Manga and Manwha

I've always been a lover of manga ever since I was little (I read all of the sailor moon manga when I was in China) and thought this article was very interesting because it does make a distinction between manga (Japanese comics) and Manwha (Korean comics), generally I just use the term "graphic novel" because currently, there are a lot of good American artist who also draw in the "manga" style like Van Von Hunter . Unfortunately there are people who are very uptight about these distinctions and will be very upset if you called a comic "manga" if the creator wasn't Japanese even if it uses the manga style.

If you want to check out some more manga or manwha, Manganews.net has great links to scanlators and there's also a huge community of original online comics at onlinecomics.net (which is down at the moment, but should be back up soon). I believe the famous Megatokyo was the first online comic to be published and then it was followed by many other online comics, a friend of mine also has her own online comics and I hope she gets published someday too.

Publisher's Weekly Top Ten Manga and Manhwa for 2006

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6401291.html

Top Five Korean Manhwa

5) 0/6 by Youjung Lee (Netcomics)

Boys comics for boys.Moolchi, a classic high-school nerd who gets bullied on a regular basis, is sent a beautiful cyborg bodyguard to protect him and fulfill his every wish.Funny, sexy and gorgeously drawn.

4) Banya: the Explosive Delivery Man by Young Oh Kim (Dark Horse Manhwa)

Set during war in ancient Korea, Banya works as a messenger delivering messages to others.Kim's rendition of this service is similar to the Pony Express, but mercinary and ruthless.Kim does an excellent job illustrating the battle scenes.His drawing style is reminiscent of Takehiko Inoue's in Vagabond.

3) Audition by Kye Young Chon (DramaQueen)

Forget about boys love. DramaQueen licenses some of the best manhwa to come out of Korea. Audition is as gorgeous as it is entertaining.Chon flexes the cross-dressing muscle in this series as two friends/rivals (who dressed as boys in high school) re-unite to find five boys (some of whom have a strong feminine allure) that will be the future of boy bands in Korea.Anyone who thinks girlish looking boys aren't sexy and girls who dress as boys aren't hot, needs to read Audition.

2) DVD, by Kye Young Chon (DramaQueen)

Chon just makes good, funny, and beautiful comics. In DVD, Chon draws upon the newly forming sentiment of westernized youth in Seoul as two best friends DD and Venu take in Ddam Shim as a third roommate.Male readers will have no trouble seeing eye-to-eye with the male protagonists as they discuss the allure of long eyelashes and the delight of padded bras.Meanwhile, female readers will appreciate the beautifully drawn girls and boys and the tinge of heartbreak and betrayal.

1) The Great Catsby by Doha (NetComics)

Catsby is a solemn and beautiful testament to post-graduate life and love. Doha's anthropomorphic depiction of Catsby and his roommate Hondu is sincere and heartfelt.