Manhwa Monday

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday, now in our new monthly format! Here’s a sprinkling of news and reviews from around the blogosphere last month.

First, a look at this month’s upcoming releases. With nothing on the docket from Dark Horse or Tokyopop, and NETCOMICS still dormant since its last online updates in February, we look to Yen Press for our manhwa this month, though even from that source the new releases are slim. From creators Hyun You and YoungBin Kim, we’ll see volume five of Laon, the story of a nine-tailed fox in human form. Yen also brings us the fifth volume of horror manhwa Jack Frost from creator JinHo Ko.

Not quite manhwa, but Korean-created, Viz also releases the second volume of horror/fantasy comic March Story, due out later this month.

In licensing news, Anime News Network reports that Seven Seas is getting in the manhwa game, with Han Yu-Rang’s My Boyfriend is a Vampire slated to begin release in September of this year.

Another new Priest trailer has been released into the world. Eric Eisenberg has the info at Cinema Blend. And MovieViral.com offers up a podcast of cast interviews from last weekend’s Wondercon.

A couple of small manhwa mentions online: The Korea Creative Content Agency’s website got some recent press from PR Newswire. And in an interview with RSC Publishing deputy editor Jane Hordern, Korean scientist Seong Keun Kim talks about having been inspired by a character from a 1960s comic.

Korean cartoonists are doing what they can to help raise money for relief in Japan, according to this recent article from JoongAng Daily. “Three major groups representing Korea’s cartoon world, the Korea Cartoonist Association together with the Cartoon and Animation Society in Korea and the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, are collecting donations along with cartoons bearing messages of condolences and sympathy. The proceeds will be sent to the Japan Cartoonists’ Association. ”

This month in reviews, at Mania.com, Kate O’Neil takes a look at volume five of Time and Again (Yen Press), while the Manga Bookshelf bloggers include that volume in as recent Pick of the Week. At Comics-and-more, Dave Ferraro checks out volume one of Goong (Yen Press). Connie reviews volume one of March Story (Viz Media) at Slightly Biased Manga, while I take on volume two at Manga Bookshelf. Also at Manga Bookshelf, Kate Dacey opens today’s Bookshelf Briefs with a look at volume five of Laon (Yen Press).

That’s all for this month! Coming up later this week at Manhwa Bookshelf, look forward to an advance review of iSeeToon’s new series, Ill-Fated Relationship!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

This week, Korea JoongAng Daily reports that cartoonist Kim Soo-jung’s popular manhwa character Dooly has become a subject of controversy between the local governments of Dobong and Bucheon, both of whom want to use the 10 million-year-old dinosaur as a mascot.

“Dobong District has been planning a Dooly theme park with a museum dedicated to the dinosaur since 2007. Lee, the Dobong District Office director, said that construction on the museum, estimated at 13 billion won ($11.6 million), is slated to start next year, with a target completion date of 2015.

Bucheon, meanwhile, has spent the past eight years transforming its image from that of an industrial city to one dedicated to animation. In 1998, the city established the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (Komacon) and the Bucheon International Comics Festival. Dooly has served as the city’s mascot since 2003.”

Check out the article for more.

On this side of the Pacific, NETCOMICS continues to show signs of life, publishing another new chapter of Sooyeon Won’s Full House.

At The Hooded Utilitarian, Michelle Smith and I discuss in-depth Jeon JinSeok and Han SeungHee’s One Thousand and One Nights, complete with sheep jokes and pretty pictures.

This week in reviews: On his video podcast, Otaku, no Video, Brent P. Newhall talks about volume one of One Fine Day (Yen Press). At Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie enjoys volume six of 13th Boy (Yen Press). Angela Eastman checks out the final volume of Very! Very! Sweet (Yen Press) at Mania.com.

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

We’ve got a few review links to share today, but first, a quick look at the upcoming film adaptation of Kang Pool’s webtoon series, I Love You, adapted as Late Blossom for film.

The summary according to The Korea Times: “The movie revolves around four senior citizens living in a hillside village. Kim Man-seok, played by veteran actor Lee Soon-jae, is a milkman who wakes the village early each morning with his noisy, battered motorcycle. He meets Song (Yoon So-jung), who scavenges for scrap paper while roaming around the town at daybreak. As they meet again and again, they slowly develop feelings for each other.”

The film opens in Korea this week.

At Panel Patter, Rob McMonigal takes a look at volume one of Time and Again (Yen Press). Chrystal White at Japanator checks out volume 11 of Black God (Yen Press). Todd Douglass of Anime Maki posts some quick reviews of three Yen Press manhwa. In her article, “hunting for yaoi,” at Sequential Tart, Wolfen Moondaughter looks briefly at the BL manhwa Aegis (NETCOMICS). And Bibliophilic Monologues celebrates a manhwa monday of their own, with an overview of Pig Bride (Yen Press).

