NETCOMICS, the graphic novel publisher that specializes in the online pay-per-view service of manhwa and manga series, is excited to announce the release of five new, fresh from Japan, yaoi titles to be published in the coming months. Age Called Blue and Dining Bar Akira will hit the shelves in August 2009. Black-Winged Love, Love Full of Scars, and Merry Family Plan will be available in October 2009. For those ever-eager fans who can’t possibly wait that long, the publisher will be debuting these titles at NETCOMICS.com months ahead of their release dates—beginning as early as March 2009.

Dining Bar Akira by Tomoko Yamashita centers on the happenings in a bar Kuimonodokoro Akira runs. Although the 32-year-old has never given thought to being in a relationship with a man, Akira seriously considers the proposition when he receives a sudden love confession from his male colleague, 26 year-old Torihara. It’s no secret that new relationships can bring about their fair share of stress, but one with another man? And, with a colleague to boot? Finding himself in quite a conundrum, Akira struggles with his pride as an older man facing a younger and male pursuer, never mind that busy bar he’s responsible for managing.

Age Called Blue by Est Em follows two friends, Billy and Nick. These boys have been living as roommates while doing everything they can to promote their band, “The Rebels.” Billy has been harboring feelings for Nick for some time, but hasn’t yet found the nerve to try and move their relationship beyond the boundaries of normal friendship. In the world of struggling artists, trouble is always on the horizon, and is soon to rear its head as the other members of the band grow tired of Nick’s free-thinking and easy-going ways. They want the “hippy” out of the band, leaving Billy with a heart-wrenching choice: Should he follow his life-long desire to make music, a career he’s thrown countless hours of time into? Or, should he side with the boy who stole his heart long ago, his true best friend, Nick?

Black-winged Love by Tomoko Yamashita focuses on the predicaments gay characters face because of their sexuality. In a tale of schoolboy crushes, a protective sister tries to stop a group of homophobes from harassing her brother. Worse yet, she discovers it’s the object of her brother’s affections leading the harassment. Another young student, Kanome, finds himself alone in the library with a classmate he has the hots for. By sexually charging the conversation, Kanome’s clever tongue may score him a bit of action. A more serious sketch follows Minori, a boy who is debating about coming out to his family. Shortly after he decides that neither he nor his family is ready, his sister jumps the gun and outs him at the dinner table. Once the shock fades and the dust settles, will this family be able to come together in acceptance, or has Minori forever torn his family apart? Other stories introduce the heartbreak of unreciprocated life-long devotion, a glimpse into the nightlife of a sultry hustler, and the hilarious antics caused by sexual tension between friends. Black-winged Love touches on some of the more serious struggles that can arise from one’s sexuality, without forgetting the lighter side of love.

Love Full of Scars by Delico Psyche follows some of the rougher, odder, and even taboo relationships known to the yaoi genre. Youkou is a heartthrob who is reputed to have quite the technique in the bedroom. His friend, Yukio, well aware of his reputation, begins to worry when Youkou starts coming home with cuts and bruises. In another atypical story, Ishimoto discovers he and his driver’s ed. instructor share the same passion for action-hero figurines. While bonding over their miniature, plastic heroes, the two get hopelessly drunk, and Ishimoto finds himself butt-naked in his instructor’s bed the next morning. In an odd tale of forbidden love, Fumi is quite taken with the handsome man his brother has become while studying abroad, perhaps even a little too taken. Conflicted by desires to both embrace and push each other away, these siblings struggle to regain a normal, brotherly bond in the face a tempting, tabooed path. The stories in Love Full of Scars tell of both the physical and emotional marks that tough love can leave on a person.

Merry Family Plan—Sumitomo Morozumi’s debut work—compiles her light-but-lively stories that have just the right mixture of comedy and boyhood angst, filled with plenty of adorable moments. Typical school boy Shibutani has always had trouble staying interested in his girlfriends, but when mild-mannered Yoshizumi transfers to his class, his interest is strangely piqued. As Shibutani tries to get to know his new classmate, he finds Yoshizumi to be awkward and even hostile. Other delightfully-crafted stories include a high school boy with a bizarre mask fetish deeply in lust with his dentist; a boyfriend’s jealously over the close relationship between his lover and a best friend; and a couple who are overtly pouting over who should be on top in the bedroom. The stories of Merry Family Plan rest humorously on the lighter side. Coupled with Morozumi’s unique art style, this wacky romp down yaoi lane is sure to leave readers feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

All of these highly-anticipated titles are hot-off-the-press in Japan and are expected to leave NETCOMICS’ yaoi fans giggling, squealing, and craving more of that sweet boys’ love action. Aside from these five steamy new titles, NETCOMICS remains the leading publisher for online yaoi reading pleasures. Over 30 boys love and yaoi titles are currently available with just the click of a mouse.

