Who is the ‘Duke of the North’?

In the words of Rinha Seol from the rofan manhwa, Charming the Duke of the North, the ‘Duke of the North’ or the ‘Northern Duke’, is “A cold-hearted man with looks that kill! Powerful enough to kill any monsters! Cynical to everyone regardless of their age, gender and race!”

Inwardly, this man can be described in many different ways, and its honestly up to the reader to decide what they think of him. But most would argue that he is aloof, emotionless, and quiet. Outwardly, he is a man (or, rarely, a boy) who occupies the position of a duke in some kingdom or country. His dukedom is more often than not situated in a cold wasteland that only thrives due to its military prowess and mineral-rich lands. What defines the ‘Duke of the North’ from other nobles and royalty is how he does his best to keep away from them. He steers clear of interacting with others of high status and only does if he is ordered by the King and/or Crown Prince themselves to do so.

What likens all these manhwas’ versions of the duke is their outward appearance. In a lot of cases, the ‘Duke of the North’ has dark, black hair, red eyes and a figure worthy of being called an undefeated warlord. Speaking of “undefeated warlord”, the duke a lot of times has a nickname that vilifies him as some monstrous person meant to be feared by all – just because he is always the first at the frontlines during wartime. Nicknames like, ‘monster Duke’, ‘northern beast’, and ‘bloodthirsty beast’ are commonly used across these rofan manhwas.

The Ones Who are the Same

The ones who are the same are those duke characters who maintain the stereotype in fantasy romance stories. They are the ones who either started the craze or became known for it due to their respective manhwas’ popularity. It is honestly because of them that the ‘Duke of the North’ has elevated from being an actual noble title a character has, to one of many manhwa tropes contributing to reader’s disdain of overused tropes and character archetypes. The biggest thing, as already mentioned, is the appearance. Most of these dukes share the same face, same body, same colour palate. They are always dukes (obviously), always have black hair and red eyes, are always warlords and always reside in the north. The one question that has plagued the fantasy romance fandom in the manhwa reader community is how there is no ‘Duke of the South’, or maybe, a ‘Duke of the East’ – and what about the ‘Duke of West’? These manhwa authors keep repeating the same pattern over and over whether or not considering how much they are exhausting the readership and it is honestly concerning, because… Where is the creativity?!

This is not to say that there are no readers who do not love this archetype, because to be honest, there are a good number of readers who eat these characters up and never stop loving it. And that’s okay. But it wouldn’t hurt if the readers who aren’t as into this type of duke character are accommodated a little by manhwa authors. Looking at some good examples of ‘Dukes of the North’ (exclusively from fantasy romance manhwas), there are Pellus Termaine from Another Typical Romance Story, Baras Valias from The Grand of the North, Hades Louvremont from I Became the Hero’s Mom and Hugo Taran from Lucia.

The One Unlike Others

The good part about this stereotypical character is that there are manhwa authors and mangakas (manga artists) who end up inspired to do something different with their characters. These differences can be something big or something relatively small. At times that difference would be so small that it is practically non-existent. Some big changes when it comes to appearance with the dukes of the north is changing the hair and eye colours to white hair and blue eyes instead of the typical black and red. Unfortunately, in typical manhwa fashion, these ‘new’ colours quickly became another recurring descriptor for the ‘Duke of the North’ character image. Although seeing a duke with white hair and blue eyes still feels like a refreshing sight for most readers, the colour palate is already making a name for itself as an ‘alternative version’ of the same thing.

Even so, there are still dukes who have been able to successfully earn the title of ‘creatively different’ without the risk of being likened to any other variety of their archetype. The most notable mention which some fantasy romance readers can agree with is, Grand Duke Raegrane Vlenn from The Villainess Captured the Grand Duke and Duke Hades Louvremont from I Became the Hero’s Mom.

What makes Raegrane such a unique (grand) duke is the fact that the cold-hearted characteristic given to every duke character across manhwa is actually a trait necessary to his character’s personhood and the plot of the story. It is not merely there because every other manhwa author is adding it for their own character but because it plays an important role in character motivations as well as a plot device to assist in advancing the relationship between him and his love interest. He isn’t the way he is, cold and emotionless, because he chose to be but because the story’s plot involves him being forced to be (like a curse).

And then we have Hades who is portrayed as a cold duke only due to his traumatic past and unorthodox religious beliefs. Other than that, Hades is more times than not made to be a comedic character who isn’t as strict and bound by the laws and rules his country desperately tries to impose on him. He strives to live a happy and fulfilling life with his wife and son whilst devilish antagonists force their way into making sure that doesn’t happen. I Became the Hero’s Mom is also one of those manhwas that put their faith in the plot and writing to attract the readers’ attention and so, the whole ‘Duke of the North’ archetype that has been added through Hades, doesn’t seem forced or overused and instead buried under how important he is as a character to the story.

To sum it all up, the ‘Duke of the North’ is a character archetype in fantasy romance manhwa that really needs to be put to rest. If not, manhwa authors need to make an effort to create a version of the archetype that does not make the reader feel like they are immediately drowning in cliches and stereotypes the second the duke character is introduced to them.

Staff Writer; Fadzai Nyamande

A South African who brings her love for fiction, manga, and storytelling into every piece she creates. Her writing is shaped by imagination, curiosity, and a true appreciation for the worlds stories can build.

Feel free to drop a note at; FadzaiN@AfroGamers.com.