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

With February finally underway, it’s time to take a brief look at this month’s upcoming manhwa releases! In keeping with the recent trend, there are few of these to report for February, though more than we had last month.

First, a belated listing for volume seven of Bride of the Water God from Dark Horse. Though Amazon (my source for these preview posts) lists a release date of February 8th, the volume actually appeared on shelves two weeks ago, bringing January’s release total up to… two. Yay?

This month, we’ve only got two print releases to look forward to, both from Yen Press. The first is volume five of JinJun Park’s zombie manhwa Raiders. Secondly, we’ll see volume six of one of my personal favorites, SangEun Lee’s supernatural romance, 13th Boy, Vol. 6, still consistently winning my heart with its understated whimsy, including talking cactus Beatrice.

On the digital front, NETCOMICS may finally be coming back to life, having recently released new chapters of both Sungmo Kim’s Emperor’s Castle and (another personal favorite) Sooyeon Won’s Full House. Though they’ve stopped short of scheduling any future chapter updates, new content after a few empty months does suggest hope. And following up on last week’s post, iOS publisher iSeeToon offers up a second trailer for their upcoming webtoon release, Ill-Fated Relationship.

This week in reviews, Angela Eastman takes a look at volume seven of Very! Very! Sweet (Yen Press) at Mania.com, and at A Reader of Fictions, Christina hates Sugarholic.

That’s all for this week!

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

Amazon.com Widgets

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

It’s a slow week again in the English-language manhwa blogosphere, though we do have one fun tidbit to share.

Over at the iSeeToon blog, company representative Kim Jin Sung teases us with a webtoon trailer for one of their upcoming iOS releases, Ill-Fated Relationship, due to be available in English sometime this year. I’ve actually had a little peek at this series, and it looks to be quite interesting, so let’s hope we won’t have too long to wait!

On a personal note, with the understanding that many of South Korea’s most innovative comics are happening online rather than traditional print, I very much wish that more companies were finding ways to bring those comics to us. I do appreciate the efforts of both iSeeToon and NETCOMICS, but I must admit I am feeling quite impatient for more. I can’t help dreaming of an online portal such as Naver (as described by Hana Lee in her introduction to Korean webcomics) in English, though I expect this is a bit of a pipe dream.

This week in reviews, King of the Zombies reviews the manhwa series Priest (TOKYOPOP) in celebration of the upcoming film release. At Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson runs us through the latest issue of Yen Plus (Yen Press), including ongoing titles Aron’s Absurd Armada and Jack Frost as well as the debut of Sirial’s new cat-centric manhwa Milky Way Hitchhiking. And at Slightly Biased Manga, Connie reviews volume two of Sarasah (Yen Press).

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

It’s been a slow week in manhwa news. And by “slow week” I mean that there are absolutely no bits of news or reviews to share with you at all.

So, what shall we talk about, readers? This week’s upcoming release of the latest volume of Bride of the Water God reminds me just how little new manhwa we’ve got to look forward to in the foreseeable future.

What I do have ahead of me, though, are a few fantastic reads and re-reads that are long overdue. A few reads upcoming for me:

1. Bride of the Water God (Dark Horse) – I actually have yet to dip into this series, which is long overdue. I’ll be marathoning it in the next couple of weeks (with a review of volume 6 upcoming), in hopes of soon acquiring this week’s new volume.

2. Cynical Orange (Yen Press) – After a long, long wait, I’ve finally gotten a copy of the one volume I was missing of this series. Look for a full series review in the near future (most likely offsite).

3. One Thousand and One Nights (Yen Press) – I’ve already talked on and on about this series, but an upcoming offsite feature has given me the excuse to reread it once again!

4. Milkyway Hitchhiking (Yen Press) – As a big fan of Sirial’s One Fine Day (interestingly featured in a recent column on Manga Bookshelf), I’m definitely looking forward to this new, cat-themed series.

So, readers, I put the question to you: What new (or old) manhwa are looking forward to reading in the near future?

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! It’s been a quiet week on the manhwa front, so there are just a few quick links to share on this American holiday.

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. day here in the US, and The Korean has a message for his Asian-American readers today.

Our friends at iSeeToon have unveiled a new front page design for their blog, with easy access to their currently available (and in-progress) iOS manhwa apps, as well as their series on types of manhwa. They are actively looking for feedback on pretty much all these things, so please let them know how you think they’re doing!

This week’s manhwa news is nearly all live-action news, with HANCINEMA posting the newest Priest trailer, and Dramabeans sharing casting info for the new drama adaptation of Kang Pool’s Pain. Kang Pool is also the author of Sunjeong Manhwa, reviewed by Hana Lee in her introduction to Korean webcomics, and pictured here in this entry.

