Van Von Hunter

Van Von Hunter

Van Von Hunter volume 2.
Author(s) Mike Schwark &
Ron Kaulfersch
of Pseudomé Studio
Website http://www.vanvonhunter.com/
Current status / schedule Weekly
Launch date 2002-02-14
Publisher(s) Australia/NZ Madman Entertainment
Canada/US Tokyopop
Genre(s) Fantasy, Parody

Van Von Hunter is a weekly, hand drawn parody-manga begun in 2002 by Cleveland, Ohio–based artists Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch of Pseudomé Studio.[1] It has since been published in newspapers, books, and as a webcomic. The story takes place in the land of Dikay, a country fraught with undeath, and focuses on the warrior Van Von Hunter and his "never-ending fight against evil...stuff". The opening of the series and Von Hunter's presence gives the series a Castlevania-like feel, but essentially the comic spoofs role-playing games, fantasy creatures and folklore (in one instance Von Hunter slays an Irish pixie), among other things.

The series has been released in three printed volumes by Tokyopop in North America, after Van Von Hunter: Circlet of Necromancy won a first-place trophy and $1,000 in Tokyopop's first Rising Stars of Manga contest.[2][3] The manga series runs a storyline that takes place after the events in the webcomic.

In summer 2006, Van Von Hunter started a 6-month run of the Sunday newspapers. It was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, with about 30 papers in North America and one in Sweden publishing the strip, including the Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Detroit News, The Oregonian, The Vancouver Sun, and the Toronto Sun.[4][5] Van von Hunter was the second Tokyopop manga to be syndicated to newspapers. The first was Peach Fuzz by Jared Hodges and Lindsay Cibos.[5]

The comic's anniversary falls on Valentine's Day (February 14), which is jokingly referred to as Von Hunter Day on the site (after Van decided that anyone who didn't want to celebrate Valentine's Day should have an alternative).

Characters

Monsters

There are many types of monsters in Von Hunter's world, though not all are very fearsome.

Collections

No.English release dateEnglish ISBN
1 May 10, 2005ISBN 1-59532-692-8
  • Chapters 1–8
  • Freetalk
  • Character Profiles
  • Fanart
  • Preview of Volume 2

Reception

Carlo Santos of Anime News Network stated: "For those who have grown tired of the fantasy genre's ridiculous self-importance and constantly recycled clichés, Van Von Hunter is the antidote, attacking these clichés with irreverent fervor. However, in doing so it becomes something of a cliché itself, relying on a predictable comedic approach and putting its characters in overused situations—not to mention that the whole adventure-comedy thing has been done plenty of times before."[6]

References

  1. Giddens, Tharon (July 9, 2006). "Vampire hunter has stake in paper". The Augusta Chronicle, Pg. G3.
  2. Publishers Weekly Staff (March 17, 2003). "Rising Star Winners; Battle Royale Ahead". Publishers Weekly, Pg. 28.
  3. Levy, Stu (Publisher) (April 2003). Rising Stars of Manga, Vol. 1, Los Angeles: Tokyopop. ISBN 1-59182-224-6 Pg. 32
  4. Memmott, Carol (December 29, 2005). "Comics pages make room for manga; Newspapers target the young". USA Today, Pg. 1D.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Chin, Richard (February 5, 2006). "Funnies fans, prepare to meet manga". St. Paul Pioneer Press, Pg. 1E.
  6. Carlo Santos (January 16, 2007). "Van Von Hunter GN 3 – Review -". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 23, 2009.

External links