Publishers Weekly

Top 10 Manga for 2008
by Kai-Ming Cha

If there’s one word to sum up the past year, it would be “stealth.” Despite the slowdown in manga’s growth, the restructuring at TokyoPop and Yen Press, lay-offs at Borders, and the persistent rumors of Kodansha’s entry into the market, 2008 was an incredible year for manga. This was the year that manga spread its wings. We saw more variety in content coming from traditional manga publishers like Del Rey, who gave us Me and the Devil Blues, a deeply researched, fictionalized history of blues guitarist Robert Johnson’s life and mythology. Meanwhile, Viz Media continued sneaking josei (manga for young women) into the market by packaging it in the unsuspecting shojo (girl’s manga) packaging. Honey & Clover, about art school students, and Sand Chronicles, a new kind of high school romance with an air of sophistication, introduced a different sort of soap opera: one that left high drama for the subtle layers of human needs and the dangers of proximity. While Viz has never shied away from josei (their flagship title for this genre is Nana) 2008 was the first year the largely teen manga publisher had so much output that appealed to a maturing audience.

Likewise, American arthouse comics publishers joined Vertical, Inc in reaching and cultivating a taste for manga within the indie/arthouse crowd. PictureBox introduced readers to Yuichi Yokoyama’s Travel, a rhythmic meditation on movement, while Drawn&Quarterly’s July release of Seiichi Hayashi’s Red Colored Elegy made this past summer a summer of heartbreak.

With the Viz’s commitment to older readers reiterated in their February launch of two of Naoki Urasawa’s mature series (20th Century Boys, and his joint venture with Tezuka Productions, PLUTO) and Top Shelf’s launch of the AX anthology, 2009, as lean and tough as it’s expected to be, might possibly be manga’s official entry—not into the book world or the teen world, but into the comics world. A year of legitimacy for a maturing market.

With that in mind, here are 10 titles from 2008 to get you ready for the coming year:

10. The Ice Wanderer by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

In his trademark precision drawings, Taniguchi depicts adventure in the American northern frontier, adapting the adventures of Jack London and the themes of The Call of the Wild. Ice Wanderer also includes a couple of sweet, romantic, short stories, one of which looks autobiographical.

9. Tokko: Devil’s Awaken by Tohru Fujisawa (Tokyopop)

Blood and gore adventure from the creator of GTO, Fujisawa’s story of a young man’s plan for vengeance (and a secret police task force that deals with the supernatural) is good, messy, and frightening, fun.

8. Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Azuma chronicles his day-to-day activities after the life altering decision to leave his wife and child and abandon his job to run away from home. Living off of the half-smoked cigarette butts of strangers and digging through dumpsters for food, Azuma’s Diary almost functions as a how-to manual for living on the streets. Humorous and unblinking in its honesty, Disappearance Diary is a reminder of why none of us should ever abandon our families to live off of dumpster food. Although, it didn’t work on Azuma himself. After returning home from his foray on the streets, Azuma runs away from home a second time.

7. Two Will Come by Kyungok Kang (NETCOMICS)

Part suspense, part horror, all mystery, Kang weaves together a thrilling narrative of family deception and high school secrecy. In Jina’s family, one person from every generation will be murdered. In Jina’s generation, it will be her—and it will be done by someone she knows. Deft and masterful storytelling by one of the best creators to come from Korea, Kang’s craft is impeccable.

6. GANTZ by Hiroya Oku (Dark Horse)

Optimizing the feelings of isolation and alienation, Oku brings together a cast of strangers to live out an alternate death scenario hunting down aliens. A mix of blood, violence, and action of all sorts make this thorough entertainment for the 15-year-old boy in all of us.

