Koreans kicking manga ass

[Inkthinker]

There's some seriously awesome manhwas out now.

Banya: The Explosive Deliveryman rocks.

I'm pissed that I can't find more than the first three volumes of Yongbi the Invincible (best. sidekick. EVAHR!!)

And today I picked up my first copy of Shaman Warrior, which has pretty much blown me away. Park Joong-ki has a masterful hand with faces and a brilliant sense of action, making each panel powerful and exciting. Easily up there with the best of Japan's action artists like Kishiro or Samura, I think... I'm really looking forward to seeing more of what this guy can do.

Who else am I missing? There's got to be more out there... I can't wait to get my hands on it.

[The Xenos]

I've only got a few manhwa titles. I have a couple volumes of Priest. I have the two volumes of the gothic and more female targeted Under the Glass Moon which caught my eye for some reason. I want to say I have at least one more Korean title.

Anyway, I'm quite glad to see Korean books getting some recognition. However, I hate it when they're just lumped in with manga. Knowing the history and tension between the two countries, that cannot be good. Now I certainly don't want more animosity, but I can't help but think calling their books by a Japanese name isn't going to help things.

[chojinlocke]

Wow, just so happens I recently did some work for a Korean publication on manhwa, how manga kind of overshadows it in the US (some of The Xenos comments are extremely relevant [OT--BTW, XT your post on the other thread about manga vs. comics is one of the best ones you've posted!]) and some of my faves. It was cool to write and it exposed me to much more manhwa which I will be covering in the future on Manga Island.

Inkthinker, once again I'm right with you on Banya. I LOVE that book!!!!!! It is awesome. The new Manga Island features it actually.

I suggest checking out CPM's catalog like Nambul and Armageddon. Also check out www.netcomics.com. They have TONS of free preview chapters. I fell in love with "The Great Catsby." It starts slow and the translations are really rough in the first chapters, but it gets really touching and heartwarming. Once again, there is a wide range of style and content in manhwa, and people who say that it just copies manga aren't looking hard enough. I can't wait to read more, and the Dark Horse manhwa imprint looks to be getting some great titles.

Anyway, those are some of my faves, post if you dig anything else. I want to hear what others are digging!

-TS

[OverMaster]

Ehh, I would say the thread title is a bit too... enthusiast. I've checked a decent bunch of manwhas out, and never found one I liked so much as manga. Then again, I haven't ever seen that Yongi the Invencible title at all.

[chojinlocke]

Ehh, I would say the thread title is a bit too... enthusiast. I've checked a decent bunch of manwhas out, and never found one I liked so much as manga. Then again, I haven't ever seen that Yongi the Invencible title at all.

I've found a bunch I liked that were pretty close. I like Banya more than Claymore, but not as much as Berserk. I like Catsby as much as any manga coming of age story (well it's more for adults I suppose, dealing with life as a 20 something and beyond), but you do have to search. I think the storytelling is different in the same way that Chinese manhua is different. However, everyone is going to have their faves. To me Banya kicks major butt, reminds me of something I would see in Heavy Metal magazine. Your mileage may vary though. I still suggest checking out netcomics. There is a TON of content there. Not shilling, just excited about the idea of previewing so many comics.

[Inkthinker]

And like I said, check out Shaman Warrior... the quality is very high. I'd rank it up there with Berserk and certainly Banya. Not "better than", but I can at least say "if you like that, you'll like this".

Of course I'm being enthusiastic with the thread title... I'm making a point, which is that many people have been viewing Korean comics (manhwa) as a sort of "lesser manga", and that's just not gonna cut the mustard when these consistenly excellent books are being released that demand attention and should be recognized as work separate from the Japanese diaspora of comics content, even if they initially appear to be similar to manga.

One of the more interesting things about manhwa is that Koreans read left-right, same as we do in English, so their books read left-right without being flipped.

[GloryQuest]

Threads of Time (http://www.tokyopop.com/S-1238/) is good manwha from Tokyopop that I'm really enjoying.

[The Xenos]

I picked up Shaman Warrior because my shop thought I ordered it. I wasn't sure, but I remember talking about Korean books in this thread, so I did anyway. It's on my pile with a bunch of manga I've got backlogged. That's sitting next to my pile and short box of unread comics.