Think about the rest of the Marvel roster for a second. Tony Stark wakes up in a mansion, sad about his choices, then builds a new suit worth more than my whole neighborhood. Thor is a literal god. T’Challa, and I say this with all the love in my Wakanda loving heart, is a king with a nation of geniuses behind him. Steve Rogers has the government cutting him checks and the moral clarity of a man who has never once had to choose between groceries and gas. These are aspirational figures. We look up at them.

Peter Parker? We look across at him. Sometimes we look down at him, because the man is usually on the ground, exhausted, mask half off, wondering how he’s going to explain to his boss why he missed another shift.

And right there sits the whole secret. It explains why he keeps working, generation after generation, while other characters cycle in and out of relevance. Spider-Man is the hero who saves the city and then still has to figure out his own life, because the universe has never once said thank you.

Peter stops a runaway train and Aunt May’s medical bills don’t disappear. Webbing up the Rhino in the middle of Midtown earns him a menace headline from Jonah the next morning. Losing sleep on patrol costs him the day job, since he kept showing up late. Every win comes with an invoice. Every triumph gets taxed. If you’ve ever worked a double, come home to bad news, and still had to be somebody’s rock the next morning, you already understand this character on a cellular level.

And here’s the part folks who only know the movies sometimes miss. The comics have been running this play since 1962, and the play never gets old because life never gets old. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko made a teenager who got powers and immediately used them to chase money, because his family needed money. Simple as that. Money was the origin before the origin. Before the guilt, before the great responsibility speech, Peter Parker was a broke kid trying to get paid. Ditko drew him hunched and wiry, not sculpted. Stan Lee later said the full-face costume helped any kid imagine themselves inside it. Any kid. That detail hit different in Black households, and it’s not an accident that decades later Miles Morales slid into that suit like it was tailored for him. The mask was always an open invitation.

Then Uncle Ben dies, and it’s Peter’s fault in the way that so much grief feels like our fault. He didn’t pull the trigger. All he did was stand aside when he could have acted, and that might be the most human kind of guilt there is, the kind built on a small selfish moment that snowballed into something you can never take back. Marvel could have let that wound heal. Instead they made it the engine. Peter doesn’t fight crime because it’s noble. He fights crime because he’s trying to outrun a debt that can’t be paid, and every one of us carrying some version of that debt sees ourselves swinging right beside him.

Now stack the losses. Gwen Stacy falls off that bridge and the snap of that webline is still one of the most brutal panels in comics history, because Peter’s desperate attempt to save her is implied to play a role in the tragedy. Captain Stacy dies telling Peter to take care of his daughter. Harry spirals. May gets shot. The marriage gets erased by a literal deal with the devil, and say what you want about One More Day as a story, but the message underneath it was loud and clear: this man cannot be allowed to be happy. The editorial mandate and the cosmic law of his universe are the same law. Parker luck is not a running gag. It’s the thesis.

Compare that to how the industry usually handles pain. Bruce Wayne turned his trauma into a fortune fueled war machine. Peter turned his into a part time gig that barely covers rent. Batman broods in a cave full of supercomputers. Spider-Man broods on a fire escape because his apartment is too hot and the AC unit died in July. One of these men I admire. The other one I am, and so is my cousin, and so was my uncle, and so is every twenty something in Brooklyn or Bronzeville or Baldwin Hills juggling three responsibilities with two hands.

The genius of the character is that his powers never solve the actual problem. He can lift a car but not the rent. Bullets get dodged with ease while the landlord finds him every single time. Spider sense warns him about the Green Goblin but stays silent when MJ is about to walk out the door because he missed another dinner. Marvel figured out early that the fantasy of power is only interesting when it crashes into the reality of powerlessness, and nobody crashes harder than Peter Parker.

This is also why he translates across generations without needing a reboot of his soul. The details update, the core stays put. In the sixties he was a bullied science kid. In the Raimi era he was delivering pizzas in a gig economy before we had a name for it. Miles came along in 2011 and suddenly the story was also about code switching, about carrying your community’s expectations on your back while hiding half of who you are, and it fit perfectly, because Spider-Man was always a story about wearing a mask to survive. Into the Spider-Verse said the quiet part loud: anyone can wear the mask. But the fine print matters. Anyone can wear it because everyone already knows what it costs. The price of admission is struggle, and struggle is the one universal language.

Tom Holland’s version gets clowned sometimes for being Iron Man’s intern, and fine, fair. But look what the MCU did the second it wanted him taken seriously. No Way Home strips him of everything. May dies with the responsibility speech on her lips. The world forgets he exists. The movie ends with Peter alone in a tiny apartment, sewing his own suit, broke, anonymous, starting over. The biggest superhero franchise on the planet understood that the only way to make Spider-Man feel like Spider-Man was to take it all away. His authenticity lives at rock bottom.

And let’s be honest about why that lands so hard for us specifically. Blerd culture gravitates to Peter because he embodies a rhythm we know in our bones: excellence without reward. He is brilliant, genuinely one of the smartest people in the Marvel universe, and the world treats him like a menace anyway. Doing everything right earns him a smear campaign. Still he shows up, over and over, for a city that would sell him out for a headline. If that’s not a familiar tune, I don’t know what is. There’s a reason the Davis and Morales household felt so lived in from page one. The blueprint was already there. All Bendis and Pichelli had to do was change the address.

Even his enemies underline the point. Norman Osborn is a billionaire. Kingpin owns half the city. Otto Octavius had institutional backing Peter could only dream about. Spider-Man’s rogues gallery is basically a lineup of men with resources fighting a kid with none, and the kid keeps winning on heart, wit, and the sheer refusal to stay down. Every knockdown gets answered with a jump back up and a joke, because the jokes are armor too. Anybody raised on laughing to keep from crying recognizes that defense mechanism from across the street.

