Comics
Review: ‘No Place Like Home’ #3
Angelo Tirotto has officially awakened the beast in No Place Like Home #3. Dee and Lizzie, in the midst of death, are slowly beginning to uncover the mysteries surrounding all of the bizarre, grisly deaths cropping up in town, with the help of everyone’s favorite drunken hobo, Thomas. Thomas, however, is not just holding secrets about the murders; he also happens to be carrying a few personal secrets around in his pocket.
WRITTEN BY: Angelo Tirotto
ART BY: Richard Jordan
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: Out Now
“No Place Like Home” #3 opens with another classic cinematic occurrence: a dark and stormy night. The strange creature that may or may not have killed Dee’s parents has racked up more casualties, much to the chagrin of the sheriff, who has to clean up yet another mess. Meanwhile, Lizzie and Dee are still trying to uncover the secrets of Dee’s parents’ deaths; Thomas, the prophetic drunkard, has offered them an explanation, but who would believe a drunk? Eventually, when the creature attempts to strike again, we learn a bit more about Lizzie’s past.
This issue is chock-full of suspense, and there’s plenty of blood, as usual. Angelo Tirotto is keeping the series well-paced, so that it doesn’t drag, but is still maintaining the humor and creativity of the previous issues. The characters are developing steadily, as well; I’m pretty excited to find out what happened the last time the mysterious creature came to town, thereby revealing more of the secrets that tend to be haunting the town.
Richard Jordan’s artwork is awesome, as usual. The emphasis in this issue seems to really be on the eyes, from the girls’ doe-eyed expressions to the beady, demonic eyes of the creature. Paul Little went all-out with the misty greens and blues in this issue, capturing the eerie mood of the night, as well as the weather.
Image Comics has brought forth another great horror title, and I’m excited to see what happens in the last two issues. Angelo Tirotto and the team have definitely breathed new life to revamped this classic! Pick up this book if you haven’t been already. Come on – don’t make me call the flying monkey!
-KtMc
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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