Comics
‘Bloodshot’: Valiant Comics Makes Big Screen Debut in 2020
It’s going to be a long wait for us comic fans to see the first Valiant adaptation hit theaters with Sony Pictures’ Bloodshot targeting a February 21, 2020, release.
Vin Diesel will play the live-action superhero for the first time in Dave Wilson’s film, which costars Toby Kebbell (Kong: Skull Island), Eiza Gonzalez, Michael Sheen, Talulah Riley, Alex Hernandez and Sam Heughan.
“Bloodshot” is about a mortally wounded soldier resurrected with cutting-edge nanotechnology and tasked with rounding up super-powered outcasts known as “harbingers.”
You can read all about one of the villains here.
“Bloodshot” was created for Valiant Comics by Kevin Van Hook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton in 1992. It ran for 110 issues with more than 7.5 million copies sold. Valiant’s bench of more than 2,000 superhero characters (with sales of more than 81 million copies) makes it the third-largest library of superheroes behind Marvel and DC — and the only one not owned by a major conglomerate.
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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