So no, Peter Parker will never catch a break, and honestly, he shouldn’t. The day he does, the character dies. Marvel can give him a new suit, a new love interest, a new borough, even a new person under the mask entirely. What it can never give him is ease. The mask works because the face under it is tired, and the webs work because the hands shooting them just clocked out of a shift. He saves the city, goes home, checks his account balance, exhales, and gets up the next day to do it again.

None of that is superhero fantasy. It’s Tuesday. And it’s exactly why, sixty plus years deep, when a new kid in a new decade picks up that book, they don’t see an icon. They see a mirror. With great power comes great responsibility, sure. But with great responsibility comes an unpaid electric bill, and Peter Parker is the only hero in the game honest enough to show us both.

Staff Writer; Greg Tucker

GT is an old-school blerd who loves anime, comics, manga, video games, and collecting indie Black comic books.

Contact him at: GregT@AfroGamers.com.

Freakazoid: The Odd Hero

It makes sense, that cartoon is something of an acquired taste. It was like a superhero version of Animaniacs with all of the Warner brothers—and Warner sister—in one person. On top of that, Freakazoid never really did much you’d associate with superheroes.

Sure, he had the powers, the super speed, and ran around in his underwear, but his confrontations with villains often ended with them being annoyed to insanity or bumbling their way into an arrest. Plus, his villains never really required that much effort to begin with.

Obviously, Freakazoid was a parody of superhero comics and cartoons. There were several super toons out at the time: Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, the really fun Swamp Thing show, and the really mediocre Fantastic 4/Iron Man series over on UPN. But what if Freakazoid was introduced into the DC comic book universe?

No One Wants A Freakazoid Comic

Just hear me out! Freakazoid came out in 1995 and ran until 1997. In that time, the series didn’t get a comic book. It was a show owned by Warner Brothers which owns DC Comics. Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, and The Simpsons are all cartoons that got their own comic book runs. So, why not Freakazoid?

One reason is that it didn’t have a long run or anything. Still, there have been cartoons that got action figures off of few seasons. As a matter of fact, those cartoons were made purely to advertise the action figures! Freakazoid didn’t get any merchandise. Biker Mice from Mars got action figures, a video game, and a reboot.

Now, I’m not one to throw Biker Mice from Mars under the bus (Bucky O’Hare was better) but if they could get merch, surely Freakazoid could’ve gotten a standalone comic at least. No, he should’ve been a hero in the DC comic book universe. It would’ve been like if DC’s Captain Marvel swapped brains with Deadpool if it ran today.

In the 1990s, it would’ve been pretty much in line with the rest of DC animation’s comic book series. Endless wackiness and storylines that didn’t really go anywhere but what if he was introduced in this decade—well, it’s a wrap now—through one of the several universe shake-ups the publisher has had since its start?

If an intentionally annoying character like Deadpool can have dedicated comic, spin-offs, and a fanbase, I believe Freakazoid could pull it off. That is, if he’s introduced right and isn’t made into someone like…Sentry. Just all of the power and little of the “Wow, I’d read a full series on just this character”-factor.

I’m Serious

Put my man Freakazoid in DC Comics. He doesn’t need a whole comic; I’d settle for anything more than a cameo. Put in the Justice League. Yes, the Justice League, an organization—like the Avengers—with more members than there are Wu-Tang affiliates.

I want him mixed in so well with the comic book universe that we’ll have to get an edgelord grimdark version of him by Frank Miller with Rob Liefeld doing the art. Then everyone will be slack jawed once they get an Eisner Award for the mini-series Freakazoid Offline.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Tongari Boushi no Atelier, or Witch Hat Atelier, is a Japanese animated series (an anime) that started airing in April 2026. Produced by BUG FILMS, it took approximately 3 and a half years for the adaptation process of the manga, of the same name, to be completed before its premier. The hype following the announcement and release of the series was to be expected considering how the manga received critical acclaim after winning the Best Manga Award of 2025 at the 37^th Harvey Awards – outshining even One Piece.

Because of this, it felt only right to watch and review whether the anime lives up to the standards of the manga it is based on. It has already been a couple of weeks since Witch Hat Atelier came out, but it is never too late to express your thoughts on something that directly captures your attention when it does. This review only looks at the first episode of the anime because first impressions always matter.

Summary and Analysis

Overall, the plot of Witch Hat Atelier features a little girl named Coco who aspires to become a witch due to her immense love and admiration for the art of magic. Unfortunately, in the world she lives in, only those born and blessed with magical powers can be witches. All of this comes to head when Coco, after seeing a witch named Mr. Qifrey use magic, discovers all she needs to wield the mysterious and alluring power is a pen and a casting seal. From then onwards, adventure and intrigue ensues.

The series opens with our main character, Coco, questioning in a neutral tone whether the identities every person adopts is inherently known – thereafter she answers herself by stating how “These things aren’t decided at birth”. This opening scene already speaks to what kind of person Coco is. It insinuates that she is perceptive about the world and realistic about what she can be and cannot be even though she has an intense desire to become something she admires. Her optimism, however, almost attempts to blindside the viewers and have her appear as ignorant and naïve about how the world worked – even though that is not the case. We can see this in a flashback when her mother explains why and how she could not be a witch, leaving her disheartened, only for the next scene to be Coco enthusiastically trying to cast a spell whilst role-playing a witch. These scenes of the episode did well in revealing the duality of her character.

