Comics
Alan Robert Soars With ‘The Shunned One’
With the conclusion of Alan Robert’s zombie comedy “Killogy”, we should have known it was only a matter of time before he announced a new comic project with IDW. The announcement was originally supposed to come at Comic-Con this week, but lucky for you, the beans were spilled early (he will still be holding a panel Friday July 19th at 5pm PST). Alan Robert’s latest venture at IDW sees his take on the Angel of Death who goes off the rails after being ordered to take innocent lives. Alan Robert has been pumping out horror comics non-stop, and if this is anything like his past work, you won’t want to miss it. Check out the promo art below and details on the series.
From The Website:
Life of Agony bassist/songwriter Alan Robert teams up with award-winning publisher IDW Publishing once again to release another creator-owned horror comic miniseries The Shunned One in 2014. Robert’s upcoming tale of winged woe focuses on an Angel of Death who goes rogue after being ordered to take several innocent lives. This guilt-ridden death angel begins to carry out his own judgment on humans, based on their actions instead of whether their names appear on the preordained Death List. The angel’s unsanctioned murders instantly alter the balance within the universe and trigger a string of unforeseen disasters that spiral out of control. Banished from Heaven by his Creator and hunted by a pack of vengeful death angels, The Shunned One must hide among the humans to survive while trying to reverse the damage he’s done.
The Shunned One marks the prolific creator’s fourth horror comic series with IDW in four years; following his other critically acclaimed series Killogy, Crawl to Me, and Wire Hangers.
“This will definitely be my darkest series to date,” says Robert. “The tragedies in Newtown and Aurora really hit home for me. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain those families are going through. I suppose The Shunned One is my subconscious reaction to events like that—just trying to cope with all this death and my worst fears in my own way.”
“I’m happy to once again put my life in Alan Robert’s hands in the form of his latest series for IDW,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Office/Editor-in-Chief. “As he’s proven with his numerous series for us already, he’s an expert at telling dark, fantastical tales, and The Shunned One, featuring the Angel of Death himself, is only the latest reason we’re happy to keep walking into dark territory with him.”
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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