#hong kong manhua

[floatyhands]

So, instead of being productive, I decided to check out the first issue of the 1980s wuxia manhua series Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword by Hong Kong comic artist Ma Wing-Xing. It's nominally set in early 20th century China and the USA, and follows the exploits of Hua Yingxiong/Hero Hua (yes his name, 華英雄, literally means Chinese Hero), a martial artist dude and blacksmith's son who possesses the heirloom Blood Sword/Crimson Sword (赤劍), called so because it gleams a dazzling crimson red once it tastes blood.

This opening issue involves him avenging his (very badass in their own right) parents by fighting and slaughtering the greedy tycoon and the (perhaps a bit cartoonishly racist) western imperialist who killed them, then becoming a wanted man and fleeing to the US, meeting cool villains and really cool allies along the way. Oh, and fighting sharks and meeting a guardian water god.

(That other guy is NOT the water god)

That being said, I'm not sure I'd... recommend this to anyone. Not until I understand it better anyway. The aggressive Chinese patriotism might have had its place back in the 1980s, but its treatment of the topic of racism is pretty questionable. I know it's basically a given at this point that any Chinese martial arts story which features foreigners will inevitably result in an arrogant foreigner underestimating the hero (usually for being Chinese) getting the lights kicked out of him by said hero, proving that Chinese martial arts is thus superior after all, but the emphasis on avenging national pride, means we get a black antagonist (長人, "Tall/Long Guy") behaving exactly like the pure evil white ones and assuming he's physically and culturally superior... Except he's also extra threatening because he's Really Tall and Long-Limbed. At least he actually fights honorably, unlike some of the white villains? There's some outdated racial language as well. Then again, with a title where the hero is literally named Chinese Hero, I'm not quite surprised, so if you do read, do so with caution.

[boardsdonthitback]

Nicolas Tse, Donnie Yen - Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

[vintagegeekculture]

When in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Park, visit the Avenue of Comic Stars, featuring life sized statues of characters from the local HK comic (Manhua) series. 

[comicavalcade]

Drunken Fist #13

Jademan Comics

[welcometopulpland]

Samba Family is a very funny, long running Hong Kong manhua franchise about a rather cheeky family, created and produced by HK-based manhua maker Keung Chi Kit for Co-Co, the Cantonese equivalent of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday. Dad behaves like a mix of Tarzan and Lee Falk's the Phantom, Mum's as stylish as Maureen O'Sullivan's portrayal of Jane Parker, the older son's a male equivalent of Clarissa from Clarissa Explains it All and Samba swings through trees like Tarzan's sidekick Boy himself. It's a bizarre but worthwhile read which frankly deserves some Anglophone attention as time goes by.

[open-hearth-rpg]

#RPGaDay2024

RPG with Great Art

I did a whole series of posts looking at some of my favorite rpg covers: lovely, evocative, or just eye-catching. I love cover art and more than once I’ve bought games solely on that basis. Some have been hits (Cryptomancer), some misses (Children of the Sun). Considering interior and exterior art together is a little tricky…

Like…we live in a gaming world with Spire, DIE, and #iHunt. These offer amazing and consistent graphic design and illustration. So I want to talk about a different kind of great art: games with art that keep me from throwing the game away. These are games which I am fairly certain I will never get to the table. The system doesn’t click for me, it’s too complicated for my group, or even the genre isn’t a good fit. I’ve got several of these games: the old Heavy Gear ttrpg, Warmachine, Planescape.

But the grand-daddy of them is Weapons of the Gods. I love/hate this game. It has brilliant ideas, rich cultural material, and wild concepts. But it’s a mess system-wise. Definitively not what I want from a game. Even after playing a couple of sessions I can say I have no idea how it works. 

But the interior art’s so good. Mind you it comes from a license, the Weapons of the Gods series apparently from Jademan comics. It is Hong Kong manhua of wild xianxia action. But it doesn’t feel like an adapted work because there’s so little context given. Like the book doesn’t really do anything to actually help you gain an understanding beyond a massive, continually info-dump. 

And that’s OK because it's brilliant to look through. The interior art’s full color– something we’ve seen more and more in the last couple of decades. But it is bright, vibrant, and full range in that color. Too often we get rpg, full-color core books which have interesting art but it's muddied, washed out, and grimdark. Imperium Maledictum and a bunch of the 5e books have this problem. It reminds me of the failure of the Final Fantasy: Spirits Within movie. They had the FF franchise to work from and no costume or set budget limitations, so they went with the most greyscale and boring approach possible. 

Weapons of the Gods is anything but boring. It is a hot, beautiful mess and I love it.

[voltagefangirl19]

Reasons why I shouldn't be in KBTBB part 1

*Talking about how the dragons took Soryu to a gay bar in Hong Kong*

Baba: Did Sor tell you about that?

My MC: ... *shakes her head* ... Is that where you were that time you called me?

Soryu: Sorry I gave you the wrong idea, do you forgive me?

My fujoshi ass: If you tell me all the juicy details I might OuO

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Bidders: What do you want? Clothes? Jewerly? Perfume? Shoes?

