Comics
Review: ‘Revival’ #6
Revival is an excellent young series thus far, but it’s had a tendency to overwhelm the reader with so many different storylines. While this problem resurfaces again, it’s mitigated by a relatively strong focus on Officer Cyprus’ investigation of a recent reviver-related murder. This storyline has depth, intrigue, suspense, and twists. The rest of the issue manages to advance the plots of the rest of the characters, or at least provide updates on where they are, even if it feels cluttered.
WRITTEN BY: Tim Seeley
ART BY: Mike Norton
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE DATE: January 23rd, 2013
Tim Seeley can tell great stories when he wants to, but too often in “Revival,” those stories aren’t given enough room to breathe. Instead, you get bits and pieces over issues and it becomes a bit of a chore to keep track of them all as none have really seized the focus of an issue for the last few months. Fortunately, this changes in issue #6.
The focus is on Dana, as she investigates the murder of Justin Hine, who lived with his recently revived and catatonic father at the time of the murder and was engaging in an affair with his Jamie Hettinga, his step-sister (who is described as having “the heart of Sarah Palin.” Please feel free to read into that as irresponsibly as possible). It shows off Dana’s detective ability, her attitude towards her superiors and the situation she’s been thrust into, and it has a nice twist at the end. Suffice it to say I’ll try to be nicer to people who can’t control their bowels from now on, just in case.
Mike Norton’s art is, as always, solid and fitting. I don’t really have anything more to add than what I’ve said before, and his consistency makes it difficult to come up with new adjectives to describe how effective he is. Norton’s art is crisp, emotive, and appropriate.
I was a little rough on the last issue of “Revival,” and while I feel like certain issues linger, this was definitely an improvement. “Revival” is still one of the better comics out there, and issue #6 is an example of why. But in my opinion, this series hasn’t reached its full potential.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – GeorgeShunick
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.