5. Solanin by Inio Asano (Viz)

Easily mistaken for josei, Solanin originally appeared in a seinen manga (manga for young men) anthology. The narrative is nothing new—post-college 20-year-olds trying to figure out life—but infused with a sense of immediacy as they try to figure out how they’re going to stay solvent in high cost Tokyo. The outcome will surprise you.

4. Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima (Del Rey)

An adventure series filled with slapstick humor and magic, Fairy Tail is funny and action packed for boys, but made to be enjoyed by just about anyone.

3. Red Colored Elegy by Seiichi Hayashi (Drawn & Quarterly)

Hayashi’s portrayal of young love against the backdrop of student demonstrations and political turbulence is rendered in stark ink drawings that paint sadness and hope during the young couples emotional ups and downs. A soft, kinetic energy plays through the entire book, reflecting the multiple directions the two protagonists wander in while Hayashi controls the energy to emote feelings of stillness, and silent longing.

2. We Were There by Yuki Obata (Viz)

Not your typical high school romance, although it looks it at the outset, We Were There captures the anxieties of first love and the devastation of first heart break in fine layers of delicately woven narrative. We Were There gets under your skin. And stays there.

1. Slam Dunk! by Takehiko Inoue (Viz)

Inoue’s series about high school thug Hanamichi Sakuragi’s struggle to learn and excel at basketball (a sport he hates) in order to win the affection of a female classmate captures the energy and lore of 1990′s NBA history. This isn’t Japan’s most beloved manga of all time for nothing.

January 6, 2009

Luv Luv Press on NETCOMICS.com!

LuvLuv Press, the josei imprint of Aurora Publishing, will have their titles available for purchase and viewing on NETCOMICS’ site starting early October 2008. Readers will see the first release in October, and the following releases will come one per month. Following with NETCOMICS’ format, readers will be able to see a free preview of the first chapter of any particular title’s first release. Since LuvLuv Press’ current releases are one-shots, all of them will have free previews. “We are extremely thrilled to be partnering with NETCOMICS,” said Aurora President Mr. Nobuo Kitawaki. “The online market is another great possibility to expand the English manga market, and NETCOMIC’s expertise will contribute greatly to that.”

“We are very excited to have Aurora join our platform to provide their manga to online readers.” said NETCOMICS’ president Heewoon Chung. “Together with Aurora’s popular manga titles, our service will appeal to a broader range of readers, and our partnership will bring it to new heights.”

Readers will first see Voices of Love, by Kanae Hazuki – LuvLuv Press’ debut release and a hot seller at Anime Expo and Otakon. A collection of five romantic, hot and sexy stories about modern women and the men they love. All of the stories depict romantic and physical relationships with nothing held back.

Next comes Real Love by Mitsuki Oda. Twins Shu and Shun have no luck in love until Shu gets reacquainted with her former lover, Naomichi. While their past love fell apart, could it be that a relationship like the one they shared is what they have been looking for all along?

Third will be Love for Dessert by Hana Aoi, another Anime Expo and Otakon bestseller. Another collection of shorts, the title story is about Rei, a cheerful and happy-go-lucky girl who loves sweets, and her grumpy co-worker Kazune, who doesn’t like whipped cream until he kisses it off her.

Recently released in July, the next release from LuvLuv to NETCOMICS will be Pretty Poison by Yutta Narukami. Already proving itself to be the best LuvLuv release so far, Pretty Poison centers around Riyako, whose dreams of the perfect marriage are shattered when her ex cheats on her. Heartbroken, she has a one night stand with a young man, only to realize he has a connection to her ex. Vulnerable yet suspicious, she can’t help but to fall victim to his poison.

September brings the paper release of Make Love & Peace by Takane Yonetani, the first LuvLuv Press multi-volume series, which will quickly follow on NETCOMICS. College student Ayame’s boyfriend is the handsome detective Koichi. After a destined meeting and the spark between them, life in the force causes constant trouble. While all they want is some peace… what they get is some hot & spicy love!

November brings the paper format of Sounds of Love by Rin Tanaka, another multi-volume series by LuvLuv Press. Music has always been a powerful source of stimulation, and for Kyoichiro, a hot new pianist, his manager Kazune creates the perfect sounds of love for him. With Kyoichiro’s arrogance, she can’t help but to feel like his erotic plaything… but is that the truth? Sounds of Love is an erotic romance that will stimulate your senses with the rhythm of passion.