[Inkthinker]

Let us know if you liked it as much as I did.

[Knightosis]

Read Rebirth. Excellent art and story-telling. Not to mention that it is,
at times, funny as hell!

[Jamal]

And like I said, check out Shaman Warrior... the quality is very high. I'd rank it up there with Berserk and certainly Banya. Not "better than", but I can at least say "if you like that, you'll like this".

Of course I'm being enthusiastic with the thread title... I'm making a point, which is that many people have been viewing Korean comics (manhwa) as a sort of "lesser manga", and that's just not gonna cut the mustard when these consistenly excellent books are being released that demand attention and should be recognized as work separate from the Japanese diaspora of comics content, even if they initially appear to be similar to manga.

One of the more interesting things about manhwa is that Koreans read left-right, same as we do in English, so their books read left-right without being flipped.

I've just got finished reading Shaman Warrior# 3 and I got to say this is hands down the best action manhwa/manga comic I've read in years. It's like a mix of Lone Wolf & Cub with Blade of the Immortal and MMA, the fight scenes are so detailed you feel like you are reading a movie. If you still haven't givin it a try you are really missing out on a great book, Ink was telling the truth about this one.

[AnimeAvatar]

I haven't gotten a chance to pick up any manhwa as of yet but i've heard lots of good things about them.

Q: How can you tell the difference between a left-right manga and a manhwa?

[The Xenos]

Easy. Manga isn't printed left to right. (Unless it's older and they flipped the pages.) Japanese reads right to left. To me, if it isn't right to left, as in it wasn't originally published in Japan, then it's not actually manga.

Korean, like English, is printed left to right. Plus I guess looking at the creator names and copyright info should tell you what country the book originates from.

Korean. Japanese. American. Chinese. European. Eh. Don't think about where it comes from. Just look for good books. Though right now more people in the US seem to buy Japanese books than anything else, even US comics.

[AnimeAvatar]

I'm kinda cruel when i buy mine. I only look at it if i like the cover art...slightly shallow i know. It's a good system though. I seems to find that if the artwork is good so is the plot. One of my better finds using that method was Alichino. I don't have the whole series yet but i've read what i have about a hundred times...it's gorgeous and the plot is great.

I think i'll have to start paying more attention when looking for my books(manga/manhwah). It's been awhile scince i bought any so there's alot more out there for me to find.


I think people in the U.S. are becoming more Japan-ised...clearly not a word... Things realating to anything foreign, mainly Japan, have become extreamily popular.

[Pikachu]

I personally like Shin Angyo Onshi by Youn In-Wan and Yang Kyung-Il. The art is amazing. And the only way I can describe it is Bleach meets Evangellion meets Lodoss War on steroids, and drawn with the same grit and detail as Inoue Takehiko uses. Crazy.

Pika! :p

[jboncha]

There's this new manwha called XS Hybrid that was recently released by Dark Horse.
I dont know much about it other than whats on the DH site --> http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-978
There's a 5 page preview there.

Here's the cover:
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/2940/xshybridvol1qa5.jpg

&

Here's the summary:
In a strange future where gifted, "hybrid" humans police the planet, Mina is a likeable tomboy with growing psychic powers. When a young boy falls into a coma after gazing into her eyes, it's clear that there's more to Mina than her pretty looks. This young boy, Hinchang, grows up to be quite a daredevil, and his awkward, secret love for Mina fuels his protective fire when mysterious men arrive, bringing the violence of the "hybrid" world with them!

The art looks great and the story seems pretty good too.
I think I'll buy it ASAP.


J B

[AnimeAvatar]

wow... i like it already

[SpydaWeb]

I personally like Shin Angyo Onshi by Youn In-Wan and Yang Kyung-Il. The art is amazing. And the only way I can describe it is Bleach meets Evangellion meets Lodoss War on steroids, and drawn with the same grit and detail as Inoue Takehiko uses. Crazy.

Pika! :p

Wikipedia says there's an anime out there of this series.

[SpydaWeb]

Ok, solely based on this thread -- I've just taken a giant leap into the still unknown to me ocean that is manhwa...I warn you though, I sink, and I'm taking all of you with me. :evilsmile

So yeah, I just ordered the following from Amazon.

Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man
Shaman Warrior
XS Hybrid
Yongbi the Invincible

and just to even things out, I also ordered Vagabond. I've read it already, but it's about time I owned this excellent series.

[SpydaWeb]

Ok, just finished reading volume one of Banya, The Explosive Delivery Man. Very short. Pretty good. I want to see what happens next so, that's definitely good news.

Tonally, Banya is a lot like Naruto. Lots of childish kidding around, but great moments of seriousness with kickass action sequences. Trigun is also another example of the tone. Though it's more like Naruto than Trigun.

I'm now reading Shaman Warrior. So, far I'm liking it better than Banya. It's not as tightly written or drawn as Blade of the Immortal, but still has a lot of the fun action and enjoyment of that series. I should be done with reading Shaman tonight. More thoughts after that.

I'll probably start in on Yongbi after that.

[Inkthinker]

Banya apparently ends with volume 05 or 06, which is okay... I like things to come around to a nice, cohesive story ending, though I'm sure they'll leave it open for more development.

Yongbi is great, but it looks like CPM has put further volumes beyond 03 on hiatus, unless something has changed in the last few weeks since I checked their site.

[SpydaWeb]

I finished Shaman Warrior volume 1 last night. Not what I was expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise. An interesting take on super-powered characters. I was hoping we'd continue to follow Yarong and his journey and wasn't expecting the abrupt change of focus. So, does this become a revenge story eventually 'cause it sure seems to be headed that way.

Didn't get a chance to start in on Yongbi last night. Will do so likely tomorrow night.

[Inkthinker]

Not exactly, so far... it becomes about Batu and Yarong's child and other Shaman Warriors who are being hunted down by the ruling class. At least, that's what it's about in volumes 2 and 3.

[Inkthinker]

Not exactly, so far... it becomes about Batu and Yarong's child and other Shaman Warriors who are being hunted down by the ruling class. At least, that's what it's about in volumes 2 and 3.

[SpydaWeb]

Finished both Yongbi The Invincible and XS Hybrid this weekend.

The creator of Yongbi is so obviously influenced by the works of Akira 'Dragon Ball' Toriyama. It's quite obvious in both the art style and humorous situations. I've gotta say; although he doesn't quite succeed in the art style, he does a great job with the narrative and general storytelling departments. Very funny, but still smart. I wasn't very convinced the first couple pages in, but by the outcome of the first major action sequence -- the bathing pool -- I was hooked. Volume 2 of this book will definitely be on my next to-buy list.

XS Hybrid, however, will not be on my future to-buy lists. It's got decent art work, but a storyline that's so convoluted that I really don't know how anyone would be willing to read past the first issue of the book, let alone the entirety of this first volume.

The story centers on a group of mostly teens/twenty-somethings that have been infected by some parasite that gives them super human abilities. Interesting concept that goes pretty much nowhere. Most of the book is blood, guts, explosions, and car crashes. Cool enough, I suppose....but with no proper storytelling to ground everything, one finds that they don't really care.

Some may compare this to Gantz, but Gantz does non-story; balls to the wall action with much more skill than this book could ever hope. I'd stay away from this one; with all ferver.

[bushboy]

I do find myself reading manwha more than manga. The main one's I read are Phantom and Utopia's Avenger

[Inkthinker]

Yeah, I was also disappointed in XS Hybrid. Completely failed to hook me.

[AnimeAvatar]

I'm having a hard time finding Manwha in the places i visit.

Is it that i go into the wrong stores or am i doing something else wrong?

[Inkthinker]

Most stores, so far as I've seen, put manga and manwha together, 'cause OF COURSE they're the same thing, right?

:D

So mostly you have to be looking for it specifically, by author or title. Or you might notice that the book you pick up reads left-right, and that's a good sign (since almost nobody prints manga flipped anymore).

[Melchior]

Most stores, so far as I've seen, put manga and manwha together, 'cause OF COURSE they're the same thing, right?

:D

So mostly you have to be looking for it specifically, by author or title. Or you might notice that the book you pick up reads left-right, and that's a good sign (since almost nobody prints manga flipped anymore).

Sorry Inkthinker, but I have a hard enough time getting co-workers and browsers at my bookstore to separate the DC titles from the Marvel titles. I do not even want to think of the difficulties trying to get the manhua, manwha, and manga separated correctly.

