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Manhwa Monday: A Fan’s Lament

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

There’s little to report in the manhwa blogosphere this week, a state of affairs I’ll address in just a moment, but first, let’s take a look at this week’s duo of reviews. First, at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson checks out the September issue of Yen Plus (Yen Press), now available online for the low, low price of $2.99 a month.

Three manhwa titles currently run in the online magazine, JiUn Yun’s Time and Again, JinHo Ko’s Jack Frost, and MiSun Kim’s Aron’s Absurd Armada, a Korean webtoon just recently added to Yen’s catalogue. Of these, Lori considers Time and Again the only must-read, though Aron’s is beginning to please. A few tidbits from her review:

“First up is Jack Frost, a title I haven’t been impressed with over the last three volumes … This chapter follows the routine that Jack Frost seems to have set up. Talking heads, panty shot, fight; lather, rinse, repeat. It would be nice to see that routine shaken up a bit. Many less panty shot and more plot? …

“I think Aron’s Absurd Armada is starting to grow on me. This month featured Ronnie, the girl they rescued last issue … It’s a good quick read …

Time and Again is one of the titles that made subscribing worth it. In this month’s chapter, we get to see into Baek-On’s past … This was the best chapter of the magazine, behind Nightschool. It was rather heartbreaking to finally see the truth.”

On the subject of Yen Press, Charles Webb takes a look at volume three of Jack Frost over at Manga Life.

Aaaaand that’s it for manhwa news this week, which brings me to the whining portion of this post. There’s been a dearth of manhwa-related activity online recently, and with the relatively sparse release schedule we’ve seen from most of the publishers who bring us manhwa, this can hardly be a surprise. It’s been nearly a year since I began the Manhwa Monday feature at Manga Bookshelf, and though we’ve seen quite a few series come to conclusion during that time, the loss has been balanced by very few new releases.

Even Yen Press, whose acquisition of Ice Kunion’s original catalogue has made them the most consistent publisher of (print) manhwa in English, has only begun three new series in 2010–One Fine Day, Laon and now Aron’s Absurd Armada (yet to reach print). Aside from There’s Something About Sunyool, NETCOMICS has been nearly dormant. DramaQueen’s brief revival with volume one of The Summit has seen no further activity to my knowledge. Udon’s series, Apple notwithstanding, remain on hiatus. Dark Horse has begun nothing new. Tokyopop??? And with the exception of Fanfare/Potent Mon’s Korea As Viewed By 12 Creators, the mid-season poll conducted here in June is still an accurate representation of new releases this year.

So what gives? Is the manhwa slowdown just an inevitable symptom of the industry’s woes overall, or is there something else at work?

I know that this blog’s readership consists mainly of manga fans, a group that has not been entirely welcoming of manhwa as a whole. Yet every week, as I search for content for this column, I slog through Google alerts filled with reviews and discussion of scanlated manhwa, so clearly it’s being read and enjoyed. Is it just that nobody’s buying?

So, in an entirely unscientific fashion, I invite–nay, plead with you, dear readers, to respond with a comment to this post if you actually buy manhwa (and if you don’t, feel free to tell me why). And while you’re there, why don’t you take the opportunity to talk about some series you’d like to see licensed!

That has been the end of my whining for the week.

Is there something I’ve missed? Leave your manhwa-related links in comments!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I would buy manhwa if stories that I like would come out. I was buying INVU, but that seems to be on indefinite hiatus, and I’m looking forward to reading the Korea 12 Creators anthology. But I’m not going to buy it just because it’s manhwa any more than I would buy an American comic just because it’s American.

    I think that’s maybe the problem — I’ve never seen anyone talk about manhwa as a distinct genre in itself, because its similarities to manga sometimes seem stronger than characteristics within manhwa. If it’s not distinct to customers, then it’s difficult to support any kind of movement around it.

    Reply

    • You know, I should have mentioned that people who don’t buy manhwa are invited to comment about why, so I’m glad you did anyway. :) I think your complaint is a very valid one, and one that is shared by a lot of manhwa fans who are familiar with manhwa in Korean. We’ve seen so little of the scope of what’s available in Korea, since what’s been licensed here falls into just one or two genres for the most part.

      Part of the reason I began this blog was to talk about manhwa as a distinct entity, because that’s definitely lacking in the US market so far.

      Also, thanks for reminding me that I left Tokyopop out of my lament! Though I suppose that fact in itself is all that needs to be said about the state of manhwa over there right now.

      Reply

      • Have you done some manhwa basics posts, such as talking about what all manhwa books have in common beyond their country of origin? If so, I’ve missed them and would greatly appreciate being pointed to them.

        Reply

        • Actually, I would never write a post like that, because it would be much like saying, “Here is what all manga has in common.” It’s a reductive statement that can’t possibly be accurate when talking about a country’s entire, diverse comics industry.

          But I’ll seek Hana’s help to write up something that might provide what you’re looking for. She’s fluent in Korean, so she can help fill in the gaping holes between what’s available in English and what’s available in Korean.

