Van Von Hunter is a weekly hand-drawn parody manga began in 2002 by Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch of Pseudomé Studio, based in Cleveland, Ohio. It has been published in newspapers, books, and as a webcomic. The story takes place in the land of Dikay, a country fraught with zombies, 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 Van Von Hunter – The hero of our story, Von Hunter is a jovial and easygoing adventurer who, for whatever reason, is dedicated to battling the forces of evil. He always introduces himself as "Van Von Hunter, mighty warrior and hunter of evil... stuff!" While not the sharpest sword in the armory, Von Hunter makes up for his shortcomings with irrepressible optimism, a strong sense of justice, a certain degree of cunning, and excellent armed-combat skills. Changed his name to Hunter to suit his profession; he was originally named Van Von Vaughn. Van Von Hunter's Sidekick – A lovely young woman whom Von Hunter rescued from Count Disdain one fine day. Until the day she visited Von Hunter's mansion and was accidentally hit on the head