Worse case scenario, ask. Most bookstores keep at least one manga junkie around that can point out what's what, though I have yet to see most of the titles discussed here at my store. Guess I need to put some orders in. :)

[Inkthinker]

Tell me about it. I used to work Waldenbooks, my brother-in-law is a Borders employee, my sister (not the one married to him) is a Barnes & Nobles supervisor, dinner at my place is like a literary nerd Red vs. Blue thing.

I'm of the opinion that there ought to just be a "graphic novel" section, with all the comics sorted by genre rather than some sort of artificial "style" determination.

You know, like normal books.

:D

[SpydaWeb]

I'm pretty sure Barnes and Noble carries all the titles I commented on.

[AnimeAvatar]

Sorry Inkthinker, but I have a hard enough time getting co-workers and browsers at my bookstore to separate the DC titles from the Marvel titles. I do not even want to think of the difficulties trying to get the manhua, manwha, and manga separated correctly.

Worse case scenario, ask. Most bookstores keep at least one manga junkie around that can point out what's what, though I have yet to see most of the titles discussed here at my store. Guess I need to put some orders in. :)


"manhua, manwha, and manga"

Wait, there's three different types?! :eek: WHAT THE HECK!?
Did i miss something?

...*sigh*... i think i know who the junkies are in my local stores, i'll just ask.

[Inkthinker]

manhua: China
manwha: Korea
manga: Japan

Mostly it strikes me as an academic separation, like marking the difference between American comics and Canadian comics, but it's worth noting that Koreans read left-right, same as most of the West, so manwha is easiest for a complete comics and manga n00b to start with. The one disadvantage to handing current manga to friends who have little to no experience with comics in general is the whole reading-right-left thing (which I'm totally behind, but it does serve as a minor hurdle).

[AnimeAvatar]

manhua: China
manwha: Korea
manga: Japan

Mostly it strikes me as an academic separation, like marking the difference between American comics and Canadian comics, but it's worth noting that Koreans read left-right, same as most of the West, so manwha is easiest for a complete comics and manga n00b to start with. The one disadvantage to handing current manga to friends who have little to no experience with comics in general is the whole reading-right-left thing (which I'm totally behind, but it does serve as a minor hurdle).


I'm so glad i'm learning this now...
...lest i go and make an ass out myself arguing over it later...
Thank you...

I'm assumming there are different publishers for the three? I've gotten used to recognizing and reading the right-left Manga, but some of my collection is left-right and i'm not sure it's because it got flipped... is there a way to tell the difference?

[Inkthinker]

Dark Horse is making a point of publishing content (and often some of the very best content) from all over Asia. So if you're looking for a good place to start, that might be it. Most of the titles I've already recommended in this thread are from DH.

Manga produced prior to around 2001 is often flipped to read left-right, before it was determined that the market would support reading right-left. If you have a book published prior to the turn of the century, then it might be a bit more difficult to figure out the land of origin without a little more digging. Though over time you might gain enough famliarity with naming conventions to figure out if something is Korean, Chinese or Japanese based on the name of the author.

[AnimeAvatar]

Dark Horse is making a point of publishing content (and often some of the very best content) from all over Asia. So if you're looking for a good place to start, that might be it. Most of the titles I've already recommended in this thread are from DH.

Manga produced prior to around 2001 is often flipped to read left-right, before it was determined that the market would support reading right-left. If you have a book published prior to the turn of the century, then it might be a bit more difficult to figure out the land of origin without a little more digging. Though over time you might gain enough famliarity with naming conventions to figure out if something is Korean, Chinese or Japanese based on the name of the author.


I haven't bought any new Manga? in several years, except for a few volumes of BLEACH...
For some reason, recently i've been focusing my efforts towards Anime. I hadn't planned on it happening it just kinda did, about half of what i have now i haven't even watched yet... T_T ...so much work to do...

By naming conventions, you mean what exactly? Like an actual convention just for naming things?

[The Xenos]

I haven't bought any new Manga? in several years, except for a few volumes of BLEACH...
For some reason, recently i've been focusing my efforts towards Anime. I hadn't planned on it happening it just kinda did, about half of what i have now i haven't even watched yet... T_T ...so much work to do...