The overall mood of the episode is relatively down-to-earth. It is calming in a sense whereby we as the viewers are getting to know the characters, especially our main character. We can feel this mood shift when Coco tells the story of the time she met a “witch in a mask”. The change is not drastic, but there is something about the way Mr. Qifrey contemplates Coco’s story that gives it a sense of foreboding. Another scene in the episode that gave off this feeling is when Coco began experimenting with the pen and casting spells from the book. Just watching this scene would put any adult with a child on high alert because Coco, a 10 or so year old child, is evidently ignorant on how magic worked and the potential scale of its destructive power. The episode did well is setting up these shifts in tone and mood as the viewers can now anticipate how the upcoming episodes can make them feel and whether or not they are willing to go through that.

Another noteworthy aspect is the recurring image of the book. Not just the book Coco got from the masked witch but throughout the episode – from the start with Coco’s monologue to the end where the episode ends with a shot of a book’s page flipping to the next. This recurrence obviously points to the masked witch and how them giving Coco the book of spells started the whole story, but it can also symbolise a newfound knowledge and experience. In the series’ case, that is the recurring image of the book symbolises Coco’s new enlightenment into the world she had always dreamed of experiencing. That is why the episode ending with a page turning signifies a new set of ideas and understanding that Coco is about to acquire about the “mysterious and sparkly, valuable and pretty” world of magic.

Animation and Voice Acting

The animation style is nothing short of breath-taking. It is smooth in the way the characters move in the settings they are in and how natural and realistic these movements are. The scene where Coco cuts a piece of fabric for Mr. Qifrey directly captures how delicate and precise the animators of the episode (and perhaps series) were in every frame they animated.

The only downside – but not too much of a downside – is the voice-acting in the series. This judgement is specific to the Japanese voice-acting. There is nothing bad about it, but there is nothing special either. It almost felt as though it was done to serve a purpose; the script said Coco needs to be happy, so the voice actor spoke in a happy voice; the script said Mr. Qifrey needs to be carefree, so the voice actor used a light-hearted tone in their speech. Not to diminish the work put into bringing the characters personalities to life, however the voice acting can be praised in the same light as some other anime already out there.

Closing Words

In closing, the series is a definite watch, especially if you are interested in fantasy, magic and adventure. The medieval fantasy aesthetic makes it even more appealing to watch, and it really gives off the vibe that the anime takes place in an alternate world where magic is part of people’s everyday lives though strictly observed by the witches who can use it. Which makes it even more exciting for what’s to come in the following episodes regarding the worldbuilding and magical systems put in place.

So, if you are a blatant fan of the Harry Potter franchise, The Lord of the Rings trilogy or literally any isekai anime with magic and overpowered characters, then Tongari Boushi no Atelier is without doubt made for you.

Staff Writer; Fadzai Nyamande

A South African who brings her love for fiction, manga, and storytelling into every piece she creates. Her writing is shaped by imagination, curiosity, and a true appreciation for the worlds stories can build.

Feel free to drop a note at; FadzaiN@AfroGamers.com.

Following this train of thought, we are going to discuss the recurring types of evil sisters who keep sweeping across multiple manhwa and manga today, as well as identifying whether there are any that exploit the trope interestingly.

The ‘steal your fiancé’ Evil Sister

This type of evil sister is quite self-explanatory from the title alone, as her main objective for part of or throughout the story is to steal her own sibling’s fiancé – or in the words of historical romances, her betrothed. There can be different reasons for why the antagonistic sister finds the need to do this, except her expressed feelings on the matter always have to do with hating her sister. One reason for the hate can be the evil sister feeling inferior to her ‘good’ sister. For example, in My Sister Covets My Fiancé, Katherine feels threatened by her little sister, Neris, simply because she is another daughter to be loved and cared for by the family – instead of it just being her alone. By taking advantage of their parents favouring her more over the sister she hates, Katherine feels more confident causing trouble and making life more difficult and miserable for Neris – just like seducing the man she loved would do.

The ‘steal your fiancé’ scheme has typically been portrayed as part of establishing one sister as the story’s antagonist whilst being used for the other sister as a learning opportunity to become a better version of herself without seeking the male validation she had previously sort out.

Even with this idea being overused over and over again, some stories slip through in their unique employment of the trope. Such as the manga, Proud to be the Villainess, where the trope is completely subverted by having the ‘evil’, fiancé-stealing sister turn out to be good and not as malicious as she had previously portrayed herself to be – in other words, the evil sister was written to be an unreliable narrator.

The “I’m the real daughter” Evil Sister

“I’m the real daughter” is a phrase that goes hand-in-hand with the fake daughter trope often seen in Asian media like Chinese dramas and Korean dramas. There are comics that follow the same template as these dramas whereby the rich, real daughter and poor, fake daughter are switched at birth and years later into the plot conflict arises because of that switch. However, what manhwa and manga do differently is that they deliberately have the so-called ‘real daughter’ be unkind in her intentions towards the ‘fake daughter’ whilst she tries to get her biological family to cast the fake one out.

As a narrative strategy, the “I’m the real daughter” situation can be seen as a way to evoke sympathy from the readers for the fake daughter who may or not have to experience rejection from the family she once knew and loved. Though, as a plot device, it can be used to reveal how critical an introduced character can be beyond what is directly stated at the beginning of the story. Looking at I Am the Real One, the identity crisis of who the biological daughter of the Grand Duke is-is a significant part of the story yet acts to present dramatic irony (where the readers know information the characters don’t) regarding the conspiracies revolving Cosette (the ‘real’ daughter) which have to do with the actual reason she decided to reunite with her biological father.

