The ‘Raging Clouds’ cartoonist’s full-color manhwa pairs a merchant’s Westernized daughter with a country boy sent to escort her to the capital, in a ‘will they, won’t they’ romance set against Japan’s occupation; 224-page hardcover is first title from new East Asian comics imprint.
Fantagraphics has shared with AWN an exclusive six-page preview excerpt of “Lovers of the Empire” Volume 1, the new full-color graphic novel from Yudori, the Korean cartoonist behind the Eisner Award-nominated “Raging Clouds,” and the first title from Takumigraphics, the publisher’s new imprint devoted to East Asian comics. The 224-page hardcover is on sale now.
Set in 1920s Korea under Japanese occupation, the manhwa romance follows two teenagers from opposite ends of the social ladder. Arisa Jo, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is the most eligible bachelorette in all of Gyeongsung, the capital city; with her Western dresses, movie star hairstyle and assertive attitude, she embodies bold “Modern” values. Jun Seomoon is her opposite, a young man from the countryside deeply rooted in tradition. When Arisa’s father tasks Jun with escorting her to the big city, their personalities clash and sparks fly.
On the surface a sweet and funny “will they, won’t they” romance, the story draws its depth from its picture of Korea at a crossroads: a city occupied by Japan, molded by Western influences and facing a modernity that stirs inner conflicts within its citizens. Rendered in gorgeous full color, the period piece portrays a fascinating city in a tumultuous time, with two winsome characters at its heart.
“Lovers of the Empire is a cute boy-meets-girl romance, set against a silent backdrop of massacres and battles,” said Yudori. “That is in a way what it feels like to exist as a Korean: keeping the facade of abundance and harmlessness, while something is always brooding deep inside, just below the point of explosion. Wars do not stop at battlefields and bomb sites, they seep into our everyday existence.”
“We at Fantagraphics are thrilled to publish Yudori’s Lovers of the Empire trilogy,” said editor Conrad Groth. “Her new series has it all: endearing characters that play off each other in delightful ways, a lushly rendered period setting, and a plot that deftly balances lighthearted romance with deeper themes to sink your teeth into. Funny, engaging, and crackling with curiosity and imagination, Lovers exemplifies the kinds of work we aim to publish in the Takumi line.”
Yudori’s 2024 U.S. debut, “Raging Clouds,” earned a Publishers Weekly starred review that called it “an erotic, feminist-infused tale of yearning in her fiery debut”; AIPT called it “utterly unique, the work of a singular voice,” and The Comics Journal wrote that she “makes full use of the space and time afforded to a cartoonist when working in the graphic novel form to flesh out a visual world rich in both symbolism and feeling.”
Takumigraphics takes its name from the Japanese kanji “takumi,” meaning excellence, skillfulness and ingeniousness, gathering Fantagraphics’ manga, manhwa and manhua under one umbrella. Fantagraphics associate publisher Eric Reynolds called the imprint an extension of the publisher’s mission “to celebrate great cartooning in all of its incarnations” and “an acknowledgement of the key role that Manga, Manhwa, and Manhua, and other east asian comics continue to play in forging that future.” “As we continue to expand our roster of Asian works,” he said, “it made perfect sense to bring them under one umbrella, to best showcase the great works being created in Japan, South Korea, China, and elsewhere.”
The imprint’s slate for the rest of 2026 includes Marina Lisa Komiya’s “On Their Frontlines: The Lives of Japanese War Brides” in August, Shimura Takako’s “Wandering Son” in September, Akane Torikai’s “Wandering Cat’s Cage” in October and Kago’s “The Ultra Power Mongol Invasion” in November.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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