to recognize jerks and avoid dating them. She’s even developed a list of boys the girls shouldn’t date. All this is done under the guise of a geology club. Then there is Hannah, high-school student and model. She’s been charged by these barred guys to destroy the club so they can start dating again. She and Penny both seem to have a thing for Blake (a good looking guy) who is on the banned list.
Now Penny is dating currently dating a guy who is safe — Orion. Orion is also a student and an environmentalist and quite a bit clingy and needy. As an outside observer, I’d say Penny is in for a world of chaos and pain if she every breaks up with Orion because he has trouble written all over his insecurities and possessiveness.
Now Blake is another kettle of fish. He’s rich, smart, neurotic as all get out. He’s also got a slight problem with paint cans and signs — or at least we’re led to believe he does. I’m sure we’ll learn more about that in a later chapter of this story.
With the cast of the school play now listed. Hannah is playing Elizabeth to Blake’s Mr. Darcy while Penny is designing all the costumes. With all these prejudices, not to mention mountains of pride — there’s enough emotion running wild to cause havoc and mayhem without the fact that Blake now has a job in the costume shop that Penny designs for and works in and her aunt owns.
There’s many references to Pride and Prejudice and the parallels as well as the interweaving of the school play with the characters can’t help but echo the original story in modernized form. But then each manga is closer to an extended chapter than a finished story so we’ve got more reading to do to find out what happens to these people.
The drawing are realistic and as all good graphic work should adds considerably to the story. The moods and feelings of the characters are conveyed as much by the art as the words. The clothing on Penny is stunning as it should be since she’s the clothing designer and makes her own clothes.
The episode of Fool’s Gold is followed by a tutorial on line weight in drawing (worth the cost of the book is you’re interested in art). The tutorial is followed by Re-Play Vol. 2 a short story about love, loss, setting priorities.