Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

MJ

Manhwa Monday: The Webtoon Cometh

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

Last week, Manhwa Bookshelf contributor Hana Lee introduced us to the world of Korean webcomics, or “webtoons” as they are known in Korea. Though only a handful of webtoons have made it into English translation so far (all published by NETCOMICS), more are on the way (at least for iPhone/iPad users), thanks to a new Korean company, iSeeToon.

As a response to both Hana’s post and some extensive conversation on Twitter, iSeeToon representative Kim Jin Sung has posted a number of posts in the company’s blog over the past week, including some general information about iSeeToon, descriptions of several potential properties, and some musings on the difference between Korean webtoons and western webcomics.

For more information on iSeeToon, check out their official website or follow them on Twitter. …

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Run, Bong-Gu, Run!, Dokebi Bride, Time and Again

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At Manga Bookshelf’s Off the Shelf, Michelle Smith and I discuss three manhwa series, Byun Byung-Jun’s Run, Bong-Gu, Run! from NBM/Comics Lit, Marley’s Dokebi Bride from NETCOMICS, and JiUn Yun’s Time and Again from Yen Press.

Here’s an excerpt from our discussion:

MICHELLE: How about with Run, Bong-Gu, Run! by Byun Byung-Jun? I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this one since I finished it. For those who aren’t familiar with it, this is a simple story of a boy and his mother who travel from a seaside town to Seoul in search of the father/husband who went to the city in search of work and who hasn’t been heard from in some time. While there, they meet a kindly old man and his granddaughter, rescue a bird from a building, and bemoan the difficulties of life in the city.

While low on plot, Run, Bong-Gu, Run is high on atmosphere, with a dreamy yet deliberate way of portraying the actions of our protagonists as opposed to the near faceless mob of Seoul-ites who go whizzing past them. Our smalltown heroes have not lost the ability to see others in pain, be they homeless humans or endangered pigeons. They manage to do a fair amount of good on their visit simply by noticing those around them and providing what help they can offer.

MJ: It’s true there isn’t much to the plot of this little manhwa, and for me that’s definitely part of its charm. I love the simplicity of the story and its characters, and Byun’s manner of presenting them. I like, too, that it’s not just the smalltown visitors doing good, either.

The old man they meet there is as kind and helpful as they are, and obviously has been helping out the woman’s husband while he’s been in the city. There’s this big, faceless city, but once you get down to the individuals, they are just people like anyone else, and I love that about this story. I think it’s significant that the old man is first seen in the story panhandling on the subway. That person–a begger on the subway–is the easiest for most of us to brush off in our lives as someone on the outskirts of our own experience. Yet he turns up later as a fully-realized character.

In a way, Byun portrays Seoul exactly as I think of big cities in general. They can seem intimidating–as though they might swallow your individuality whole–but when you really spend time in one, maybe even live in it, you realize that a neighborhood is a neighborhood, no matter where you live in the world. A city is just a dense collection of small towns with no official dividers between them.

I like your description of the atmosphere as “dreamy yet deliberate.” That’s the perfect way to describe Byun’s artwork and writing style. And it’s nice to see it used for a warm, simple story like this one. Run, Bong-Gu, Run! lacks the sheer bleakness of Byun’s melancholy anthology, Mijeong, and though some of those stories perhaps have more to them, this one is much more soothing for the soul.

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Manhwa Monday: Welcome, Hana!

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! Today, I’m very pleased to introduce a new contributor to Manhwa Bookshelf, Hana Lee. Hana will be providing reviews of untranslated Korean manhwa as well as manhwa news from Korea. She’s begun today with An introduction to Korean webcomics, where she discusses Korean webcomics as a whole–their scope and origins–and provides short reviews for two popular comics as well. It’s a wonderful post that you all must take a look at.

Speaking of origins, here’s a short bio for Hana that will soon appear on our “About” page:

Hana Lee is a biology graduate student living in California. By day, she experiments with yeast; by night, she spends her time knitting and eating good food. She is also a longtime fan of anime and manga, as well as an avid reader of books. Hana is proud to call herself Korean-American and maintains her fluency in Korean by watching K-dramas, reading manhwa …

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Manhwa Monday: Poll, Part II

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

It’s another slow week in the manhwa blogosphere, so following up on last week’s poll, we’ll take a moment to ponder this year’s continuing manhwa series. But first, a look at the week in reviews.

Raiders (Yen Press) gets the most attention this week, with reviews of volume one from Liz Reed at Manga Life and volume three from Kate Dacey at The Manga Critic. At Comics Village, Lori Henderson takes a look at volume eight of Goong (Yen Press). And at the Tompkins County Public Library’s In My Opinion (IMO) Teen Book Blog, reviewer Emme talks about volume one of The Tarot Cafe (Tokyopop).