About LuvLuv Press:

LuvLuv (established 2008) is the Ladies Comics/Josei Manga imprint created by Aurora Publishing, Inc. Described as passionate manga for women, LuvLuv graphic novels depict realistic sexual relationships and real life romances, themes and storylines from a woman’s perspective. All LuvLuv titles are rated “M” for mature (ages 18+). Why let guys have all the fun? More information can be found online at: www.luvluv-press.com. “Feel the passion!”

October 1, 2008
- Aurora Publishing, Inc

Glendale, CA, June 9, 2008–NETCOMICS, the graphic novel publisher that specializes in the online pay-per-view service of manhwa and manga titles, is launching its first American comic: Tales of the Closet, on its website www.NETCOMICS.com today.

As with all NETCOMICS titles, online readers can sample the first chapter for free, and pay 25 cents per chapter to read the subsequent chapters.

Ivan Velez, Jr., author of such titles as Blood Syndicate, A Man Called Holocaust, Abominations, Ghost Rider, and Static, and co-author of Dead High, among others, is an advocate of creating comic books about everyday people. Working with Milestone Media, his publisher, Velez has championed his ideal that comic books don’t necessarily have to be about superheroes. “All comic books before [Milestone] tended to be told from a very upper-middle-class viewpoint,” states Velez, in a recent interview with the New York Times. Shying away from the traditional superhero bent, the non-traditional heroes Velez creates are complex, down-to-earth, and, above all, real people.

In his longest running series to date, Tales of the Closet, Velez takes his credo of creating people who look, sound, and act like most people in the world and runs with it. The first volume, alone, introduces the readers to gay and bi-sexual teens, homophobic jocks, and everyone in between. From the already “outted” Scott Lind, to the deeply troubled Ramona, we’re given not only a look into their school lives, but the home life that frames and dictates who they’ve become. Each of the characters struggles with the ideas of their own sexuality, coming to grips with how society, family, and even they, themselves, will deal with their burgeoning self-identities. High school life is bad enough, but when torn between conformity and being true to one’s self, the reality can be harsher than we’d hope for.

Since its launch in January 2006, NETCOMICS has been offering its full line of manhwa titles in both online and print formats. As of 2007, the publisher has extended its online offerings to include Japanese manga titles, as well as titles from Yaoi Press, LLC, who specializes in yaoi manga created by western artists. NETCOMICS.com currently offers about 200 volumes in 61 series.

June 9, 2008

NETCOMICS, the New Jersey-based offspring of Seoul’s Ecomix, has earned a reputation for bringing high-quality Korean comics (manhwa) to the English-speaking market. This July, the publisher will release on their website cm0 and Three Times Before the Kiss, their first Japanese manga titles. Already catering to international consumers, NETCOMICS will now also be a vehicle for international authors.

Kazumi Tohno, one of NETCOMICS’ first two Japanese authors, made her manga debut with Medicine Yubi Princess (Kusuriyubi-Hime). Five years later, she became a freelance cartoonist. She is a native of the Yamaguchi prefecture in southern Japan.

Her first title published by NETCOMICS, cm0 (originally published in Chorus magazine), tells the story of a romance between a university student, Hasumi, and a young woman, Miharu—who also happens to be Hasumi’s professor. Miharu is engaged, but after hearing rumors about Miharu with Hasumi, Miharu’s fiancé begins to suspect foul play and breaks off the relationship, claiming to have met another girl. Newly single and somewhat lost in her own life, Miharu finds comfort in the arms of Hasumi, never truly believing that the whims she follows while on the rebound will have any lasting effects. Through a series of chance encounters, misunderstandings, and realizations, all told with thoroughly convincing and poetic style, the separate lives of student and teacher become intricately intertwined.

Jion Imamoto, the other of NETCOMICS’ first Japanese authors, worked primarily as a shojo artist from 2002-2004 (under the pen name Kaori Yanagida). She began using her current pen name in 2006 when she began concentrating on shonen-ai. She also works as an illustrator, mainly in Tokyo and Osaka.

