Comics
‘The Rise’: Preview George C. Romero’s ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Prologue Comic from Heavy Metal Magazine! [Exclusive]
As you may recall, the late George A. Romero’s son George Cameron Romero had been working on a prequel (of sorts) to Night of the Living Dead titled Rise of the Living Dead, described as a “prelude to Night” and a “love letter” to his father. As we learned last year, the project has now taken the form of a comic, soon to be published by Heavy Metal Magazine.
Billed as a “prologue” that’s set in the same world as George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the comic is titled The Rise, and it will be published inside the magazine’s pages.
Written by George C. Romero with art by Diego Yapur, Issue #1 of The Rise will be unleashed on April 7, 2021, and we’ve got an exclusive sneak peek inside the pages for ya today.
“Night of the Living Dead changed popular culture forever, and now the son of legendary film director George A. Romero tells the story before the worst night on Earth. In The Rise, learn about the death, destruction, and tragedy that led to the birth of the modern zombie in this prologue horror saga to the most significant and influential horror film franchise in history!”
“The Rise is a prologue to Night of the Living Dead that follows a desperate scientist in pursuit of the key missing ingredient in a mysterious experiment, leading him down a dangerous path.”
George C. Romero explains to Bloody Disgusting this week, “After a decade-long battle to find a home for The Rise, I met Heavy Metal CEO Matthew Medney and realized our shared passion and vision for our own legacy brands, and it made all the sense in the world to do The Rise with Heavy Metal. The Heavy Metal Rise team is literally the dream team and working with Executive Editor Joe Illidge and “Chief Creative Overlord” David Erwin has been one of the highlights of my entire career.”
Check out the preview pages below and also look out for George C. Romero and Heavy Metal’s four-issue comic series Cold Dead War, which is launching on March 24!
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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