The first volume of a trilogy, the remainder of which is scheduled for release over the coming year, The Color of Earth represents the first major Korean work of graphic fiction – known as manhwa – to be published in the United States.  The work is of uniformly high quality and is filled with many poetic interludes where the drawings and their pacing transport the reader to meditative states.  Students of manga will have much to ponder in as they study Hwa's work to discern those aspects of it that might be isolated as being specifically Korean and so distinguish manhwa from manga.  The tale is set in a timeless village in rural Korea and chronicles the relationship of a widowed mother and her daughter as the daughter matures from girl to woman.  Read Kate Culkin's (yes, again) review on Publisher's Weekly to learn more, then, if you're still not convinced, make sure you take a look at it and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.