Comics
‘The Gates Of Misery’ Swing Open With Stories From Cronenberg, Knautz & Kostanski
After a successful Kickstarter brought the retro comic book anthology to life , the pages are now ready to be read by those outside of the crowdfunding campaign. Artist / illustrator extraordinaire, Matthew Therrien, has made a masterpiece that harks back to illegal late night page turning under covers with a flash light.
The Gates of Misery is a comic-book horror anthology, comprised of a series of tales of terror by some of the most creative and imaginative minds in the horror industry. Creator Matthew Therrien, like so many horror fans who grew up with classic horror comics from the 60s and 70s, wanted to make something equally as exciting for today’s modern horror fanatic. The idea was simple: allow horror writers and filmmakers — many of whom have never written for comics before — the chance to create their own 6 page horror stories. With no budget restrictions (one of the benefits of telling stories in a graphic format like this), the writers were free to create anything they desired; whatever they chose to pull from the depths of their nightmarish minds.
The unifying factor? The Mount Misery Cemetery. Whenever anyone is buried within this particular graveyard, the cemetery itself learns their entire life story, and for those willing to listen, it will recount some of the most gruesome and grizzly deaths. But only to those who aren’t faint of heart.
Our first 32 page issue contains four unique and unsettling stories by Steven Kostanski (Manborg, ABCs of Death 2, The Void), Brandon Cronenberg (Antiviral), Jon Knautz (Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, The Shrine, Goddess of Love), and Dave Alexander (award winning filmmaker and current editor of Rue Morgue magazine)!
The first issue introduces the over arching comic book voice emanating from ‘Mount Misery’ a golden hued cemetery with guarding gargoyles and musty mausoleums. The terror tales begin with Astron-6’s Steven Kostanski who tells a steampunk science story ‘Re-Phase Malfunction ‘. It is enthused with his humor demonstrated in ‘Manborg’ & ‘ABCs of Death 2’ segment with body melting results. Brandon Cronenberg puts a new wheel spin on the classic road kill redemption in ‘Death in Li Tolqa’. Andrew Barr guest illustrates Jon Knautz’s unorthodox hell spawn buddy story, ‘Darrel And Lenny’, while Rue Morgue Magazine’s Dave Alexander ends the tome with a quick draw cowboy camp fire closer that is brilliantly simple yet effective.
Take a look at some panels from the comic and grab a copy here as well as following on social for future edition news.
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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