Three Times Before the Kiss, her first title to be released by NETCOMICS, is a romance story about the struggles involved in maintaining a long-distance relationship. Keiko and Shun are a young couple only able to visit each other once a month. During these visits, they make sure to make up for lost time in as many pleasurable—and increasingly creative—ways as possible. When Keiko finds a receipt from a love hotel in her boyfriend Shun’s pocket, however—a hotel that she has never visited—doubt and suspicion begin to take hold of her imagination. Her worst fears seem to be confirmed when Shun mentions his new “friend” Kiku, a pretty, flirtatious girl in Shun’s music club who is all too popular with the boys. Keiko, meanwhile, has her own share of trouble resisting temptation while Shun is away. Told from both lovers’ perspectives, Three Times Before the Kiss is a stark, frank story that humorously portrays the familiar world of college romance.

Also included in the same volume are two other shorts. Be My Thing is about Narumi, a naïve—yet somehow super kinky—girl who falls for the new transfer student, Yuuki. His innocence and inexperience, however, make Yuuki shy, even in the face of Narumi’s obvious advances. Narumi, however, takes on the challenge with little hesitation and makes bold moves to win Yuuki’s affections—and more. Three Rosy Choices is a twisted romance about 24-year-old Makoto, who has never had a woman make the first move with him before. Then, in one day, three women suddenly profess their love for him. Makoto has one week to decide: a lusty 34-year-old CEO, a sweet 25-year-old who’s amazing in the kitchen, and a bubbly 23-year-old fellow student. At the end of the week, Makoto discovers one factor that all the women have in common. When this new information comes to light, it takes a special effort from one of the women to help Makoto reach his decision. Both of these shorter works are pleasantly light, funny, and romantic, serving as the perfect complements to the volume’s title story.

Besides these works, NETCOMICS plans to introduce fourteen more manga titles, all brand new to the English-speaking market, before the end of the year. If these first releases are any indication, NETCOMICS’ first foray into the world of manga promises to be a rewarding one.

June 28, 2007

NETCOMICS, a New Jersey-based online/offline graphic novel publisher, will provide manga titles from Yaoi Press, an Original English Language (OEL) publisher of yaoi manga, through its website NETCOMICS.com starting June 15th. The website allows subscribers to sample opening chapters for free and to read entire volumes for about US$1.00 each.

Yaoi Press is the first publisher to employ NETCOMICS.com as an online service platform. Prior to this agreement, NETCOMICS has featured its own 32 manhwa series exclusively. The deal was made and announced in February, during New York Comic-Con 2007, after a conversation between company executives.

Yaoi Press plans to initially release 18 titles on NETCOMICS’ website. Several of these series already have early volumes available in print, which will be the first to appear on NETCOMICS.com. Online publishing will quickly catch up with Yaoi Press’ printing, however, allowing readers to view the publisher’s titles before they are available in print by mid-2008.

NETCOMICS plans to release two Yaoi Press titles per month, beginning with Yamila Abraham’s Winter Demon, (art by Studio Kosaru). This story of obsession, punishment, and repentance is a thrilling fantasy, revolving around a monk named Hakuin and the snow demon Fuyu. Fuyu once tormented Hakuin and is still dangerously infatuated with him, but Hakuin is forced to reluctantly seek Fuyu’s help when three fire demons attack his village. In return for his aid, Fuyu demands Hakuin to become his slave, only to realize, too late, that he is no match for the three vicious fire demons. When one of the demons places Fuyu in the same situation in which he once held his beloved Hakuin, Fuyu begins to repent of his former wickedness and starts to hope for redemption in the eyes of Hakuin. With racy fantasy and sexy supernatural beings, NETCOMICS’ first online yaoi publication is sure to entertain fans of the genre, and will be available this month at NETCOMICS.com.

June 14, 2007

BusinessWeek. News & Features.

Forget Manga. Here’s Manwha
Comics account for 25% all book sales in South Korea. Can they replicate that success—and challenge traditional Japanese market dominance—in the US?

by David Welsh

American comics connoisseurs, add this to your personal lexicon: manhwa. It’s the Korean term for comics, just as manga denotes comics from Japan, and with a host of publishers bringing new manhwa titles to the States for the first time, it’s poised to become a household word among fanboys and pop culture mavens alike.

