Emperor's Castle: Volume 1

Master of a secret and powerful Korean martial arts technique, Chunhoo Kang is unbeatable. He calls himself the ""emperor,"" and ""an absolutely invincible man."" A Korean member of a Japanese Yakuza (gangster) organization, Chunhoo decides to return home to Korea to reunite with the wife and son he deserted decades before. Torn by regret and shame for his past actions, Chunhoo is determined to salvage his self-respect and what is left of his family. But more conflict awaits him in Korea. His son is also a powerful Korean gangster who has been framed in an internecine gang struggle and falsely jailed for the massacre of a rival gang. When Chunhoo visits his son in prison he can only say, ""this is no place for the son of the emperor,"" and there can be no doubt that his son's situation will change in the coming volumes. While this manhwa (Korean comics) is rich with a sense of Samurai-like honor and duty, it is essentially a kung-fu fightfest and Chunhoo viciously defeats a procession of assassins in tailored suits with his unstoppable fighting technique. Kim's b&w art is dramatic but stiff and his line drawings are often dropped awkwardly into high contrast photographic backgrounds. While the book's plot is predictable, Chunhoo's sense of regret and his drive for redemption infuse the story with a surprising degree of humanity.