Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!
It’s been a long time since there was enough going on in the world of English-translated manhwa for me to actually type that phrase, and nobody could be happier about it than I am.
The biggest manhwa news this week comes from digital publisher iSeeToon, who, after a break with their former parent company iSeeYou, has reemerged in the iOS market with a new title, Murder DIEary from webtoon artist NOMABI. The comic, described by its publisher as “Dexter meets four-panel comics,” was given a special award from the Korean Creative Content Agency in 2011.
Currently available only for iOS, the app has 13 chapters, available for $4.99, though the first four chapters are free as a preview. Two more volumes are scheduled for release later this year.
You can read a full press release at iSeeToon’s website, or download the app from the iTunes store.
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I’m a bit tardy with the next piece of news, which was delivered to the manga blogosphere a couple of months ago by web publisher NETCOMICS.
The Seoul Animation Center, a part of the South Korean government that supports the comics, animation, and gaming industries, has hand-picked 49 manhwa titles for the new Manhwa Creator Bank. The catalogue is mainly intended to serve as a resource for non-Korean publishers who may be interested in licensing manhwa titles, but it also gives readers an idea of what kind of properties are out there, so that we might encourage publishers to pick up titles we’re enthusiastic about.
The Manwha Creator Bank also has its own Facebook page.
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By way of this blog Future Lights Productions, check out this recent discovery: COMICS,CINEMA shorts on the go a “short documentary project portraying comics artists in Korea,” available now via Vimeo.com. The project’s most recent subject is manhwa artist Kyung-suk Lee, author of Zombie Time, one of the titles listed in the Manhwa Creator Bank catalogue.
All videos include English subtitles.
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From the ICv2 blog, The Office of Intellectual Freedom reports that Kim Dong Hwa’s coming-of-age manhwa The Color of Earth was the second most challenged book in 2011. coming in ahead of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.
For more on The Color of Earth and the rest of Kim Dong Hwa’s manhwa trilogy, check out the Color of… Manga Moveable Feast hosted by me at the now-defunct Manhwa Bookshelf.
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That’s all for this installment! Let’s hope it isn’t the last.
Is there something I’ve missed? Leave your manhwa-related links in comments!
Connie says
April 25, 2012 at 8:41 pmGreat news! It saddened me when all the manhwa news started drying up, but it’s good to see a bit of a digital renaissance. I hope that opens the door for more titles.
Also, because I need to tell someone RIGHT NOW, Netcomics just re-organized their site, and appear to be releasing three volumes of Totally Captivated side stories in print during the month of May. So happy!
Melinda Beasi says
April 26, 2012 at 6:30 amOh!! I have to go look! Their site was down, actually, while I was writing this post, and I wondered what they were doing. Whee! Thanks for the heads up!
mrkwang says
April 28, 2012 at 12:32 amThanks for covering our comics. :) Many thanks.
Stacey says
November 21, 2013 at 11:12 pmMay I simply just say what a relief to find someone that
really knows what they’re discussing on the net.
You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
More and more people need to check this out and understand this side of
your story. It’s surprising you’re not more popular because you definitely have the gift.