Comics
IDW Expands ‘Banshee: Origins’ For Free Online
IDW announced that they have expanded upon the free digital one-shot “Banshee: Origins” to include new content leading into the Cinemax TV series. The prewuel comic hit last January and with the new instalment, writer Jonathan Tropper and illustrator Mike Henderson dive deeper into the background of the characters and their criminal methods.
You can read “Banshee: Origins” for free right now in the IDW Comics app for Apple iOS, Comics by ComiXology apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8, the Apple iBookstore, and online at read.idwpublishing.com.
Official Press Release:
San Diego, CA, (July 17, 2013) – IDW Publishing and Cinemax® announced that the free digital one-shot BANSHEE: ORIGINS has been expanded to include additional content, filling fans in on just how master thief Lucas Hood found his way to the town of Banshee, Pennsylvania in Cinemax’s hit show.
The prequel comic BANSHEE: ORIGINS, which debuted in early January, sets up the relationship between the two main protagonists Lucas and Carrie and tells their story 15 years prior to the series narrative. The new installment, written by BANSHEE series writer Jonathan Tropper and illustrated by Mike Henderson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones), delves deeper into the background of the characters and the dangerous criminal element that exists in Banshee.
“IDW’s BANSHEE: ORIGINS is truly an innovation in transmedia storytelling,” said Greg Yaitanes, executive producer, BANSHEE. “It’s not just a great graphic novel on its own merits, but is canon with BANSHEE mythology. The creative team from the series seamlessly collaborated with IDW to create this experience. Readers familiar with BANSHEE on Cinemax will have secrets revealed from season one and hints about season two woven into these pages all wrapped in an origin story.”
Executive produced by Jonathan Tropper, David Schickler, Peter Macdissi, Alan Ball and Greg Yaitanes, BANSHEE stars Antony Starr (Rush) as Lucas Hood, an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, Pa. where he continues his criminal activities, even though he and Carrie (Ivana Milicevic), his former partner in crime, are hunted by shadowy gangsters he betrayed years earlier.
A full-color noir blast populated by unique characters, mysterious turns, and harrowing thrills, BANSHEE has become a hit on television, and now fans can finally learn a few more of its secrets in comics! Take it from Alan Ball himself, who explains in the BANSHEE: ORIGINS’ foreword: “Of course, there had to be a comic book.”
BANSHEE: ORIGINS is a free download and available now in the IDW Comics app for Apple iOS, Comics by ComiXology apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8, the Apple iBookstore, and online at read.idwpublishing.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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