The ‘power is mine’ Evil Sister

This is quite the interesting variation of the evil sister because of how it can easily turn the manga/manhwa from a slice of life or romance story to a drama or even a horror. A key element involving this type of sister is usually the inclusion of fantasy and how it can go from being mesmerising to horrifying as quickly as the first panels of the first chapter. Just as we see in Into the Light, Once Again, with the antagonist Marianne (the evil sister) manipulating her entire family into hating and inevitably executing her sister Alisa; only after torturing her.

An interesting note to also make on the ‘power is mine’ evil sister type is how they can include the first two types of evil sisters discussed above. That is because in seeking ultimate power, the evil sister may aim to establish herself as the only ‘necessary’ or ‘real’ daughter of the family and doing so by having everything that is her ‘good’ sister’s (like her inheritance and her lover) be attained and made solely her own – just like we see with Katherine from My Sister Covets My Fiancé and Lorena from A World Without You. In which case, this type of evil sister can easily be described as power-hungry, attention-seeking, and covetous. And because of that, they never fail to receive the utmost frustration, infuriation and disdain from most readers of their respective manhwa.

Staff Writer; Fadzai Nyamande

A South African who brings her love for fiction, manga, and storytelling into every piece she creates. Her writing is shaped by imagination, curiosity, and a true appreciation for the worlds stories can build.

Feel free to drop a note at; FadzaiN@AfroGamers.com.

A recent pattern seen among manhwa readers – specifically, romance manhwa readers – is the adoption of this act of character information gathering just to see whether they fit the ideal image of a ‘swoon worthy’ man. The criteria to fit this ideal image is often not dependent on whether or not the male character is a good or bad person but on what the majority of readers agree to be the latest in fashion man. With that, we can explore this idea of the ideal male image by looking at the current trend of the ‘toxic boyfriend/husband’ trope as seen in some male leads like the following two well-known characters.

Bjorn Dniester from The Problematic Prince

To start off, a toxic man, or toxic masculinity, is typically linked to a man having harmful beliefs and tendencies that more often than not damage their inter- and intrapersonal relationships.

After reading The Problematic Prince, a historical, romance manhwa, we find the male lead Bjorn who can easily be described as toxic from his conceited, condescending and manipulative nature; but let’s not forget how rich and handsome he is too. He is not only a prince but an archduke who owns and runs the biggest bank in the country even with a scandal of being a divorced man looming over his head.

Bjorn is a relatively complicated character due to his otherwise ‘less than likeable’ personality traits being so easily pushed aside by The Problematic Prince audience. Readers don’t necessarily avoid pointing these out, but it is more of Solche, the author of the web novel the manhwa is based on, being particularly good at manipulating and obscuring the narrative surrounding Bjorn – so much so that we, as the readers, don’t see what is so wrong with him until another character points it out for us or we find out ourselves a little later into the story. It is with that that the toxic image becomes a lot more apparent and a sort of love-hate relationship between Bjorn and the readers ignites.

From reader reception alone (as seen on social media and comment sections), it is obvious that the only reason Bjorn can be seen as likeable is because of the ‘perfect’, detailed character background which supposedly suits some standards female audience members of the manhwa have for their ideal boyfriend/husband. Well, either that, or readers found it attractive how depressed and haggard he became after his second wife up and left him after serving him with divorce papers because he was too emotionally constipated for her liking.

Joo Jaekyung from Jinx

Secondly, to commemorate the end of Jinx (the main story) – written and illustrated by Mingwa – we have Joo Jaekyung who is also added onto the list of adored toxic male leads in romance manhwa. The thing about Mingwa is that she is known for writing toxic male characters with her most popular series before Jinx being BJ Alex – which exploded in readership during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. So, after Mingwa announced in 2022 how she was releasing another BL (Boy’s Love) manhwa about an MMA fighter nicknamed the ‘Emperor of MMA’, readers knew to expect something dark and heartbreaking – more so for the love interest.

Jaekyung is particularly off putting because of his violent tendencies. Not that him being an MMA fighter meant he would automatically be seen as abusive; except his aggressive speech, dismissive attitude toward certain people and behaviour bordering towards being emotionless made him a character susceptible to audience criticism. Unlike Bjorn, he was purposely written to appear as horrible a man as he can be. Which worked, because the Jinx fandom did not hold him to as high a light as some toxic male characters out there, and even went as far as calling him a ‘horse’ to make fun of his facial features and likening him to a breeding horse.

At least that is until … the Redemption arc!

When it was revealed that Jaekyung was the way he was because of the type of childhood he had – absent mother, abusive, neglectful father, living like a street kid – readers’ attitudes slowly began to turn around. Even after everything that Kim Dan, Jaekyung’s love interest, went through at his hand, some readers had gone on and excused his harmful behaviour and assault citing, “He will learn to be better” and “Kim Dan can change him”.

Although the toxic masculine archetype is not every romance manhwa readers’ cup of tea, but as of late, a good amount of the readers – especially female readers – find themselves leaning more towards favouring these types of male characters. From Joo Jaekyung’s redeemable qualities to Bjorn’s less than recognised appeal, romance manhwa of the modern-day are actively making an effort to have their men not always be the chivalrous type. If you look carefully, these types of stories that almost make it a mission to focus on these types of men carry an undertone of romanticisation. Whether these refer to an effort to feed reader obsessions or just to desensitise and normalise it in societies that have slowly gained consciousness on how harmful and damaging these attitudes and behaviours can be is still uncertain.

