Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man

Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man
Cover of the first volume
폭주배달부 반야 Pok Ju Baedal Bu Banya
Genre	Action/adventure
Author	Kim Young-oh
Publisher	Haksan Publishing
English publisher	NA: Dark Horse Comics
Magazine	Booking
Original run	August 11, 2004 – March 6, 2006
Collected volumes	5

Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man (Korean: 폭주배달부 반야; RR: Pok Ju Baedal Bu Banya; lit. Hell's Angel Delivery Man Banya) is a South Korean manhwa series written and illustrated by Kim Young-oh. It was serialized in Haksan Publishing's magazine Booking and published in five volumes from August 2004 to March 2006.

Plot

With a widespread war raging between humans and the monstrous Torren, the young delivery men of the Gaya Desert Post Office do not pledge allegiance to any country or king. They are banded together by the pledge to deliver "Fast. Precise. Secure." Throughout a variety of missions and adventures in the face of overwhelming odds, it is Banya's ingenuity, flexibility and resourcefulness that carries them to successful outcomes.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Kim Young-oh, the series was serialized in Haksan Publishing's magazine Booking. Its individual chapters were collected into five volumes, which were published from August 11, 2004, to March 6, 2006.

At Sakura-Con 2006, Dark Horse Comics announced that they licensed the series for English publication.

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	August 11, 2004		September 20, 2006
1. A Man With a Job 2. Boy and Girl 3. The Messenger 4. Trackers 5. Separation 6. Gorigon Woods
Banya agrees to complete a wounded soldier's mission to transport a parcel of great importance.
2	January 10, 2005		December 20, 2006
7. Mei's Rescue, Part 1 8. Mei's Rescue, Part 2 9. Work Accomplished! 10. Motherhood, Part 1 11. Motherhood, Part 2 12. Motherhood, Part 3 13. Indomitable
Young Kong, Banya's offsider, is entrusted with a delivery of great importance, and Banya schemes to free Mei from her captors, setting monsters against each other. Transporting a rare artifact or reuniting a mother with her long-lost son, Banya speeds through war-torn deserts and mysterious forests, relying on flexibility, daring and wits to complete his missions.
3	May 10, 2005		March 14, 2007
14. In the Heart of the Mountains 15. Battle at Chamhwe Temple 16. The Breaking of the Seal 17. Return of the Summoned 18. A Kid Named Mido 19. The Road Home 20. Save Mido! 21. Awakening
The delivery crew find themselves in the middle of a mysterious dispute at the heart of a sacred temple, trapped between devout warrior-priests and the vicious, ruthless Torren.
4	November 14, 2005		June 20, 2007
22. People from the Past, Part 1 23. People from the Past, Part 2 24. Crossroads of Fate 25. Attack, Part 1 26. Attack, Part 2 27. To Protect 28. Omen 29. Man and Sword 30. Company
Banya is enraged and frustrated by the events of the last volume. The desert deliverymen are in serious danger in a desert on the brink of an outbreak of violence as Banya fights off more monsters.
5	March 6, 2006		September 19, 2007
31. Omens 32. Crisis 33. Hard Journey 34. Entrance to the Black Mountain 35. Reunion 36. Attacker 37. Awakening 38. Truth of the Dragon
Banya delivers his most important "package" — the powerful summoner Jiahn — to the "Land of Death". Jiahn must reach her destination before an extraordinary evil is unleashed upon Gaya, but is opposed by a vicious pack of warriors and monsters, led by the villain Kamutu. Banya has lost his memory and the tension lies in what he will choose when he regains it: to join Kamutu or return to his friends at the Gaya Desert Post Office.

Reception

Jarred Pine of Mania felt the story was similar to those from Shōnen manga. He compared the artwork to the works of Takehiko Inoue. Katherine Dacey of Pop Culture Shock also praised the story and artwork, describing the former as "a cross between Dune, Mad Max, and Lord of the Rings".

External links

• Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man at Anime News Network's encyclopedia