By naming conventions, you mean what exactly? Like an actual convention just for naming things?

Heh. The wild world of synonyms strikes again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_(norm)

"A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted social norms, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom."

As for Manhua, Tokyopop has a couple too, but they lazily call it manga. I hate that. Though I'm sure many Koreans would resent Korean work being called Japanese too. There's a bit of bad blood between those two nations. Not that I wish to continue bad blood, but I do like people to be aware of it and the tension between the cultures.

I confess I confuse the Chinese and Korean names sometimes myself.

I know Priest from them is one of the older manhua I can think of. It's at least the first one I picked up.

Of course, compound it even more than the old flipped manga, are the American books that are being published in full volumes and being falsely labeled 'manga'. Well, I say it's a false label. TokyoPop and its C.E.O. would disagree with me, but I don't care what they think.

[AnimeAvatar]

Heh. The wild world of synonyms strikes again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_(norm)

"A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted social norms, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom."

As for Manhua, Tokyopop has a couple too, but they lazily call it manga. I hate that. Though I'm sure many Koreans would resent Korean work being called Japanese too. There's a bit of bad blood between those two nations. Not that I wish to continue bad blood, but I do like people to be aware of it and the tension between the cultures.

I confess I confuse the Chinese and Korean names sometimes myself.

I know Priest from them is one of the older manhua I can think of. It's at least the first one I picked up.

Of course, compound it even more than the old flipped manga, are the American books that are being published in full volumes and being falsely labeled 'manga'. Well, I say it's a false label. TokyoPop and its C.E.O. would disagree with me, but I don't care what they think.


I don't think alot of people realize how much tension there is between the two, otherwise i don't think they would mix the names.

I take it they are pronounced similarly? The spelling is certainly close.


Most of my titles are from Tokyopop, though i believe i have about the same amount from Clamp as well. After checking i found that i have a few VIZ and apparently the series of BLEACH is from SJ...didn't notice that for some reason...

I do have a trio of salvaged COMP COMICS; the title is unknow to me but it's the same series i can tell that at least. I also have one in which the only recognizable text on it reads "KC Dessert". Both of these are right-left so i guess i can rule them out as Manwha.

It would be nice if it acually said somewhere on the book "this is __" but that would ruin the fun of trying to figure out what's what...

[Bakasama]

I don't think alot of people realize how much tension there is between the two, otherwise i don't think they would mix the names.

I'd say the tension between both Koreas and Japan is very bad. S. Korea banned Japanese TV programs for few decades because of Japanese cultural imperialism when Korea was a colony of Japan. The Japanese tried to wipe out the Korean language and culture and replace that with Japanese language and culture. That just part of the reason Koreans don't like Japan.

[Kage Kisaragi]

I was wondering when someone would mention this.
However Im speaking only of artwork wise. Totally blowning the Japanese Manga's of now and yester year out of the water.

[The Xenos]

Most of my titles are from Tokyopop, though i believe i have about the same amount from Clamp as well. After checking i found that i have a few VIZ and apparently the series of BLEACH is from SJ...didn't notice that for some reason...

I do have a trio of salvaged COMP COMICS; the title is unknow to me but it's the same series i can tell that at least. I also have one in which the only recognizable text on it reads "KC Dessert". Both of these are right-left so i guess i can rule them out as Manwha.

It would be nice if it acually said somewhere on the book "this is __" but that would ruin the fun of trying to figure out what's what...

Just to clarify, because I'm a stickler for terms, Tokyopop is just an American publisher. Clamp isn't a publisher, but a studio of creators from Japan. I think both Tokyopop and Viz have some Clamp books. I like to brag that I have an early Tokyopop series that was from Clamp. It was called Clover and I love it. The interesting thing is that it uses both the Tokyopop name and a logo called Chix Comix. This was from back when Mixx Entertainment was first starting the Tokyopop brand name.

Viz owns the right for every Shonen Jump book. Viz's parent company is the Japanese publishing giant that publishes Shonen Jump, so they will get pretty much all the titles featured in the popular Shonen Jump magazine.

As for 'KC Dessert', is that all in Japanese? I know KC is one of many manga publisher in Japan that puts out the collected editions. I know Blame! is published by KC. I believe it stands for "something K Comics". Shonen Jump collections are published by a company or division called 'Jump Comics'. Yes, Japan does use the term 'comics'.

