Van Von Hunter

Van Von Hunter is a weekly hand-drawn parody manga begun in 2002 by Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch of Pseudomé Studio, based in Cleveland, Ohio. It has since been published in newspapers, books, and as a webcomic. The story takes place in the land of Dikay, a country fraught with undeath, and focuses on the warrior Van Von Hunter and his "never-ending fight against evil...stuff". The opening of the series and Von Hunter's presence gives the series a Castlevania-like feel, but essentially the comic spoofs role-playing games, fantasy creatures and folklore (in one instance Von Hunter slays an Irish pixie), among other things.
Publication history.
The series has been released in three printed volumes by Tokyopop in North America, after "Van Von Hunter: Circlet of Necromancy" won a first-place trophy and $1,000 in Tokyopop's first Rising Stars of Manga contest. The manga series runs a storyline that takes place after the events in the webcomic.
In summer 2006, Van Von Hunter started a 6-month run of the Sunday newspapers. It was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, with about 30 papers in North America and one in Sweden publishing the strip, including the "Los Angeles Times", "The Denver Post", the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", "The Detroit News", "The Oregonian", "The Vancouver Sun", and the "Toronto Sun". "Van von Hunter" was the second Tokyopop manga to be syndicated to newspapers. The first was "Peach Fuzz" by Jared Hodges and Lindsay Cibos.
The comic's anniversary falls on Valentine's Day (February 14), which is jokingly referred to as Von Hunter Day on the site (after Van decided that anyone who didn't want to celebrate Valentine's Day should have an alternative).
Characters.
Monsters.
There are many types of monsters in Von Hunter's world, though not all are very fearsome.
Live-Action Movie.
In 2010, Van Von Hunter was adapted as a live-action film directed and written by Steven Calcote and Stuart J. Levy. It stars Yuri Lowenthal, Heather Marie Marsden, and Lucas Bridgeman. It won Levy and Calcote "Best Director" at Mockfest 2011.
Collections.
Starting in 2005, Tokyopop published a series of graphic novels set in the "Van Von Hunter" universe, taking place several years after the conclusion of the webcomic's plot.
Reception.
Carlo Santos of "Anime News Network" stated: "For those who have grown tired of the fantasy genre's ridiculous self-importance and constantly recycled clichés, Van Von Hunter is the antidote, attacking these clichés with irreverent fervor. However, in doing so it becomes something of a cliché itself, relying on a predictable comedic approach and putting its characters in overused situations—not to mention that the whole adventure-comedy thing has been done plenty of times before." Reviewing the webcomic, Dani Atkinson of "Sequential Tart" stated that the black and white artstyle of "Van Von Hunter" is initially fairly "crude", but evolved into a more crisp tone as the series continued.