The Black Museum: The Ghost and the Lady 1-28 (END)
The author of Springald presents a new exhibit in his Black Museum - a historical drama starring two famous Brits, the supernatural Man in Grey and the very natural Florence Nightingale. It shares a number of similarities with Springald, including its retrospective manner of storytelling, its attention to historical detail and - most importantly - its excellence, becoming one of my top 10 favourite manga I've read.
It feels unusual for me on reflection, but I think much of my enjoyment came from the quasi-educational exploration of elements of British history that I (shamefully) knew little about, particularly the Crimean War and the specifics of Miss Nightingale's accomplishments. The author clearly has a researched interest in England that he wants to share with the reader, not just historically but also culturally, as the carefully woven setting, antiquated language and frequent sprinkling of Shakespeare quotes all show.
The other primary positive for me was the lead duo. Appropriately for a theatre fanatic, Grey reprises the roguish gentlemen role superbly, being both an admirable pillar of strength and effective foil to his leading lady's benevolent purity. Similarly, Florence is one of my favourite manga heroines to date. From the budding and blossoming of her latent potential under Grey's influence, through her unrelenting selflessness and compassion for the infirm at Scutari, and culminating in her crushing her arch-nemesis at Balaklava through sheer force of will, she's a national treasure in every sense.
If I had to list some negatives, Grey's supernatural duels with d'Éon were artistically messy, and the reader was too frequently reminded of particular plot points (this was probably more noticeable as someone who was marathoning it). That aside, I'd highly recommend this to those who enjoyed Springald, or anyone with an affinity for this period of British history.
Interestingly, the real life police 'Black Museum' that this fictional namesake is based on had its first public exhibition from Oct 2015 to April 2016, around two years after I read Springald. It's a shame I missed it, particularly if the cu
rator was there.
Also talk about a coincidence:
February 2017 Recommendation: The Black Museum - Springald
Historical supernatural action | 1 volume, Completed work, Licensed (not in English)
The Black Museum holds criminal memorabilia from the many cases that have been investigated by Scotland Yard. In this fictional re-imagining of the popular legend, a visitor comes to see a piece of particular interest, the leg of Spring-Heeled Jack. When the curator guides him to the piece, he begins to tell his story of the case of Spring-Heeled Jack, which began in the late 1830s.
(source)
Zweizer:
A fascinating tale that exudes the charm and atmosphere of a century-old painting, combined with the dynamism and expression of contemporary manga.
Note: Kodansha has published the 'sister series'
The Black Museum: The Ghost and The Lady in English, but not
Springald.
Springald has Zweizer's non-H seal of approval, so there's no excuse for not checking out either of these stories now.