Far in the lead in last week’s poll for best new manhwa series of the year (so far) is Sirial’s One Fine Day (Yen Press). This week, let’s take a vote on continuing series. …

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Manhwa Monday: Mid-Season Poll

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

It’s a slow week in the manhwa blogosphere, with only three reviews for me to pass along. First, at Good Comics for Kids, Lori Henderson reviews volume one of One Fine Day (Yen Press). At Manga Life, Charles Webb gives us a first-timer’s look at volume nine of Black God (Yen Press). Lastly, at TangognaT, Anna talks about the first four volumes of Goong (Yen Press).

With such a small bounty to share this week, it seems like a good time to check out the (nearly) equally short list of this year’s new manhwa series. Though we’ve seen quite a few new volumes of continuing series this year, new series have been scarce–just four by my count as of the end of June.

Yen Press is this year’s overachiever so far, with two (count ’em, two) new series since January began, One Fine Day and Laon. …

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Manhwa Monday: July Preview

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

It’s a fairly quiet month for manhwa releases, with the only new print volumes coming from Yen Press, including the final volume of Pig Bride. Other releases include volume twelve of Angel Diary, volume five of Sugarholic, volume three of Jack Frost, and my personal pick of the bunch, volume three of Yun JiUn’s collection of ghost stories, Time and Again.

Time and Again has gotten quite a bit of attention this past week, beginning with the recent Off the Shelf column, in which Michelle Smith and I discuss the series’ first volume. Michelle later makes good on her promise to review volumes 1-3 at Soliloquy in Blue.

Then, at Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie takes a look at volume three, “Wow, this series really hits its stride with this volume. Each of the chapters held me enthralled…

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Magical JxR, Vol. 1

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Magical JxR | By Lee Sun-Young | Published by Udon Entertainment | Rated Teen (13+) – Jay and Aru are young wizards, ready to graduate from wizarding school. To fulfill their final graduation test, they must make a contract to help a human girl, Cho-Ah. Hidden in the fine print, however, are the contract’s real terms, mandating that the two of them spend an entire year with her!

Though the previous appears to be the intended plot for this manhwa (as evidenced by very similar copy on the back of its cover), it’s difficult to know for sure, since the concept doesn’t actually appear until halfway through the volume. Though the earlier chapters do revolve around the two wizards as little boys, they read like false starts, as though Lee (or her editor) changed her mind several times before deciding on a story to tell.

As a result, the series’ first volume is a fairly frustrating read that really doesn’t get anywhere until the last few pages, in which it introduces the story’s main plot before cruelly coming to an end. Fortunately, it is the story’s most intriguing characters, Jay, Aru, and Cho-Ah, who will advance to the series’ next volumes.

Jay and Aru may be wizards, but it is their contrasting personalities (ice cold Jay and smiling Aru) that make them worth reading about, not their run-of-the-mill magical powers. Their relationship as partners is fun to watch as well, though this is more effectively established in the volume’s later chapters than in the early bits of backstory.

The real star, however, is Cho-Ah, who struggles between her natural abilities as a martial artist and her desire to be seen as a girly-girl. And it is the prospect of learning more about her that makes the most compelling argument for moving on to further volumes.

Lee’s artwork is a mishmash of beauty and chaos, with pretty, pretty character designs (quite similar to those by Sirial in Yen Press’ One Fine Day) and over-crowded panels that are sometimes so spastic and so full of different types of text, it’s difficult to tell what to read first. The worst of the mess has calmed by the volume’s later chapters, however, providing much hope going forward.

Though Magical JxR is by no means original or even particularly coherent, Lee’s pretty artwork and likable female lead provide enough genuine charm to warrant moving on to the next volume.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

June Manhwa Moveable Feast: Endnotes

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As the month winds down, so does the fifth Manga Moveable Feast (or the first Manhwa Moveable Feast, however you care to look at it).

Before I close, here’s a quick look at the month’s final entry, from Alexander Hoffman at Eye of the Vortex. Alex’s take on the series manifests itself as a thoughtful, humorous comparison to so-called “Oscar bait.”

“When I read the Color of Trilogy, I am reminded immediately of the Oscars, and more specifically, the movies that that win Oscars because the Academy loves the trope of cinema these films belong to. Some cinegeeks call them “Oscarbait” and the reason is clear – they’re films that try their damnedest to win an Oscar by appealing to things that the Academy cares about, and they usually air within the last two months before the Oscars are awarded. Films like these are art-house indie flicks, and they are generally not well known to the general public. …

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Manhwa Monday: MMF & More!

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday! As the Manhwa Moveable Feast continues, here is a quick roundup of the latest contributions from participants.

First, at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Jason Yadao reviews the series with a humorous nod to its (literally) flowery, metaphorical language.

“From the opening pages, where two beetles are shown entwined in their tight rope of love, this story flows in one direction, carrying one theme: Life is all about the buds that blossom between a man and a woman; all other matters are mere leaves that fall and litter the ground. And under this canopy, the flowers of women can only bloom to their fullest potential with the gentle rain provided by men.”

