Comics
Four-Issue Comic Series ‘Darkade: An Arcade Horror Comic’ Coming to Kickstarter [Teaser]
Photoghasts creator T.W. Burgess is shifting away from card games for his next project, but is still bringing the horror. Launching soon on Kickstarter is “Darkade: An Arcade Horror Comic”, a four-part comic series written by Burgess, with the first issue being illustrated by Christian DiBari.
The story for Darkade concerns an avid gamer named Sam. For over 20 years, she has hidden her estranged father’s legacy as owner of Benningworth’s, a now-abandoned arcade located on Plank Pier, Coney Island. A place haunted by countless allegations of child abduction and crime back in the 90s, Sam’s father himself is now missing, long presumed dead. With Sam’s own funds dwindling and desperate for money, she makes the decision to return to Plank Pier in the hope of recovering a collection of her father’s own rare arcade motherboards to sell online. In doing so, Sam will discover something far darker lurks in the shadows of the abandoned pier: A forgotten turn of the century arcade hall.
Once a prohibition gambling den built by gangster Archie Stripes, and now home to a curated assortment of the most haunted arcade games from around the globe. A collection spanning back decades. From early corrupted clockwork games to digital demonic cabs from the 20th century. The only visitors? A handful of players led down those same metal steps every turn of the moon. Each player desperate, out of luck. Yet somehow, finding themselves gifted with a ‘Black quarter’ their means of entry. Their gateway into a world of desire and curses. The players hope? A chance to turn their luck around, to win back their good fortune. But the risk will be great. For once they enter, they may never leave.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.