All that can be said is other romance manhwas like Tears of a Withered Flower, Cry, Even Better If You Beg and My Beloved Oppressor continue being churned out and read by massive audiences that may critic the themes shown, however, still demand more be written and published. So, next time you find yourself reading a manhwa, romance or otherwise, and feel like you are falling for the surface-level act of a character, think twice about how they’re really like because you might find that you are accepting and resonating a little too much with their toxic actions and behaviours – especially you ladies out there!

Staff Writer; Fadzai Nyamande

A South African who brings her love for fiction, manga, and storytelling into every piece she creates. Her writing is shaped by imagination, curiosity, and a true appreciation for the worlds stories can build.

Feel free to drop a note at; FadzaiN@AfroGamers.com.

Knowing this, going back and reading the series would beg the question “Why?” At least for some. Between the character’s creation in August 1962 and the publishing of Ultimate Spider-Man in October 2000, we would see multiple comics, cartoons, and films focusing on a teenage Peter Parker coming into his powers and facing off against familiar villains.

In short, the concept was tired and ran down. That’s why Miles Morales was received so well. It was something new and half of the original team—Bendis—returned and deliver on the execution. That’s where the original Ultimate Spider-Man gets a chance. Execution.

Bendis could’ve given us the exact same tale but Marvel would’ve gone for it. Plus, the rest of the Ultimate Marvel universe was focused on a modern spin on classic heroes. So, is Ultimate Spider-Man worth a read? Let’s find out.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2000-2009)

This series was basically the flagship for the Ultimate Marvel lineup. Sure, there was a whole Ultimates comic there but this was Spidey’s show. Hell, Ultimates wasn’t even the longest running in the lineup since it was completed in under a year following thirteen issues. Sure, it came back in 2005 and once more in 2008, but again it was out after thirteen and six issues respectively.

Ultimate Spider-Man went 133 issues over eight years. That’s nothing to sneeze at. The only other series in that line to come close were Ultimate X-Men which got a hundred issues across eight years and Ultimate Fantastic Four, which was given sixty issues across five years. Of course, the Fantastic Four should’ve gotten that many since it was the Marvel Universe’s top team for decades and the X-Men are the X-Men. Everyone loves the X-Men because everyone has at least one favorite mutant and stories are often timeless.

That Sliding Timeline

First thing’s first, Ultimate Spider-Man as well as the entire Ultimate Marvel line still worked within Marvel’s janky “sliding timeline.” While the sliding timeline isn’t particularly confusing, it leaves a ton of things unanswered. Namely, the fact Captain America fought in World War II which is depicted in the Marvel Universe, referenced frequently but never establishes a concrete timeline.

There’s a good reason for this. Business-wise, Marvel wrote itself into a box where it has a number of popular, established characters that it doesn’t want to phase out entirely. As a result, most characters don’t age, they get numerous stories.

Marvel explains that these stories happened in just a few decades and don’t go by real time. Okay…I guess. To bolster this, the numerous incidents of time traveling and time tampering affected Marvel’s time to some odd degree. Alright, we’re getting to something that makes some canonical sense. As far as the Ultimate Marvel universe is concerned, it shouldn’t be impacted by anything of this until the Secret Wars storyline in 2015.

Honestly, its why I’m more of an Astro City/Valiant Comics reader. The timeline is what it is and the timeline goes straight forward—even with instances of time travel being an important part of Astro City.

Content

In regards to the artwork and writing, both were extremely good. The execution in a modern retelling of Peter Parker’s life as Spider-Man worked here. Some people didn’t care for it but that’s often the case with comics, right? But I felt they really hit it out the park. I got back into comics in 2007 because of Ultimate Spider-Man.

The main line of comics in both Marvel and DC can be hard to get into. This isn’t because the stories aren’t any good, its that so much happens across multiple series in the period of a year that it can be hard to jump in. And if you manage to jump in, you have to keep up. American comics often aren’t linear, they weave in with other series in a shared universe and a significant event of a larger story arc might be referenced.

This is also the case with Ultimate Marvel but since it started with a handful of series and didn’t run for decades and decades, its pretty easy to get into and read through all the series. Of the series, Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men were the most appealing. Bendis’ Spider-Man isn’t much different from the teenage Spidey we’re familiar with but the series entire eight year focus was just on teen Spidey.

This was something I loved because Spidey in college simply didn’t appeal to me too much and adult Spidey didn’t either. The stories were great, mind you but I just could be bothered with his adult drama. I wanted superpowered fights and Parker’s wittiness. Ultimate Spider-Man gave you both with the risk of being a teen and having to keep up his identity.

To a degree, it was something you probably missed out on if you got into Spider-Man at a certain time and didn’t go back read the early stuff.

Pull or Pass

I’ll say that Ultimate Spider-Man gets a pull. There’s great artwork, great writing, and I have to add—the covers are dope. They’ve been out for over a decade now—almost twenty years which is wild—so you’ll do better picking them up in graphic novel format. If you’re not up for buying all 27 books—although the first 22 is the main run—chances are your public library has them or can hold them. That’s how I went through them anyway. The Marvel Unlimited service is also a good way to read them.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10 (Recommended)

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Judge Cal

Originally a Deputy Chief Judge, Judge Cal wasn’t in his position for long at just a year. Prior to that, he served as head of the Special Judicial Squad—basically the Internal Affairs of the Justice Department. Tasked with keeping the judges honest, Judge Cal aspired for more power and the coveted Chief Judge position.

He made his way up the ranks via blackmail and forcing some Judges to become his hitmen. Rivals and allies were either kept in line or found themselves with a bit of permanent misfortune. Eventually, Cal became Deputy Chief. He was within distance of his goal. All he needed was to get rid of Judge Goodman. Luckily, he had some support in the way of Judges who had since become corrupted.