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        • I’ve been thinking about this question, by the way… and the answer that keeps coming to me in terms of something that most manhwa have in common (understanding that my personal experience with manhwa consists of series that have been licensed and translated into English & a few webcomics I’ve been introduced to by the guy at iSeeToon), is that they are largely about Koreans. They are steeped in the culture of their country of origin the same way manga is steeped in Japanese culture (even series *not* set in Japan). And the main difference between the way manga is perceived by westerners and the way manhwa is perceived is that, because manhwa is basically marketed as manga, it has no cultural identity of its own in the west. There are no manhwa scholars writing books and speaking at conventions. There’s nobody reaching out to readers to put things into context. Outside of a few, disparate fans, there’s little attempt to create crossover between fans of various mediums in order to create a larger interest in South Korean culture. If only K-dramas could achieve for manhwa what anime did for manga…

          Reply

  2. I’d buy manhwa if more older skewing series like Forest of Grey City and Something About Sunyool were available. The main manhwa series that I was a faithful consumer of was The Queen’s Knight, which seems to be on permanent hiatus. I do have a stack of manhwa that I got from a Yen Press twitter contest that I’m trying to work my way through over the next few weeks :)

    Reply

  3. Unfortunately I only read two manhwa titles. Bride of the Water God, which comes out so rarely, and Sarasah, which I’m a little worried about as volume 5 came out in mid-August, and volume 6 isn’t available for pre-order yet. I hope it wasn’t canceled. :( It was just getting really good.

    Reply

  4. I haven’t read a lot of manhwa but most of what I’ve seen doesn’t appeal to me on a surface level so I haven’t even sampled that much either since I have too much other stuff I want to buy.

    The only series I’ve completed was Shaman Warrior and I’ve read the first volumes of Jack Frost and There’s Something About Sunyool but neither of those series grabbed me enough to checkout the second volumes. I also read an issue of Yen Press a year or two ago but again, nothing particularly stood out to me or convinced me I sound specifically go looking for manhwa.

    Reply

  6. I have never been opposed to buying manhwa but I still haven’t seen anything that appealed enough to me. I know we had this conversation on Twitter a while back and I looked up the titles you suggested…and none spoke to me at all. Not saying you’re taste is bad, it’s just seems like nothing I really want to read is being translated.

    Reply

    • Yeah, I think you’re definitely not seeing the manhwa that might be to your taste in translation. There may be some hope there from iSeeToon, but I’m not sure how accessible their manhwa will be. I’m not sure if they’ll be offering a web service, or if it will only be for the iPhone/iPad. I may not be able to read them myself!

      Reply

  8. Manhwa has been hit or miss with me, so I really need some try-before-you-buy previews. I think more people need that too. It was the art that held me back most, but that can be overcome if the story speaks well enough.

    And if it’s any consolation to you, I’ll have another manhwa review this week and will continue the Yen Plus as a monthly… :)

    Reply

  9. I think the biggest issue is with Tokyopop.

    They offered manhwa as, basically, ‘second-tier manga substitute’. Stuffed in with sucky OEL series, and such. If they could have marketed it with right-to-left reading, one bets it’s the next step they’d have tried.

    Still, I rather liked some of their selections— the ‘how do you say sennin in Korean’ stuff like Island and Rebirth. But they seemed to abandon the initiative after the first series they tried.

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  10. Oh no, go right ahead and vilify Tokyopop. I think many fans who would give manhwa a try have been frightened off by Tokyopop’s handling of their manhwa titles. Most of those are on hiatus forever, and it’s kind of hard to keep that annoyance at Tokyopop from infecting the entire medium. (-_-) There’s a general vibe of “Manhwa never finish publishing”— at least for me.

    That said, I still buy manhwa. I like them. Especially when they’re cheesy, over-the-top soap operas, because my sister loves those best. But I don’t want to pay for a ” digital rental”. I waited for months for 100% Perfect girl #11 to finally come out in print, even though it was available online, because I knew that I’d only be satisfied reading a physical copy. I don’t like reading ANY comics online, unless they’re webcomics (and in that case, it’s more like I don’t have any other option).

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  11. Thanks to Yen Press I have a lot of Manwha. Does Black God count? :P
    I also have Jack Frost, Dorothy of Oz, Magical JxR, One Fine Day, One, Time and Again and The Great Catsby (which i love but the translation bothers me) . But this post reminds me that I should finish these..a few seem to be on hiatus in Korea though. I think Korea has a problem with finishing series for some reason…

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  12. Those manhwas that I’ve read and really would want to buy like I also buy manga has not come out in english or hasn’t even been serialized yet!?X’ O (WHY!?) Even though they are quite liked buy the online readers *sees stars

    Like “Love in The Mask” by Han, Yu-Rang! I would SO love to buy ALL of this series in English!!X'{ But it hasn’t even been serialized yet!?? GAH!?? It’s such a good series! Totally on another level from mainstream love-stories! This is about SO much more and it’s also fun and VERY exiting I’m always waiting impatiently and with the biggest excitement for the next chapter of this series to be uploaded in English online by the from heaven sent scanlators!!X’D

    Utopia of Homosexuality / Dongsong esanghyang by Lee, Sang Eun

    And I would also like to buy these if they were just going to be serialized, but not as much as those mentioned above;)!…

    Also by Han, Yu-Rang
    “Boy of the Female Wolf”
    – yeah I’m into gender-benders.=^^=

    By Hwang, Mi Ri
    = “Idol Shopping”, “Boarding House of Hunks”, “He Dedicated to Roses”

    Manhwa for the world!!;D

    Reply

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