Comics
Review: Dark Matter #2
After a suspenseful and enigmatic debut, Dark Matter shifts into overdrive with its second issue. The crew of a mysterious spacecraft has awakened from stasis with no memories of themselves or their mission, and now they must band together to survive the threats of the final frontier. In a struggle to survive, they must also try to obtain the keys to unlock their own inner secrets. Read on for the skinny…
WRITTEN BY: Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
ILLUSTRATIONS BY:Garry Brown
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
RELEASE: Feb 8
In Dark Matter #2, the six crew members are immediately faced with a threat to their ship, leading to an action-packed battle scene. Once the crisis is averted, the crew is faced with another challenge – the ship has a destination. They soon discover why they have landed on this planet, and for which team they’re playing.
The pace of the story is steady, with new questions raised as others are resolved, keeping the suspenseful tone in check. The art is keeping up effortlessly with the high-suspense plot. Artist Garry Brown has truly brought the spacecraft to life with his elaborate line work. The color palette adds to the heavy lines with high contrast, bright hues popping out of the shadows. The outer space scenes are definitely the most vivid, with bright yellows and oranges cutting through deep space’s blackness.
Dark Matter is turning out to be a solidly-written, well-paced science fiction series, with intricate art to back it up. You’re gonna want to make sure you pre-order your copy of Dark Matter #3, which drops on March 14th.To check out more information on Dark Matter, head over to darkhorse.com.
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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