When Judge Cal made his move, it was already a wrap for Judge Goodman. Prior to this, his mind had been taken over, the Robot Wars had seen the population of Mega-City One take a hit, and there was uncertainty of Judge Dredd’s return from the Cursed Earth. While Dredd did return, it all took a toll on the man. This made him easy pickings for Cal who enacted a plan to have Dredd arrested for the killing of a civilian.

Dredd was sent to jail on Titan but managed to get free and clear himself. Revealing it was a robot made to look like the lawman. Since the information the robot used came from within the Department, the hunt for the man who set Dredd up was on. The whole time that Dredd was away, Chief Judge Goodman fell apart allowing for Cal to go forward with taking over. He would go on to have the mayor of Mega-City One imprisoned, Dredd shot, and Goodman killed.

Caligula’s Reign

Even though Dredd would recover—because Dredd never loses and he’s never out for too long—Cal was able to go on with his plans for Mega-City One. While he was a corrupt official who wanted power for himself, he was also an authoritarian and put the city in a state of martial law. He was also able to brainwash the majority of the judges to not question him.

The power went to Cal’s head and he became insane to the point his goldfish was appointed to his old position and is now Deputy Chief Judge Fish. At his side were two judges, one of which Cal eventually betrayed when they questioned his sanity. There was a group of citizens who banded together to fight against Cal’s reign but they were crushed by the reptile alien Kleggs that the Chief Judge brought in. As punishment, Cal had citizens executed in alphabetical order.

As expected, some citizens decided to flee the city when it was gathered that Cal was totally gone. This meant they would’ve taken their chances in the Cursed Earth. Unfortunately, the Chief Judge forced them to stay and build the wall that would keep them in. When Dredd recovered, he set about taking the fight to Cal with the help of a few almost retired judges, protege Judge Giant and his own mentor Judge Griffin.

In heading underground, he enlisted the help of the criminal Fergee. Knowing that Dredd was coming for him, Cal enlisted the help of Kleggs. The final dance for Chief Judge Cal came when he was planning to destroy Mega-City One in attempt to freeze his reign at the height of perfection—at least he felt it was a perfect reign. Dredd’s forces managed to defeat the Kleggs but were captured by Cal’s forces.

As it often happens, whenever there seems to be no way out for Dredd, he always survives thanks to some improbable shot or an ally. In this case, Fergee came through and killed Chief Judge Cal by throwing him to his death and preventing the plot.

Pull or Pass

Dredd was once again given all the kudos and it was expected that he’d become Chief Judge. He instead nominated Chief Griffin in his place, wanting to remain where the action is. Which is great, because without Dredd Mega-City One would’ve continued to lose more of its population. I mean, we’re talking over 40 years of stories and this city just gets the rough end of disasters and the like.

So is this one pull-worthy or could you pass it and read it if you come across it? It’s definitely pull-worthy purely for the peak insanity and chaos wreaked by Judge Cal. You expect Judge Dredd to pull a victory out but you’re really wondering how long will it take and how much more will Cal amp up the chaos before he does.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Against the Gods in a Nutshell

AtG is a very entertaining but occasionally head scratch-inducing series. It comes from a period when murim literature could run for a long time and was often well-paced. However, that same period also saw a number of webnovels get the manhua treatment and was often faster-paced.

We also have a lot of similar-looking protagonists, similar-looking love interests, oppressive branch families, close friends (often nicknamed Fatty), oppressive elders and seniors, and a spirit mentor who knows everything about the martial world.

Actually, Bloodstained Jasmine wasn’t a spirit mentor so much as a wounded master who could only exist with one of our hero’s spatial hand -cauldron. There are many story arcs detailing Yun Che’s rise from a teenager with busted meridians who could practice mystical martial arts to the world’s greatest martial artist.

This path is paved with defeated enemies via Yun Che’s plot armor-heavy bulldozer-grade power. Yun is extremely powerful thanks to being a regressor. He experienced three lives and was sent back to his first life as Xiao Che after taking his own life at 27 during his second life.

In his second life, he had become a great doctor, a medical genius who could use herbs, profound strength, and acupuncture to heal. When his adoptive father and master is killed by others coveting his Sky Poison Pearl (a powerful healing treasure), he takes the Pearl and goes on a warpath killing millions with poison powers.

When the martial alliance of that time responded and eventually cornered him, he merged with the Sky Poison Pearl. As a result, he reincarnated in his first life with the foundation of his plot armor in this series.

Yun Che is a Frustrating Hero

Without giving away specific storylines beyond his origin, Yun Che’ is both cunning and brash. He has a high degree of comprehension and learning that sees his become powerful rapidly but there are several times when that ability could’ve gone to waste. This is often caused either by him talking himself into a situation where someone might just pack him up or he just can’t help his curiosity and greed.

Now, heroes in martial fantasy stories are adventurous and that’s part of the fun in reading the series. However, in early adventures Yun Che was often in over his head and had to rely on Bloodstained Jasmine to bail him out at times. Mind you, this is usually after she warns him against his actions.

Without being young and dumb, he wouldn’t have gained many treasures and abilities. Plus, he had to do those to gain power and get stronger so he could protect himself, loved ones, and keep his promise to Jasmine.

Promises and Ladies

Speaking of promises, Yun Che racks up a lot of promises to keep. It keeps the ball rolling with his story as these promises are the costs for him getting many of the abilities, skills, and treasures. Promises are also how we draws his many wives and concubines. There are several times when his interactions with his love interests are unrealistic with most of the women being just smitten with him for his cunning, power, bravery and daring-do.

