ADV Manga Announces The Ruler of the Land a Hit with Critics

Date: Monday, June 14, 2004

HOUSTON, June 14, 2004?ADV Manga's first Korean manhwa, The Ruler of the Land, is a hit with critics of all stripes. From the nation's most respected publishing trade magazine to one of the most popular websites for anime fans, they all declare that The Ruler of the Land is an excellent read.



Publishers Weekly is the bible for the book industry, reaching 100,000 booksellers, librarians, publishers and media executives. Here's what they said about The Ruler of the Land: "Comedy and martial arts meet in this crowd-pleasing Korean manga. [Artist] Yang draws powerful battle scenes but handles the humorous elements deftly, too. Writer Jeon adds a level of vulnerability to Hwa-Rin but keeps the rest of the story moving with a brisk mix of hardcore action and screwball comedy."



AnimeOnDVD.com is one of the top websites in the English-speaking world catering to fans of anime and manga. They reviewed The Ruler of the Land on May 31 and said, "The Ruler of the Land is solidly written and illustrated. If you've never read any martial-arts manhwa before, this would be a good title to start with."



The nation's number one print magazine about anime and manga is Newtype USA, and they reviewed The Ruler of the Land in their May issue. The reviewer notes, "Originally published in Korea in 1994, this martial arts manhwa plants one foot firmly in the action school while the other stakes out ground in comedy. Rather than juxtapose the fight scenes with moments of levity, everything blends together as the story proceeds at a furious pace." He concludes, "If this is your first experience with a Korean title, you just might find yourself converted."




Ain't It Cool News is a pop culture website extraordinaire, and they reviewed The Ruler of the Land on June 5. They write that The Ruler of the Land "is a pulp martial arts and swordplay epic, focusing on Bi-Kwang Han, a loutish swordsman who stumbles into two conflicts too many and find himself on the path towards inheriting an aged warlord's dream of uniting his land," featuring "a Jackie Chan tongue-in-cheek approach to martial arts action, with the big budget aesthetic of Crouching Tiger or Hero."



Anime Insider is one of the key sources of news and info for anime and manga fans, and on their website, they wrote the following about The Ruler of the Land: "It's easy to see why Ruler is Korea's single most popular comic ever, when it combines influences from historical martial arts genres and sexy slapstick humor. With all the makings of an addictive and attractive title to add to your collection-great characters, engaging art and story, and a complex martial arts-driven storyline-Ruler is an enjoyable change of pace from regular Japanese works. If you only read one Korean manhwa in your life, make it The Ruler of the Land."



Sequential Tart, the comics website run by and for women, liked The Ruler of the Land as well. "The Ruler of the Land leaves us in the middle of a battle, so I really must get volume two to find out what happens. Even if that weren't the case, I would rush to buy it! This is one of the funniest stories I've ever read! In the mean time, I'll just have to re-read this volume and laugh at it all over again."



And the classy comics website Comic World News wrote the following: "What's Hot? Well, let's see. Action of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon excitement and intensity? Check. Humor? Check. The read itself? Solid. I definitely have to say it's a good read. [The] artwork is great, very beautiful to look at and nice from start to end. Give it a shot, and I think you'll be hooked too."



iCOMICS, a venerable daily comics and graphic novel review site, wrote the following about The Ruler of the Land: "To make a comparison to other media forms, The Ruler of the Land is sort of like a Jackie Chan movie where there's a serious plot, but lots of humor liberally peppered through the entire experience. A strange combination of GTO and The Way of the Rat, The Ruler of the Land is a lot of fun. Definitely worth your time."



The Ruler of the Land by Jeon Keuk-Jin and Yang Jae-Hyun is a 31-volume graphic novel series from ADV Manga. Volume 1 ($9.99, ISBN 1-4139-0031-3) and volume 2 ($9.99, ISBN 1-4139-0037-2) are available now from bookstores, comic book stores, and wherever fine manga is sold.



About ADV Manga

Specializing in Japanese and other East Asian comics, illustration books, graphic novels and more, ADV Manga is the publishing division of A.D. Vision, Inc., parent company of ADV Films, Newtype USA, Anime Network and more. Founded in 2003, with nationwide mass-market distribution, ADV Manga is poised to dominate the explosively growing U.S. market for imported graphic novels and related published materials. More information is available at http://www.adv-manga.com.



Information about other A.D. Vision, Inc. divisions and initiatives can be found at:



http://www.advfilms.com

http://www.theanimenetwork.com

http://www.newtype-usa.com