RADIO STORM
Writer & Artist: Team S&S
Publisher: Ize Press (digital & print)
Translation: Tapas Entertainment Inc.
Lettering: Toppy
Publication Date: Jun 17, 2025
Rating: Mature
Genre: Boys’ Love, VSC (S. Korea), Manhwa, Webtoon, Dystopian, Horror, Science Fiction
Radio Storm, the hit dystopian Boys Love series available digitally first on Tapas, is now claiming its spot on your shelves, as announced by Ize Press! The creators, Team S&S, are an author/artist duo who have teamed up under this alias or worked with other artists on other BL series before. Salty & Sweet and Into the Horizon are Team S&S’s joint effort, while the author Sunui Lee has worked with the artist Geumgi on Stained Blue.
This first volume collects the first 20 chapters and the series will conclude in 4 volumes. Here’s a spoiler-free first look at Ize Press’ print edition of Radio Storm!
Many would do the unthinkable to be in Sak’s place. A long, ongoing war has ruined the world outside beyond repair. Food and resources are extremely scarce, except in the academy. From the outside, the academy students are privileged beyond comprehension. However, day in and day out, Sak prays for an aircraft to crash land on him and put an end to his miserable life.
More than a decade earlier, it was discovered that some humans manifest a supernatural power referred to as a “core”. The nature of this supernatural power varies from one person to another, but most of them can be used as weapons of war. Hence, the granted privilege. Sak is constantly bullied for his “useless” core and for unjustly claiming a seat at the academy. But when a highly infectious plague breaks out, Sak’s only ally, a researcher named Ginger, urges him to leave the campus and find his “Caller”. With no choice left, Sak is suddenly on a journey beyond the shielding walls of the academy to search for a person he’s never seen in his life before.
As the reader, you immediately get the sense of how cutthroat the world these characters inhabit is. Not only through the way Sak is treated by his peers, but also how an unfortunate kid with a seemingly “useless” core ability could make it to such a distinguished and closed-off institution. The stakes are high, but also devastating. You just know your heart will break throughout the series. Several times.
Sak is portrayed as a naive character who’s quick on his feet at times, but his inexperience in certain matters and isolated life leave him vulnerable and cause him to make choices an alert person wouldn’t. He only learns about callers when the plague breaks out and he has to find this person for reasons explained by Ginger in the first half.
Callers and core users are linked in a unique but unilateral way. Being near their caller enhances a core user’s abilities tremendously, and core users experience a euphoric adoration for them, as if they are soulmates. Their lives are linked, although callers don’t feel the love and dedication the core users feel towards them, which deeply complicates things.
So, Sak is embarking on a near-impossible journey of finding a stranger he’ll immediately connect with on a spiritual level and has to persuade this complete stranger who, obviously has no feelings toward him whatsoever, to stay together. Team S&S introduces these two tragic characters in a rundown world, doing their best to exist in the aftermath of a devastating war. It’s a bleak, hopeless time and place to be in.
There aren’t many panels with backgrounds, and when they are, the spaces these characters are in aren’t very detailed. However, the characters themselves are expressive and this comic isn’t short of good-looking men, a BL staple.
While usually VSCs are in full color, Radio Storm is black and white, save for certain panels or SFX during impactful or emotional moments. The print version, compared to the digital version’s black and cold tone, is more brownish and overall warmer. I don’t know if this is simply a printer issue or intentional, but the sepia-ish tones emit a more nostalgic feel. Even if it wasn’t intentional, it turns out to be in line with how Radio Storm opens with Sak looking back on his and his caller’s first meeting and the series overall gives an earthy, dusty feeling. The comic page format reads very comfortably, too, and nothing looks out of place or jarring.
When Radio Storm was picked up by Tapas, my timeline was on fire! The same enthusiasm was present when the print edition was announced by Ize Press. I remember checking out the digital version back when it was added to Tapas’ library, but for some reason, I wasn’t captivated by the available free chapters. I’m glad I gave it another go because it’s a highly thrilling read and I can’t wait to read the second volume when it comes out on September 23rd!
The caller/core user dynamic might read similarly to certain alternate universes used in the romance genre. Universes where “soulmates” who are destined to love each other and instinctively know one another upon meeting, or in Omegaverse where parties feel an instant attraction towards each other due to pheromones, are loved by the fans. Radio Storm brings an interesting and fresh twist to the “instant attraction” by making it one-sided and crafting the caller’s character as an untrusting person.
I highly recommend taking a chance on Team S&S’s Radio Storm if you haven’t already! I’m sure BL fans didn’t miss the chance of getting themselves copies already, and this series is especially suitable for people who enjoy thrilling stories in a dystopian setting where romance itself isn’t at the forefront. If you have already read the series but are on the fence about getting it in print, I say definitely consider it because the book has a nice weight and quality to it! Happy reading and enjoy getting traumatized!
A copy of Radio Storm was provided by Ize Press in exchange for an honest review.
Radio Storm Volume 1 by Team S&S is available digitally and in print on Yen Press’ website and other retailers.