Also, if there is some text in the original language, like untranslated sound effects, you can usually tell Japanese from Korean. The characters are a completely different set.

As for saying "This is ____", they could put in the legal print the country it was originally published in. I rather like seeing some manga that comment the original manga anthology magazine they were published in. Of course, Shonen Jump is the most obvious, they state it on the cover. Most others are usually in the legal print if at all.

[Inkthinker]

Japan did a lot of really ugly, horrible things during their occupation of Eastern Asia during WWII, most infamously in China and Korea.

They don't like to talk about it any more than the Germans want to talk about the Nazis, and I'm sure most Japanese wish that China, Korea and the rest would stop blaming modern Japan for the crimes of the old Imperial regime, but that's not easy for those who suffered those crimes directly... it's not surprising that Korea and China, both powerful nations in their own right, now, are more than a little pissed about this particular facet of history being smudged.

[EternaL-Bender]

All of these are great manhwa, should really check them out. You can grab most of them on the net. *wink* well...almost, some are raws.

Rebirth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirth_%28manhwa%29)

Chronicles of the Cursed Sword (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_the_Cursed_sword)

NOW (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOW_%28manhwa%29)

Ragnarok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnarok_%28manhwa%29) (although its been on hiatus for several years now sadly but a very awesome series)

[AnimeAvatar]

1) I read a post about the Tokyopop/Mixx thing, and i figured Clamp was sort of a sub-company. (It's all women isn't it?) All the Manga i have from Clamp are listed as Tokyopop as well.

2) Didn't know that about Viz. I noticed how the genres were similar but suppose i just never put it together

3) "KC' 'Dessert" is all Japanese... if that's what language it is. I'd have to look at it again to see what sound effects it has, 'tis been awhile since i looked through it. Not even sure if it has any...

4)It's understandable that things have gotten the way they have between those countries. Honestly, i'm slightly surprized it's not worse them.

5)Wait, Rangnarok is Manwha?

I have bits and pieces of that series and i love it. Can never find it though. When is it returning? does anyone know?

Guess i have at least one Manwha...

[HectorP]

Anyone has read Unbalance x Unbalance? Along with Ragnarok, it's the manwha I'll have a chance to check out.

[Melchior]

1) I read a post about the Tokyopop/Mixx thing, and i figured Clamp was sort of a sub-company. (It's all women isn't it?) All the Manga i have from Clamp are listed as Tokyopop as well.

2) Didn't know that about Viz. I noticed how the genres were similar but suppose i just never put it together

3) "KC' 'Dessert" is all Japanese... if that's what language it is. I'd have to look at it again to see what sound effects it has, 'tis been awhile since i looked through it. Not even sure if it has any...

4)It's understandable that things have gotten the way they have between those countries. Honestly, i'm slightly surprized it's not worse them.

5)Wait, Rangnarok is Manwha?

I have bits and pieces of that series and i love it. Can never find it though. When is it returning? does anyone know?

Guess i have at least one Manwha...

1. CLAMP is a group of four ladies (used to be more, if memory serves) that work together to make manga. Kinda like having multiple authors working together on one book. In fact, I think one of the ladies publishes noticeably faster than the others. Anyway, I know that Tokyopop, Viz, Dark Horse, and DelRey all release CLAMP titles.

I am still waiting to see if they plan on finishing X/1999.

2. Viz is Shonen Jump and Shoujo Beat in America. One of the reasons I like having the buy 3 get 4th free sale at work on Viz is because it gives customers more options. Usually.

3. Various companies listed in English on the native Japanese manga I own, with just a quick perusal: Flower Comics (Utena), Big S Comics (20th Century Boys), Jets Comics presented by Young Animal Comics (Berserk), the aforementioned KC Dessert (Noise), Ribon Mascot Comics (Kodocha), and Kadokawa Comics A (Record of Lodoss Wars: Heroic Knight). So, more back-up for what the Xenos mentioned.

4. Yep. Lots of nasty history all over that area.

5. Yep. "Ragnarok" has been "On Hiatus" for years now, though, so I sincerely doubt it will ever continue. If you want missing volumes, try to special order it (or ebay).