The Spring 2025 K-Comics Guide

Wet Sand (18+)

What's It About? 

When a chance encounter brings earnest photographer JO into the orbit of the aloof and gorgeous Ian, JO falls hard. An undeniable attraction simmers between them, and JO is determined to break through Ian's indifferent façade. But Ian's life isn't made for romance. As he works to free himself from his past life as a high-profile member of a dangerous gang—and from TJ, his on-again, off-again lover—a power struggle threatens to erupt within the crime syndicate. If Ian isn't careful, events might spiral out of control, dragging him back into a world of corruption and murder.

Wet Sand has a story and art by Doyak, with English translation by Somin Parker. Published by Inklore (May 6, 2025). Rated 18+.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Have you ever tried to walk in wet sand? Not the hard-packed sand by the water's edge, but the type that's soupy, somewhere between wet and dry. If there's anything that comes close to what mythical quicksand is, it's that peculiar viscosity of beach. It pulls your feet down and doesn't let go easily. That, I hope, is what creator Doyak is getting at in her debut comic Wet Sand. The story's world and relationships feel like they're mimicking walking on the titular surface – deceptively solid but with a real chance of pulling everyone down.

It's an intriguing concept and set up. JO Landi, a Korean-Italian American, is our naïve protagonist, whose eye is snared by handsome Youngwoo “Ian” Shin when he spots him on his balcony one evening. But Ian is involved with Taejoon “TJ” Oh, who is politely what my grandmother would call a nogoodnik. TJ's pretty high up in a Korean gang, and it seems a lot like he's dragged Ian there with him. Ian, meanwhile, can't help being involved (sexually and emotionally) with TJ even though there are definite hints that he wants out, and it looks to me like he's attracted to JO because he represents everything that Ian and TJ aren't. Honestly, if you've read any mafia romances (queer or otherwise), the plot will feel at least a little familiar, although this has some throuple potential that many of the mainstream mafia romances lack.

TJ is the character who I think may be the most interesting. From flashbacks, we know that he's aware that Ian's de facto stepfather died of a drug overdose and that his mom likely did as well, and we see him force Ian to stop using drugs himself. But then he or his fellow mafiosi have Ian work as a dealer, dropping drugs off at their say-so. TJ's conflicted about his work and his place in the world, and unlike Ian, he doesn't seem to be making any attempts to escape either of them…and his hold on Ian is strong enough that he may be able to prevent Ian from escaping, too. Needless to say, JO stands to be in a world of hurt if he gets involved with Ian, which should scare him – his cousin Chris has been involved with a couple more nogoodniks and JO is working hard to extract him from their grasp and bring him home.

Wet Sand isn't quite the buffet of bad decisions that it sounds like, but it absolutely could go in that direction, and fast. It's a little hard to follow at times with the way it hops around the timeline, and the art has a hard time with scars and tattoos, the latter of which look like stickers plastered on TJ's and Ian's torsos. But if you like your BL explicit and dark (and in full color), this is a better choice than any of the characters in the book will be making anytime soon.

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Lauren Orsini
Rating:

The way the BL trope usually goes, the romantic lead who is the uke, sometimes called the bottom, is the more delicate and feminine of the pair. Wet Sand does away with that tired trope and instead offers the world's most terrifying bottom who can and will kill you. Wet Sand is the nonsensical title (perhaps inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the same name?) ascribed to this gritty Mafia love triangle, featuring the hardened killer Ian, who must choose between his longtime partner in crime TJ and the civilian photographer Joseph.

The place: New York City. Ian wants to call it quits with his Korean-American gang, but leaving the mafia isn't that simple. Plus, the dangerous, alluring TJ isn't about to let him go so easily. Though Ian is the protagonist here, this first volume is told from Joseph's point of view. Joseph is a naive, puppyish student who helps out at his aunt's restaurant and can't get the tall, dark, and handsome Ian out of his head. Likewise, Ian is drawn to Joseph for all that he represents: the sunny side that's diametrically opposed to Ian's life of organized crime. Other characters (like Joseph's cousin) know exactly what kind of danger Ian represents, but Joseph is captivated even as he denies there's anything but friendship between him and Ian. What does the even more dangerous TJ do when he catches wind of Ian's little liaison? This is an uncensored 18+ story, so you can imagine exactly how he evens the score. TJ and Ian, both drawn with lean, muscular builds and plenty of scars and tattoos, make a sexy pair whether they're intimidating witnesses or being intimate with one another.

Volume one establishes the origin of Ian's relationship with TJ while setting up the meet-cute and what follows between Ian and Joseph. Who will our ferocious uke choose? It would be your run-of-the-mill love triangle, but it's made more interesting by the fact that two of the three leads are implied to be violent gangsters. It may not be anything groundbreaking, but if you like BL stories with a mafia edge, this is a quick read that stays true to its genre.