One of the better efforts to entertain the Korean expat crowd, ROKetship's book (which oddly lacks a title) is out and for sale as of this month. While most of the comics will look familiar to fans or readers of the weekly one-panel comic, more than a few are supposedly 'rare' or 'unpublished'. With over 50 comics in the 100-page book, there's bound to be at least a few you haven't seen before.

ROKetship succeeds on so many levels because of shared experiences - how many of us have seen a girl wearing high heels in the dead of winter (if you haven't yet, you will), or sprayed ourselves with the shower while trying to brush our teeth? How many times have you felt underdressed while hiking a mountain? While enough Korean references are around to serve as inside jokes, the jokes are well-understood without needing to speak, understand, or even read Korean - perfect gifts for friends and family back at home.

My biggest complaint is not the comics, however - it's of the typos, odd spacing, and grammar in the accompanying commentary. There's little excuse for poor English coming from both an English teacher and a native speaking person. That the Korean language is inconsistently used is more forgivable (in the book, Korean is sometimes phonetically spelled out as one might hear it, or Romanized in a not-quite-officially-correct way). Perhaps it's much like his own comic:

Credit: ROKetship

Questionable text notwithstanding, the book is well worth tracking down and adding to your collection. It's a bit early to be thinking of Christmas presents, but being a soft-cover book it's easy to ship home. Look for it at What the Book in Itaewon by late July, or go to roketship.com for more information.

Disclosure: Chris in South Korea bought the book - no press / media copy was available at review time.

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

Vote for me on 10 Magazine's video contest - go to the contest page to see the video and vote!