Comics
Review-Victorian Undead #1, A More Refined Approach To Zombies
Wildstorm just released a comic series with a different angle to the zombie genre. Victorian Undead tells the story of a zombie outbreak during the turn of the 20th century…and only one man can stop them, Sherlock Holmes. Is it any good or is it dead on arrival? Read on for my quick review.
Victorian Undead starts out with a typical small zombie outbreak that festers…although in this series there is a lot more cockney accents and bowler hats. Throughout this introductory issue we are shown the craziness that has befallen England. Zombie outbreaks and robot attacks do not seem out of grasp in this world. While that might sound typical, the part that really shines in this series is the authenticity and care that was taken to make the dialogue and characters seem believable. All of the characters are still set in the Victorian era and treat a robot’s head exploding or a decapitated head in the style of that time.
There is a lot more to discuss but I do not want to spoil anything, but consider this a typical issue one; mostly character and plot introduction. The setting and characters are what makes this series stand out and it’s one to check out.
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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