At Manga-Market.com, tomnomnom joins the legions who attempt to explain “What is manhwa?”

This week in reviews, Todd Douglass at Anime Maki takes a look at volume 11 of Korean-created Black God (Yen Press). And at Panel Patter, Rob McMonigal talks about Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators (Fanfare/Ponent-Mon).

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

After last week’s whining about the lack of new manhwa licenses, we’ve discovered at least one, though we don’t know for sure whether there are plans to release it in print.

The December issue of Yen Plus advertises an upcoming manhwa series from Sirial (One Fine Day), called Milkyway Hitchhiking, about a cat with a pattern that looks like the Milky Way on his back. The series will be in full color, and is also Yen Press’ first simultaneous serialization. Let’s hope it sees print publication as well! Lori Henderson has some thoughts on the series in her write-up of December’s issue of Yen Plus. (Thanks to Michelle Smith for the tip!)

Robot 6 has an exclusive look at cover art for TOKYOPOP’s new Priest Purgatory series. And on the subject of Priest, 411 mania lists the upcoming film adaptation as one of its Biggest Comic Book Movies of 2011 .

iSeeToon continues their series on different types of manhwa with a look at Korean webtoons in their blog this week.

Blog of Asia attempts to explain the difference between manga and manhwa, drawing some interesting conclusions about both.

Here at Manhwa Bookshelf, Hana Lee translates the list of winners from Korea’s Reader Awards for manhwa in 2010.

This week in reviews, both Ed Sizemore of Manga Worth Reading and Richard of Forbidden Planet International take a look at Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators (Fanfare/Ponent Mon), offering a nice break from our usual cluster of Yen Press titles.

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! Here’s a quick round-up of manhwa-related news and reviews from the past two weeks.

The folks at Dramabeans report that popular drama Secret Garden is going to be made into both a novel and a girls’ manhwa series.

At Funky Doodle Donkey, Mireille shares her love for Korean icon Pucca.

The iSeeToon blog has been a busy place, as Jeong-Woo Seon continues their series on types of Korean manhwa, with an entry on Jab-Ji Manhwa (Manhwa for magazine). Check out the entire series here. In other iSeeToon news, they’ve uploaded a YouTube video to demonstrate their Magician iOS app. They’ve also started a Facebook page.

New in reviews, Anime Maki’s Todd Douglass takes a look at a handful of Yen Press manhwa. Both Lori Henderson and Michelle Smith review volume four of Time and Again (Yen Press) at Comics Village and Soliloquy in Blue, respectively. Michelle also checks out the final volumes of Angel Diary (Yen Press) in our latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. And Lori gives us the rundown on the latest issue of Yen Plus at Manga Xanadu. At Kuriousity, Andre Paploo looks at volume four of Raiders (Yen Press). At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie talks about volume five of Sugarholic (Yen Press).

If anyone happened to notice the predominance of manhwa from a single publisher in this week’s review roundup, it’s a pretty good indication of the state of the American manhwa industry over the past year. Though the year’s most promising new series, There’s Something About Sunyool, came to us from NETCOMICS, only Yen Press maintained a significant print release schedule for manhwa. And even from Yen, we saw many more series endings than beginnings this year. What will 2011 bring us? Stay tuned as we find out!

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! Our featured article this week comes from the iSeeToon blog, where Jeong-Woo Seon (aka “mirugi”) continues to explain the Korean manhwa industry to its English-speaking audience, this time delving into manhwa created for the Dae-Bon-So, an old school manhwa rental system.

The article goes on to name some series that were specifically created for the Dae-Bon-So, including one of my personal favorites, Kyungok Kang’s sci-fi girls’ manhwa, In the Starlight, available in English from NETCOMICS.

From the article: “History of ‘Dae-Bon-So Manhwa’ was not clear exactly, however it begun after Korean War in 1950’s. ‘Dae-Bon-Son Manhwa’ was welcomed in 1960’s, while Korean culture is improving. There were very few TVs at then, ‘Dae-Bon-So’ was only 1 place to enjoy culture content with cheap price. ”

As with their earlier articles, iSeeToon has promised a future rewrite with more polished English, but what’s there now still makes for an interesting and informative read. Read the full article here!

This week in reviews, at Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie takes a look at volumes four and five of Goong and volume four of Jack Frost (all from Yen Press). At Mania.com, Kate O’Neil reviews volume four of Time and Again (Yen Press). Michelle Smith discusses that volume as well over at Soliloquy in Blue, along with the final volume of Moon Boy (Yen Press). Over at LiveJournal, user driftingsong talks about an untranslated series, My Lovable Fatty. And last week at Manga Bookshelf, I take a look at Korean-created March Story in our latest Off the Shelf column.

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! First off, we’ll take a look at some upcoming manhwa releases.