The manhwa invasion has been a long time coming. Manga wedged open the cross-cultural door in the ’80s, bringing a fresh sensibility to fans raised on Superman and X-Men. But even with the subsequent comics explosion in America, manhwa has remained almost entirely in manga’s shadow. Early Korean releases were often published as manga, with no marketing effort to distinguish their true origins. Aside from the fact that they’re read from front to back and left to right, a reader unfamiliar with Korean comics might have found it difficult to place books like the gothic western Priest, or painterly supernatural romance Model, in a specific cultural tradition of cartooning. And yet it is a tradition as passionately maintained as that of Japan. According to one manhwa publisher, comics accounts for about 25 percent of all book sales in South Korea, while more than 3 million Korean users access paid online manhwa and 10 million read free webcomics. And, thanks in part to a comics industry that tends to cede more control to artists, manhwa allows for a level of individual expression, in storytelling and style, that is not always found in manga.

Now, as a growing number of comics publishers in the U.S. have begun treating manhwa as a distinct form, newcomers to Korean comics have access to a diverse range of genres, from raucous comedies and tense science fiction and fantasy to high-octane adventure, period dramas, and slice-of-life romances. Even “boys’-love” stories for women—romances that don’t address gay themes in a traditional sense but focus on intense emotional connections between beautiful male protagonists—are making their way to American bookstore shelves.

Leading the U.S. charge are two Korean-owned publishing concerns, Ice Kunion and NETCOMICS. Ice Kunion, a consortium of Korean publishers who joined forces to bring their titles directly to English-speaking readers, has debuted with releases targeted at young women. (The Japanese equivalent, shôjo, was an early hit in America with titles like Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon.) Ju-Yuon Lee, Ice Kunion’s senior editor, aims to “provide books that the audience would already like, but also try to introduce some titles that have more of a Korean touch.”

Choosing manhwa titles that will appeal to an American audience represents one challenge; another is the introduction of the Korean web-publishing approach. “In recent years, the market in Korea for print books of manhwa has been shrinking rapidly,” says Heewoon Chung, head of the Jersey City, New Jersey–based NETCOMICS, and its parent company, Ecomix. One of Korea’s leading providers of online comics, Ecomix has also broken into the promising market of manhwa for mobile devices like cell phones. Says Chung, “There have been some breakthrough titles originating on the web. Korea’s online comics market is evolving, and you can’t find this kind of market anywhere else.”

Considering American comics fans’ comfort on the web, Chung can reasonably hope to develop a similar market here. NETCOMICS caters to the U.S. audience’s customary means of consumption with print titles, but it’s the company’s online delivery system that has potential to change the face of comics publishing in this country. Visitors to the publisher’s website can sample the company’s growing roster of titles for roughly 25 cents a chapter. Chung estimates that by this spring, NETCOMICS will have 75 volumes of 25 series in print, and more than 120 volumes of 30 series on the web.

These numbers encompass an impressive range of subject matter and treatment. Marley’s Dokebi Bride is a coming-of-age fantasy about the heir to a family of traditional shamans balancing domestic angst with supernatural peril; Doha’s The Great Catsby features a modern-day slacker navigating the mortifications of single life. Sooyeon Won’s Let Dai, a popular title in the “boys’-love” genre, follows the unlikely romance between a vicious punk and an innocent schoolboy; and JTK’s Madtown Hospital is a deranged workplace comedy with hospital hijinks that surpass those of Grey’s Anatomy. The illustrative styles in manhwa also vary greatly, from Marley’s blend of elegant romanticism and emotional intensity to Doha’s loose-lined, humorous work on Catsby. X Diary, a free web comic, uses a charming, almost Peanuts-like minimalism to chart a post-breakup relationship.

NETCOMICS and Ice Kunion are leading the manhwa revolution, but others are also betting on a growing American appetite for the comics. Tokyopop was one of the first North American publishers to make a concerted effort at licensing manhwa, though Jeremy Ross, the company’s director of new product development, notes that Tokyopop is sticking to the “manga” tag for all of its output. “While we acknowledge the nationality of all our creators, we don’t believe it should be advanced as a primary factor for categorization,” Ross explains. “Americans, for better or for worse, tend to accept only a few new foreign products or concepts at a time, and we felt we would fail if we tried to introduce to a mass audience the terms manga, manhwa, and manhua.” (Manhua are comics from China.)

