Sokora Refugees
Encyclopedia
Sokora Refugees was an amerimanga webcomic
by Segamu and Melissa DeJesus started on 2004-12-31. Sokora Refugees was an ongoing webcomic updating every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, although the webcomic has been on hiatus since 2006-11-10. All comic strips on their website were available free. They also had some fanservice contents to amuse and excite their readers.
This webcomic is also published in trade paperback
by Tokyopop
. According to Nielsen BookScan
, Sokora Refugees is one of the publisher's best-selling amerimanga. The relevancy of this sales success was called into question in March 2005 in the comics newsblog The Beat, due to a perceived conflict-of-interest involving the author. http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2005/03/kurt_hassler_revealed.html. In its 2005-03-21 issue, Publishers Weekly
identified the writer of Sokora Refugees as Kurt Hassler, who was the Borders and Waldenbooks
buyer for graphic novels; "Segamu" is presumably Hassler's pseudonym. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA511813. Hassler left this position in November 2006. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/9582.html.
Note that the website for this webcomic
was offline from 2007-01-13 to 2007-03-29, then back online with no new content. The website is back offline as of 2007-04-18, and as of 2009-03-02 the domain name now redirects to a Cybersquatter.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by Segamu and Melissa DeJesus started on 2004-12-31. Sokora Refugees was an ongoing webcomic updating every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, although the webcomic has been on hiatus since 2006-11-10. All comic strips on their website were available free. They also had some fanservice contents to amuse and excite their readers.
This webcomic is also published in trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
. According to Nielsen BookScan
Nielsen BookScan
Nielsen BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry, owned by the Nielsen Company. BookScan compiles point of sale data for book sales.-History:...
, Sokora Refugees is one of the publisher's best-selling amerimanga. The relevancy of this sales success was called into question in March 2005 in the comics newsblog The Beat, due to a perceived conflict-of-interest involving the author. http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2005/03/kurt_hassler_revealed.html. In its 2005-03-21 issue, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
identified the writer of Sokora Refugees as Kurt Hassler, who was the Borders and Waldenbooks
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
buyer for graphic novels; "Segamu" is presumably Hassler's pseudonym. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA511813. Hassler left this position in November 2006. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/9582.html.
Note that the website for this webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
was offline from 2007-01-13 to 2007-03-29, then back online with no new content. The website is back offline as of 2007-04-18, and as of 2009-03-02 the domain name now redirects to a Cybersquatter.
Plot
Kana's life is normal if not bad due to her bad habits. Her life only changes for the worse when elf boy Tien comes along and he thinks Kana is an elf too! Tien gets Kana into a trap in the girl bathroom, which is a portal to his home world Sokora. It is now under siege by a demonic army. Then she gets herself into more mishaps, when her body is time-shared by a powerful elf sorceress. Along the way, Kana meet Tien's brother and the Nymph girl, Salome. She now has the job of saving Sokora. She didn't really want to save Sokora, but Kana may be the only hope for Sokora, if only she can stop being so lazy.Characters
- Kana : She is the main character of the story. Known for her over-sleeping, lack of homework completion, and junk food eating habits, she will do anything to get her old life back. She "time-shares" her body with Veila; blushing turns her into the much more attractive elfElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
. - Tamara : One of Kana's roommates, this athletic girl will take any challenge that crosses her path.
- Veila : A powerful elf sorceress forced to enter and time-share Kana's body. Veila is also extremely attractive and wears scanty clothing. Veila's goal is to save Sokora from evil forces. She is very mature and sensible, a direct opposite to Kana, and is often of no help in difficult situations.
- Tien : An arrogant, talented elf refugeeRefugeeA refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
from Sokora. Tien thinks Kana is an elf too. Tristan envies his magical talents. He is very self-centered and has made is very clear he dislikes the human girls and Salome. He is constantly put down by others, who are very aware of his magical talents. - Griever : This goyle serves the demonDemoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
ic army that invaded the Sokora. He wears bandages around his hands. If his hands touch the bare skin of any mortal, the mortal turns to stone. - Julie: Another one of Kana's roommates, she is patient, intelligent, and is prone to have an unusually positive attitude, even in bad situations. Julie is almost a mother figure to her roommates.
- Salome: A raccoon nymph girl who only wanted to cozy up Tien's older brother, Tristan. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to return the love. She's very protective of Tristan, and will attack any girl who acts too friendly towards him, even if they're trying to help him out. She usually ends her sentences with the sound "tk."
- Tristan: He is a rather weak elf compared to his enemies, though he can use a sword and a bow. He prefers to die than lose his “honor”. He is the older, bossy brother of Tien. He saw Kana (in Veilas body) topless and has since done all he can to win the affection of his 'Lady Veila'. Kana has led him to believe that Viela is creating a master spell to save Sokora.
- Kogurai: A vampire who wants to return to his homeland. Has an interest in Kana.
- Horink, Xhel, Sklos: Three demons who want to get the Heart of Sokora, which is the source of all of Sokora's power. To get it, they have to open a door that holds it
Books
On November 2, 2004, Tokyopop announced plans to publish Sokora Refugees before the comic was actually a webcomic. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/5947.html The first volume of Sokora Refugees debuted on March 12, 2005 at #7 in the top ten on the BookScan list of Graphic novels. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/6950.html- Sokora Refugees, Volume 1 ISBN 1-59532-736-3
- Sokora Refugees, Volume 2 ISBN 1-59816-551-8