The only love interests who show some common sense and resistance to his wiles are those from the Frozen Cloud Asgard (including his first wife), a martial arts sect made up of beautiful women but that’s because they’re trained to largely sever ties with emotions and previous connections. Even then, Yun Che is such a casanova, some of them fall to him.

There are other elements in Against the Gods that leave me excited for battles or Yun Che administering justice yet shaking my head at him heading into high danger but escaping death (rarely narrowly). The flaws aside, it’s one of those series synonymous with manhua and this genre of action-adventure.

Overall it’s a fun series worth reading with plenty of chapters and battles.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Roughly eight years ago, we covered the sole issue of the anthology All-Negro Comics. Released in 1947, it featured seven comics handled by All-Negro Comics’ team of Black writers and artists. To be honest, the only remarkable thing about the comic is that it is a Black first in publication.

However, there is one story in those pages that was salvageable. Well, let’s say one-and-a-half. Let’s look at the stories “Ace Harlem” and “Lion Man”.

The Usual Loop of a Golden Age Comic

The antagonist typically had some scheme or committed some crime in any given issue. Our protagonist either investigated the situation before encountering their foe or they just so happened to know exactly where to go to confront them.

We can’t forget the protagonist either being able to escape any trap or having the luck to do so. If the antagonist was captured and meant to be a reoccurring character, they either escaped capture after their plot was foiled or just escaped prison.

Layered storytelling or even just backstory into the major characters involved didn’t become industry standard until the late-1960s or early-1970s when we’d see more multi-part stories, story arcs, and events. You know, the stuff that lays the foundation for a comics universe.

This was the same issue with Ace Harlem and Lion Man.

Lion Man

Of the two, “Lion Man” is the half of a story that was salvageable. By salvageable, I mean that it could’ve gone further with more tales, characters, and character development. It was very much an episodic comic but as mentioned, the majority of the dedicated comics from larger publishers were very “villainous act of the issue”.

In All-Negro Comics, Lion Man is an intelligent ambassador of sorts for the United Nations. Now, it’s briefly explained how and why he was sent to Africa to protect some uranium but there could’ve been more backstory here.

This guy had collegiate or professional-level athleticism and a college education, so he’s a good pick for a powerless superhero but for him to be a pick to go protect uranium for the UN means there’s something more there. Also, he went alone. The UN can rally a peacekeeping force to provide some backup to Lion Man or something.

Then again, his main threat in the issue were resource thieves which he handled readily with his martial arts. He definitely pieces these guys up solo. He must have had quite the background but we wouldn’t know. He’s just a pre-cooked badass.

Salvaging the Uranium Warden

The best way to expand upon “Lion Man” is just to provide some lore to this guy and give him a regular foe. An organization that traffics in multiple crimes in the country or throughout the continent. Even easier, just give Lion Man similar situations and adventures as the titular character in Lee Falk’s The Phantom.

I mean, Lion Man was basically The Phantom but leaned more Tarzan. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, “Lion Man” could’ve gotten by with just that storyline loop without that much lore and world building.

Plus, like many heroes who were around during the Silver Age, he would have enough prior adventures and character to retcon and build upon for future audiences.

Ace Harlem

“Ace Harlem” was my favorite comic in All-Negro Comics. It was definitely a product of the Golden Age approach to writing but I love pulp and detective comics and comics such as Dick Tracy, The Spirit, and Black Mask. Since detective stories like this tend to lend themselves to more storytelling even during this period, I’d say this is an easier comic to salvage.

The titular character was a private investigator with what I figure is a boxing background. You couldn’t be a private detective without some martial arts background or being a marksman with handguns. You’ll need more than observation and deductive reasoning, here.

These crime fighters were often dealing with masterminds with violent streaks or criminal groups and their main opposition were Golden Age cops. In the comics, they were still patrolling by foot and largely ineffective outside of chatting outside of the deli and putting goons in the police wagon.

They needed either private eyes who were on a case that happened to involve this criminal the cops were getting slammed by or a masked vigilante who happens to have investigation skills.

Certainly there were comics with heroic, able police officers from this period but even then, that was often one exceptional cop who always made the collar. The rest of that department was mid at best while Officer Hero stopped bank robbers…with a service revolver 1 v 4…with no harmed or killed hostages. All money returned.

Officer Hero gets a medal and the chief is happy.

Salvaging Ace

No, these cops needed Ace Harlem to solve a crime they probably wouldn’t have actually bothered with. These weren’t exactly cops from the community. Harlem was just on good terms with them in this instance.

The “Ace Harlem” story could’ve easily been expanded with a couple of multi-part cases. Some private work that has ties to the larger criminal underworld in the community (or beyond). Then tie in a big, underworld-civilian world-altering event. Very basic stuff but it gives lore and continuity to the series.

Like “Lion Man”, it would exist at a time where a chain of one-off, “Crime doesn’t pay” cases would suffice. However, I see something in the Ace Harlem character for a comic strip or just ongoing short stories.

It would be an interesting take on the pulp detective given the period in time. It’s post-Renaissance and pre-Civil Rights movement and immediately post-war.

If you’re wondering about the other stories in All-Negro Comics and how they could be salvaged or revived: those stories aren’t particularly good or interesting .

They probably wouldn’t have made it out of 1947. I know the stories included were meant to be a little something for everyone but the everything else just seemed like cutting room floor funnies.

If you’ve read All-Negro Comics, what were the stories that stood out to you? Haven’t read it? The sole issue is available on the Internet Archive and the Digital Comic Museum free to read online.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.