With other American publishers entering the manhwa field all the time, Tokyopop could probably stand to be more sanguine. Among its competitors is Dark Horse Comics, best known for blockbusters like Sin City. Dark Horse recently launched its own manhwa line with action-rich titles like Kim Young-Oh’s Banya: The Explosive Deliveryman, a story rife with political machinations, and Park Joong-Ki’s Shaman Warrior, which uses shifting “camera angles” to unfold its mix of swordplay, wizardry, and intrigue.

Tran Nguyen, the publisher at another new manhwa player, DramaQueen, says, “We really wanted to honor the artists from Korea,” adding that the company is specifically interested in titles that appeal to older teens and adults. DramaQueen launched a line of romantic manhwa late last year, beginning with Audition and DVD from Kye Young Chon, whose style embraces the angularity and delicacy of line sometimes associated with manhwa visuals.

Where in this tidal wave of Korean comics are the offerings from North Korea? For the most part, the country’s extraordinary isolation seems as prohibitive to the distribution of comics as it is to much else. According to Heewoon Chung, some North Korean comics were imported to South Korea recently, but they were educational titles dealing mostly with issues of ideology or morality. The North Korean manhwa viewable online, while technically accomplished, often looks severely dated.

South Korean manhwa, which exists easily in a global comics culture, has no such setbacks, but other factors may keep it from achieving the level of popularity that manga attained in such a short time. Animated versions of manga played a significant role in boosting sales; so far, manhwa has yet to tap into that kind of lucrative adaptation, here or in Korea. However, manhwa is due to get a live-action boost onscreen in the States: One of Tokyopop’s earliest manhwa acquisitions, Hyung’s Priest, is being adapted into a film produced by Sam Raimi, director of the Spider-Man films, and scheduled for release in 2008.

Meanwhile, manhwa publishers are mounting increasing presences at western comics conventions like San Diego’s Comic-Con International and the New York Comic Con, ensuring that American fans come into contact with manhwa. When they do, they’ll see part of a rich national oeuvre, and maybe they will connect with it as they have with Japan’s manga. As with comics from any country, it’s the power to enthrall readers that will ultimately make the difference.

April 23, 2007

While celebrating its 1 year anniversary in the U.S. today, NETCOMICS is gearing up for the New York Comic Con, which is set to take place on February 23-25, 2007. At booth # 332, NETCOMICS will be introducing their most talked-about artist of 2006: Marley, the creator of Dokebi Bride.

With PWCW’s top #1: The Great Catsby and top #5: 0/6 (Zero/Six) manhwa of 2006 on their backlist, they are still expanding their splendid library with 10 head-turning new titles in the New Year.

January 10, 2007

(updated January 24 – Doha won’t be able to attend NYCC.)

Comics Briefly – PW Comics Week

Korean comics publisher NETCOMICS is launching three new online manhwa series simultaneously in English (NETCOMICS.com) and in Korean through eComiX.co.kr, NETCOMICS’ Korean affiliate. The online manhwa are June, a sci-fi thriller by Youngran Lee; 100% Perfect Girl, a romantic series by Wann; and Roureville, a fantasy drama with shonen-ai undertones by E.Hae. The online series will all launch in September. June will be available in bookstores in October and 100% Perfect Girl and Roureville will be available in bookstores in early 2007.

NETCOMICS presents three exclusive brand-new titles. With simultaneous releases in both the U.S. and Korea beginning September 2006, these titles are making their debuts only at NETCOMICS.com and eComiX.co.kr (NETCOMICS’ Korean affiliate) as an on-going online series.