Though Jason makes his point regarding the manhwa-ga’s …

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Hissing, Vols. 1-6

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Hissing | By Kang EunYoung | Published by Yen Press | Rated T (Teen) – High school freshman Da-Eh is an aspiring manhwa artist who carefully ignores constant cries for attention from her doting younger brother. Fellow freshman Sun-Nam, the youngest of three boys, is bound and determined to become a “bad guy.” Finally, senior Ta-Jun, the school hottie, finds himself drawn to the one girl who can’t stand him, Da-Eh. If this is where the story stopped, there would be nothing at all remarkable about it, and over the course of the first volume or so, that’s seemingly where things stand. Fortunately, both the story and Kang’s method of telling it soon become more complex.

Read the rest at Brigid Alverson’s MangaBlog, where it’s been posted as a guest review! This series gets off to a very slow start, but for patient readers it is well worthwhile. This is my second guest appearance at MangaBlog. I hope you’ll let me know what you think! Check it out here.

MMF: Weekend Linkage

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It’s been a lively week here for the Manhwa Moveable Feast! Here are links to a few recent contributions as we head off into the weekend:

First, at Extremely Graphic, Sadie Mattox uses her always powerful wit to compare the Color of Water to Dawson’s Creek:

“There’s been a lot of heat over why Ehwa seems so…delicate. But the answer is clear. It says so in the book – she’s a flower. Duh. A flower like Joey Potter. Which makes Bongsoon Jen Lindley. Look I dislike the flower analogy as much as the next person but it’s a comforting one. This whole book is about comfort, finding it in the past, finding it in innocence, finding it in love. There’s an entire bad world out there where people are not beautiful flowers and there’s plenty of books written about it.” …

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MMF Links: Mulling on Sexism

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The subject of sexism in the Color trilogy became central in yesterday’s new contributions to the Manhwa Moveable Feast, beginning with David Welsh’s post “Good girls don’t.

I’m not really inclined to appreciate Kim Dong Hwa’s The Color of… trilogy as an accurate representation of its time. I’m not a cultural historian, so I have no idea what things were like for women in pre-industrial Korea. I just know that I don’t really care for its portrayal of “good” women as passive and patient, no matter how elegantly drawn it is. “I think that the process of a girl becoming a woman is one of the biggest mysteries and wonders of life,” the creator said in an interview. I wish he had thought harder about that mystery and hadn’t imposed what strikes me as such a male notion of wonder upon it.

David goes on to discuss Kim’s treatment of Ehwa’s sexually active friend, Bongsoon.…

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MMF: Wednesday Update!

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June’s Manhwa Moveable Feast has just begun its third day and things look lively! Here’s a quick rundown of the most recent contributions from participants.

First, from Erica Friedman at Okazu (hosted here for lack of yuri) comes a review of the third book in the Color series, The Color of Heaven.

While Erica praises the book’s artwork, she takes issue with its metaphoric vision of a woman as an eternally rooted being with no purpose other than to wait for a man to distinguish her from the lot.

“I felt that the language of the book was both very beautiful and awkward. Laced heavily with unrealistic platitudes that are increasingly heaped upon our heads, many of them about the “lot of women,” I began to find the dialogue burdensome. Women, we are told, are plain trees in the winter that wait …

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MMF Guest Review: The Color of Heaven

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Review by Erica Friedman

In any series focusing on the passage of a girl from childhood to womanhood, the focus almost invariably tends to be on the relationship between the young woman and her partner. Their recognition of their interest in and eventually, desire for, one another takes up a great deal of the narrative.

In Color of Heaven, Ehwa’s journey to adulthood is told through the shifting relationship she has with her mother – a woman who has chosen the same fate as the one Ehwa now embraces. They both sit and wait for the man they love to return to them to give their lives meaning.

Ehwa, at the opening of the book, has already matured beyond her best friend and peer. While the other girl speaks of the men she might have and the wedding she aspires to, Ehwa has already set that phase aside…

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Manhwa Monday: MMF Begins!

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Today marks the beginning of June’s Manga Moveable Feast, which is actually a Manhwa Moveable Feast, hosted right here! I start things off with an introduction to the series, Kim Dong Hwa’s “Color” Trilogy. Though this story of a young girl’s coming-of-age is Eisner-nominated (the first manhwa series to become so) it’s been a controversial one among reviewers, so this Feast is sure to be full of interesting (and perhaps heated) discussion.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber chimes in first, with a review of the full series at her blog, All About Manga. Daniella takes issue with both the series’ (literally) flowery language and its portrayal of the lead character’s easy relationship with her single mother. The review is heavily personalized, mainly due to what Daniella sees as similarities between her own family and Ehwa’s.

“While I realize that Ehwa and I live in much different times…

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