Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Spread” # 4 Blurs The Line Between Hero and Villain
Deeper and deeper we go into the gore-filled rabbit hole that is Justin Jordan’s “Spread.” Lines are blurred as the trials increase for our heroes No, Molly, and baby Hope. Issue #4 picks up as super-babe Ravello intervenes in Jack’s hack-and-slash way of justice, seemingly rescuing No from a Crock-Pot style ending. As our trio is separated, their connections with the villains of the series come together.
WRITTEN BY: Justin Jordan
ART BY: Kyle Strahm
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: November 5, 2014
Reviewed by Nick Brehmer
Turns out, Molly’s been exposed to Ravello before and I suspect that there’s some detail regarding infanticide that has yet to be revealed. What has been revealed though is that the Preacher and his minions consider baby Hope to be the anti-Christ and an end to their spread-infested perfect world. Given the power her tears hold over the infection, it makes sense that her extermination would be paramount for this Spread-centered religious movement.
The plane from issue #1 makes a return in this latest issue as referenced by Ravello. Jack, who insists that the outside world and all things from it have ceased to exist, however, quickly refutes its existence. This echoes my statement from my previous review that Revello’s villainous role may not be as obvious as it seems. I get the impression from “Spread” that that Jordan likes to play with expectations.
The narrative structure that Jordan continues in each issue is pretty seamless. He has the narrator Hope position each past situation within a context of gritty, painful realism. With that said, her narration itself provides the chaos of “Spread” with a significant amount of her namesake, hope. The only problem is that we as reader have yet to actually see much of it within in panels. We can cheer for No and Molly, be suspicious of Ravello, and we can cringe at Preacher all we want, but the world of “Spread” remains a very, very nasty place.
There’s heaps of violent anticipation thrown our way in this issue. Looking forward to what bloody mess Jordan has in store for us next time.
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A product of the harsh lands of Northern Ontario, Nick Brehmer is in fact a sensitive flower currently blooming in the GTA. He spends his downtime wishing he was British. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @nicholasbrehmer
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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