Comics
Review: ‘Creepy’ #16
I get too excited each time Dark Horse releases a new issue of “Creepy,” their deliciously sensationalized, ongoing anthology comic. This vintage-style, exploitive black & white pulp rag never disappoints, and this issue is certainly no exception to that rule. Turn your lights on for this issue. Because, frankly, I had to.
WRITTEN BY: Ted Naifeh, Rachel Deering
ART BY: Ted Naifeh, Peter Bagge, Vanesa R. Del Rey
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 9, 2014
This balls to the wall installment of Dark Horse’s “Creepy” doesn’t pull any punches. It starts of terrifying and moves seamlessly into horrifying. It continues to showcase Creepy’s signature style via classic illustrations, gorgeous cover art, eerie anecdotes, and perfectly peppy puns from Uncle Creepy himself.
In typical “Creepy” fashion, there is no slow build up. We are tossed into a spooky vortex and aren’t released for 40 pages. “Do Not Click,” the first story, written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh (“Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things”) is reminiscent of The Ring meets the Slender Man mythos. Not a lot makes me want to look over my shoulder while simultaneously being afraid of what I will actually see if I look over my shoulder. But this disturbing little tale of technology-gone-wrong had me shaking in my boots. (Seriously, guys.)
Next up, “In the Dark” editor/author/letterer Rachel Deering brings us her signature brand of real life psychosis in “Like Clockwork,” a Norman Bates-like loves story. Both sickening and (oddly) sickeningly sweet, this morbid tale follows a young clockmaker deep into his chilling delusions of love and humanity. Evoking the likes of some of history’s most notorious serial killers, Deering sews together a unnerving as hell look at the modern dating dilemma. Now with even more rotting flesh!
In what feels like a gift from the comic gods, the Creepy Family gives us a comic adaptation of H.P Lovecraft’s “The Cats of Ulthar.” This story has always hit my horror threshold because, well, cats are the worst. It combines several of my greatest fears: cats, owning cats, being eaten by cats, and cats.
“I Hate You! I Hate You!” gets real, real quick. Exciting our sociopathic, Bad Seed-like anxieties. I don’t know about you all, but I’m terrified of raising a real-life little monster. And therein lies the genius of “Creepy.” It’s a mixture of sobering realism, exploitive surrealism, and of course, hellish supernaturalism. This is, hands down, way way down, one of my favorite issues of the rebooted “Creepy” series. Don’t pass up the opportunity to partake in these frightening comic shorts by horror veterans and newcomers alike.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Bree Ogden
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.
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