Comics
Review: ‘Mars Attacks’ #4
I can’t say was a big fan of Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks movie when I saw it so many years ago. Nor was I even alive when the trading card were going around. Suffice it to say, I held reserves about the new “Mars Attacks” series from IDW, but what I found is a dashingly fun, furious ride packed with stellar artwork from John McCrea. John Laymon does an excellent job developing the wild Martian universe through the use of flash backs and a strong narrative arc, while John McCrea’s art brings it all to life.
WRITTEN BY: John Laymon
ART BY: John McCrea
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: 3.99
RELEASE: September 26th, 2012
The story follows the Martian warlord, Zar, who is organizing a mass invasion of Earth from his flagship. The issue shows his family history, who at one point have come and made contact with Earth. These past visits always resulted in death and war which is why Zar has assembled a massive invasion team to wipe the planet clean. Layman brilliantly places two human men on the ship who come from different time periods. one is a South American aboriginal and the other is from colonial America, this is a cool take on the alien abduction paranoia inherent to our culture. The story is perpetuated by the use of quirky flashbacks, which reveal essential background details of the invasion and the humans involved in the story.
As Layman and McCrea bring the reader through the historical context of the invasion, it culminates with a skirmish and leads into what will be a massive conflict on Earth. John Laymon’s story is much deeper than I would have thought possible, giving testament to his skills as a writer.
Despite how good Layman’s script is, John McCrea steals the show. He brings incredible depictions of the alien life forms, and all the death and destruction that comes with them. This book is laced with bloodshed from spear wounds to the Martian ray guns. One of McCrea’s panels is a clinic in over-the-top gore, where a Martian unloads a ray beam into a human leaving the head and legs intact while nothing but his skeleton remains of his torso. Stylish, hilarious, and bloody.
From the first issue, the writing and illustrations have been top notch, with no shortage of comical violence.
3.5/5
Reviewed by –GreenBasterd
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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