Ragnarok

(Tokyopop, 2002-2004)
™ and © 1997 Myung-Jin Lee

A Korean comic-book (aka “man-wha”) publisher tried to break into the U.S. market back in the ’80s (anyone else out there remember The Untouchables?) without a lot of luck. That was a shame, because man-wha has a unique quality that’s very different from manga; the art is less sketchy, and the stories are darker and decidedly less sentimental.

Thanks to Toykopop, we’re getting a second chance with man-wha, first with The Island and now Ragnarok. This epic fantasy focuses on the quest of Fenris, a butt-kicking magic user (you know she’s the hero, because she laces up the front of her skintight pants with a leering goblin skull) who encounters lots of cool monsters along the way. The art’s beautiful and there’s plenty of action, but the storytelling is more than a little choppy. Without so much as a “meanwhile,” readers are tossed between the main and subplot so often it becomes distancing.

— S.A. Bennett

Jump to issue:

Notes

Writer

Artist