Only Yen Press has new manhwa slated for this month, and just three volumes at that. Fortunately, this includes the latest omnibus release of Park SoHee’s Goong, a beautifully drawn cinderella story with a modern-day sensibility. Though this double-sized volume is number ten for Yen Press, thanks to the series’ new omnibus format, it actually contains Korean volumes 11-12.

Other releases this month include the 13th (and final) volume of Angel Diary and volume four of horror manhwa Jack Frost.

In other news this month, The Korean of Ask a Korean is asking for manhwa recommendations for one of his readers. Kate Dacey makes some suggestions in comments. Why not follow her lead?

Metanorn’s Manga Digest column takes a break from the usual to focus on some manhwa.

Over at LiveJournal, walkwithheroes asks, “What manga, manhua, and manhwa do you want to see on TV?”

And at the iSeeToon blog, we’re introduced to Jeong-Woo Seon (aka “mirugi”), who will be leading up their new informational manhwa feature. He starts off with an explanation of what makes manhwa different. Though the translation is a little rough at this time, it’s definitely readable, and very informative for manga fans especially, who may not realize how little the South Korean comics business resembles Japan’s.

This week in reviews, Kate Dacey lists Goong among her current reads at the latest Reading Pile at Good Comics for Kids. And at Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo checks out two recent releases from Yen Press, volume ten of Legend and volume 11 of Black God.

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! Yes, ’tis the season… for sales!

We’re a bit late with this one, but it really shouldn’t be missed. Online retailer Right Stuf is offering 33% off Yen Press titles, just until tonight at 11:59 pm EST. This savings is significant, especially for anyone looking to catch up on some of Yen’s great manhwa series.

What’s actually on sale? We did a quick run through Right Stuf’s list, and found selected volumes (not necessarily all) of each of the following Korean-created series (links point to reviews from here on the site):

13th Boy, Angel Diary, The Antique Gift Shop, Bring It On!, Black God, Chocolat, Comic, Cynical Orange, Croquis Pop, Forest of Gray City, Goong, Hissing, Jack Frost, Laon, Legend, Moon Boy, One Fine Day, One Thousand and One Nights, Pig Bride, Raiders, Sarasah, Sugarholic, Time and Again, Very! Very! Sweet, and You’re So Cool.

Do yourself a favor and pick up some manhwa today!

Last week’s holiday makes for slim pickings in both news and reviews, but we do have a few links to share. At Squidoo.com, we discovered this overview of Korean BL series Boy Princess (NETCOMICS), including write-ups of individual volumes and easy links to buy. At Manga Bookshelf, I name One Thousand and One Nights (Yen Press) as one of 3 comics I’m thankful for. And in the latest “reading pile” column from Good Comics for Kids, Lori Henderson talks about one of our favorite manhwa series, Time and Again (Yen Press).

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

As we head into a big holiday week here in the US, the blogosphere has been quieting down, but we do have a few brief items to share.

First of all, for all you artists out there, NETCOMICS has announced a new contest via their Twitter feed, with a deadline coming up at the end of the month. Here are the details quoted from their tweets:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, ’tis time for a NETCOMICS contest! Submit your own rendition of a NETCOMICS series for $100 e-Cash!

1) Choose your favorite series.
2) Identify a scene/panel to recreate.
3) Do yer thang: bubbles, illustrations, etc.–the whole nine yards.
4) Q yourself whether or not your work is compelling/original.
5) Tweet it like there’s no tomorrow.

Deadline: Nov. 30th. Spread the word.”

And what does the Great Gatsby cover have to do with this, you ask? Nothing, really. I just like it.

In reviews this week, Angela Eastman takes a look at three final volumes from Yen Press at Suite 101. At Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo checks out volume four of Time and Again (Yen Press). And at Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie reviews volume four of Raiders (Yen Press).

That’s all for this week!

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

Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! It’s been a fairly quiet week on the manhwa front, but we do have a few links to share!

First, with the recent dearth of manhwa licenses, anything new is fairly big news. Recently, KOCCA announced in their blog that TOKYOPOP would be publishing Ghost Face, the latest series from Min-woo Hyung (Priest), and last week, Anime News Network discovered the series listed on Amazon, slated for a May 2011 release.

Additional images and information on the series can be found in the KOCCA blog. You can follow KOCCA on Twitter @KoreanContent.

From the Twitter feed, webtoon publisher iSee Toon has been posting a series of YouTube videos, offering a glimpse of their office and daily surroundings. They’re also conducting a survey regarding their new Magician app, in order to collect feedback from users.

This week in reviews, at Comic Book Bin, Leroy Douresseaux takes a look at World of Warcraft: The Essential Sunwell Collection (TOKYOPOP), drawn by Korean manhwa artist, Jae-Hwan Kim. And at Manga Life, Victoria Martin weighs in on Korean-created March Story (Viz Media).

That’s all for this week!

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