June –Youngran Lee
From the artistic stables of one of today’s fastest growing manhwa publishers comes “June”, a riveting tale beset with intrigue, deception, murder, and a Frankenstein mythos. Dr. Gangjae Lee is a genius biologist with a conceited and blunt personality that has always pushed people away. But that doesn’t bother him since he’s a happy husband in his seventh year of blissful marriage to Jaehee, an astonishingly beautiful woman gifted with oodles of charm and incredible sex appeal. However, not even his beloved wife knows that he is living a double life. By day he is a brilliant college research professor, but outside class, Dr. Lee is a conspirator in a secret human cloning project run by Dr. Suh, a colleague of Jaehee’s late father. Hidden from the eyes of the world with the support of underground financial powers, Dr. Lee devotes himself to this project together with Dr. Suh and Junwoo, Jaehee’s childhood friend. Through numerous trials and errors and thousands of experiments, a few clones are born. But these miracles of science are always born with biological defects, with life spans that don’t stretch much past 7 years. Their methods improve, but the results are always the same: sub-quality clones. Things take a turn when the two doctors give birth to a sub-quality clone with an extraordinary gift –astonishing beauty, oodles of charm, and incredible sex appeal. Clone S04 is none other than the clone of Dr. Lee’s wife, and to have Jaehee’s genetic twin interacting with other men is not such a welcome miracle. They call her by three different names: Jaehee, Clone S04, and a name her lover and popular novelist Jinhun gives her, June. But June is only the beginning of Dr. Lee’s problems, for a bitter fate awaits his precious wife, one that will crumble his soul to the core….

June is yet another captivating example of the imagination of the talented Youngran Lee, whose works have already been optioned for a TV series and some feature films. Authored by the very artist of NETCOMICS Manhwa Novella Colletion Vol 1: Lie to Me, June is high art and contemporary storytelling at its finest. A great collection item for lovers of dramatic science fiction, which fans of 0/6 (Zero/Six) definitely need to check out. Coming to a bookstore near you in October 2006.

100% Perfect Girl – Wann
100% Perfect Girl is an absolute romantic delight straight from the desk of Wann, whose reputation for meticulously crafted work has received high praise from both male and female readers alike, and whose artistry has brought us such works as Can’t Lose You and Manhwa Novella Collection Vol. 2: 9 Faces of Love. This new (and ongoing) story revolves around the romance that develops between Jay Jinn, a headstrong teenage rebel who’s determined to prove she’s serious about making art, and J. Max, a tall debonair foreigner with a multimillion business empire and a background rife with secrets. On the surface, it would seem as though Jay and J. have nothing in common. But fate intervenes and a chance encounter in a hotel lobby sparks a mysterious attraction. To complicate matters however, their almost instantaneous chemistry is threatened by the interventions of friends and family who think they know best, as well as a disastrous encounter with spicy chicken kebab! A giddy romantic fable for the modern age, 100% Perfect Girl demonstrates love’s power to conquer all.

100% Perfect Girl is a vivid depiction of love’s ability to transcend not just class, but also culture, age, language, and socio-economic status—one that will put a smile even on the most jaded cynic’s face. Watch out for its simultaneous English and Korean premieres on the NETCOMICS site! Coming to a bookstore near you in January 2007.

Roureville – E.Hae
From the bestselling creator of Not So Bad comes Roureville, a mysterious fantasy drama with a shonen-ai undertone. Evan Price is a celebrated New York Times reporter, and true to his prominent journalistic lineage, he has just published an exclusive scoop that is brilliant enough to be considered for the Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, this also makes him easy prey to the many enemies he has made throughout his career. Instead of going in hiding, however, Evan decides to hole up at his press office—not the safest place for a man in Evan’s situation. Unwilling to have his star reporter remain so vulnerable to attack, the Editor-in-Chief orders Evan to cover an out-of-state story: “real” ghost sightings in a secluded village in the countryside—an article too absurd to be handled by the New York Times. For lack of a better thing to do, Evan decides to follow his editor’s orders and drives across the Midwestern desert searching for a town nobody seems to have heard of. After ten days of driving by sleepy rural villages with zero results, our lost and exhausted New Yorker is just about ready to give up. But then suddenly, a road sign pointing to “Roureville” catches his eye, and he heaves a sigh of relief. Little does he know that the end of his long road trip is just the beginning of an incredible tale.

Discerning shonen-ai and yaoi fans will love the subtle nuances of this incredibly textured story, which is laced with subtext and subplots. Smart, witty, and with hidden depth, this is definitely for the intelligent comic book reader whose tastes run the more intellectual route. With simultaneous releases in both the U.S. and Korea beginning September 2006, now English-speaking fans don’t even have to wait! In bookstores in February 2007.