SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) – Onrie Kompan is celebrating Yi Sun-sin’s birthday by releasing selections from his upcoming book, ‘Yi Soon Shin: Fallen Avenger’.
Kompan, a 33-year-old American cartoonist, received a good deal of attention in Korea for portraying Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s life in his cartoons. Yi was a Korean admiral best known for his battles during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598).
According to the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF), Kompan will release selections from ‘Yi Soon Shin: Fallen Avenger’ on April 28, via the SICAF homepage and YouTube.
‘Yi Soon Shin: Fallen Avenger’ portrays the infamous Battle of Myeongnyang, in which Admiral Yi defeated 330 Japanese ships with only 12 of his own. The book will also be introduced in October at the New York Comic Con. (image: Onrie Kompan)
‘Yi Soon Shin: Fallen Avenger’ portrays the infamous Battle of Myeongnyang, in which Admiral Yi defeated 330 Japanese ships with only 12 of his own. The book will also be introduced in October at the New York Comic Con.
Although the work is not yet complete, Kompan decided to release excerpts from the book to celebrate the Admiral’s birthday.
Kompan’s previous series, ‘Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender’, has sold over 50,000 copies in the United States alone. The series was introduced in Korea last year.
During an interview with Yonhap, Kompan was confident that his upcoming book will be his best so far.
‘Yi Soon Shin: Fallen Avenger’ portrays the infamous Battle of Myeongnyang, in which Admiral Yi defeated 330 Japanese ships with only 12 of his own. The book will also be introduced in October at the New York Comic Con.
Kompan, along with his team of writers and cartoonists, is currently busy with post-production.
“It’s about a great Korea hero, who saves his country in the face of annihilation. The 48-page epic is full of action,” said Kompan, describing his upcoming release.
His main focus is on battle scenes.
“I wanted to draw never-seen-before images in describing the battle. You’ll find plenty of fighting, and firing of weapons and cannons.”
Although he’s only halfway into finishing the book, he plans to sell at least 1,500 copies during the four days of New York Comic Con.
Kompan, a 33-year-old American cartoonist, received a good deal of attention in Korea for portraying Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s life in his cartoons.
When asked about his challenge in trying to reach out to American readers with an obscure character, he said: “Yi’s strong leadership is my team’s biggest driving force. And I use his very own strategies to inspire my teammates in difficult times.”
Kompan has already seen his work sell out at Chicago and Seattle Comic Cons, and he is confident in achieving his goal once more.
“You can’t do this if you think about money. As a matter of fact, I had to take on debt to work on these cartoons. I wanted to tell the world a story of a true hero, and Yi was just the man,” said Kompan.
Kompan recently made a comment on social media supporting Korea’s comfort women, and he wants to continue informing the world of the issue as he does with Admiral Yi.
“I found out about the issues concerning comfort women the last time I visited Korea, and I will continue to offer my support.”
Kompan was invited to SICAF, which will take place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from July 6 to July 10, where he will have a chance to introduce his work as well as meet his fans.
By Joshep Shin (jss539@koreabizwire.com)