Me: I really just like to spend time with you guys ^^

Bidders: ...

Me: though if you insist there's a new console, and a new game and oh! my favorite anime/manhua/manga has new exclusive merchadise- guys?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ota: She looks like she is deeply thinking about something

Hikaru: And she is blushing hard too

Soryu: just what on earth is she thinking?? *also low-key blushing*

Baba: my oh my, what kind of naughty things she must be thinking about

Me: *thinking about the beautiful, fluffy fic I read about my favorite ship*

[shuttershocky]

Is there a distinction between manga and manhua?

Manga (and Manhwa) are both derived from Manhua, comics made in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

[rin07vargas]

The difference between Manga, Manwha, and Manhua.

Manga are comics from Japan. Manga is typically read from right to left. Manga is most easily distinguished from manhwa and manhua by its monochromatic format. While full-color front covers are occasionally found, manga is almost always published in black & white. Known popular manga includes Naruto, Bleach, Chainsaw Man, One Punch Man, One Piece, Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) and more. As there are so many different manga genres, there is something for every reader, no matter their age or interests. Examples of such genre are Shônen, Shôjo, Shoujo-ai and Shounen-ai.

Manwha are comics from South Korea. While these comics and visual novels have many of the same traits as Japanese manga, there are also some significant differences. One of the most significant ones is that manhwa is read from left to right, just as comics and graphic novels that are written in the English language. Western audiences, who are more acclimated to this format, find it easier as a result. Another significant distinction is that manhwa, unlike manga, is frequently made in full colour, especially when it is released online as a webtoon. Examples include Solo Leveling, The S Class That I Raised, Omniscient Readers Viewpoint, and Trash of Count’s Family.

Manhua are comics from China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong. Depending on where they originate, manhua comics and graphic novels can be read either left to right or right to left. Manhua written in mainland China are typically read from left to right, while those from Hong Kong or Taiwan are commonly read from right to left. Manhua comics are typically created in full color as opposed to black and white, particularly in their more widely used electronic incarnations. Some known Manhua are Tiān Guān Cì Fú (Heaven Official’s Blessing) , Módào Zǔshī ( The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) and Èr Hā Hé Tā De Bái Māo Shī Zūn (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun).

The Japanese word “manga” and the Korean word “manhwa” are both derived from the Chinese “manhua,” which translates roughly as “impromptu sketches.”

Now why did I pick this as my topic for my blog? Well because I love reading. Which includes manga, manhwa, and manhua. I’ve been reading since I was really young, it started from fairy tales then evolved to manga, then manhwa and manhua. I also found this topic really interesting because people are confused on which is which.

In my perspective people should be aware of the differences between the three of these so that they would not be confused when they search about it. Back then I also didn’t know the difference of these three and often than not I thought I was going to read a manhwa then it turned out to be a manhua.

I hope that this blog could help the readers to further understand the differences between Manga, Manwha, and Manhua. So that the next time they try to find them, they could differentiate and categorize the three.

[thenerdsofcolor]

'Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In' Delivers Flawless Action But Lacks Emotional Nuance

Set in a fictionalized version of the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City and based on the novel City of Darkness by Yuyi and the manhua of the same name by Andy Seto, Soi Cheang‘s Twilight of the Warriors‘s gritty and hard-hitting actioner delivers what we’ve come to expect from Hong Kong cinema. Though it’s an action spectacle in itself, it’s lack of depth prevents it from becoming something…

[frackadactyl]

Gung Zai Syu: Hong Kong's Enormous Comics

Does anybody remember Oriental Heroes, Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword, or the Storm Riders #wuxia comics? If you do great; you've seen Hong Kong's #comics Gung Zai Syu. A bit more distinct from #manhua.

Gung Zai Syu, it really rolls off the tongue compared to manhua. Just one more way makes itself distinct from China. Apparently they also make a few small impacts in the USA that most people don’t remember. Time to go to work! Gung Zai Syu: Doll Books? Yes, that’s what it means in Cantonese. No, it doesn’t mean characters look like dolls or are aimed at little kids… mostly. All it means is that…

[walkingatombomb]

Comics I Read Today

April 15

The Force of Buddha’s Palm #46 (1992)

Jademan Comics published Hong Kong comics for a few years in North America. They were very unique and unlike anything being published at the time. In addition to the fast moving action and incredible martial arts moves, these comics were published in “full color” as opposed to the black & white of most manga or manhua. In this issue, Nine Continents is traveling to the Persian Holy Temple when he is attacked by Iron Boy. Some of the special moves the two exhibit have names like The Birth of Buddha and The Seventh Level of the Holy Blaze! It’s fun and exciting stuff but I don’t have a clue which of the two is the hero. I rarely found these comics in comic shops and it was always a pleasure to get one.

[boardsdonthitback]

Nicolas Tse vs. Donnie Yen - Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

[vintagegeekculture]

[comicavalcade]

Jademan Comics' Drunken Fist #4

[unodenosotros]

Images at the end of the 1999 Street Fighter EX2 Plus Manhuas depicting some of the forms (mostly “evil incarnations”) of some of the characters from the series.