Comics
Sci-Fi and Crime ‘Fuse’ Together In New Image Series
“The Fuse”, a new ongoing Image Comics series from Anthony Johnston and Justin Greenwood, looks to meld the crime and science fiction genres in the New Year. The series follows detectives Ristovych and Dietrich of Midway City’s Homicide division, whose jurisdiction stretches far beyond planet Earth, and out to a massive power station thousands of miles away in space.
In the first arc, “The Russian Shift”, it sounds like it takes a bit of influence from Westerns as well, as the the detectives try to law down the law in the frontier. Look for issue #1 in shops February 12th, 2014.
Official Press Release:
A space adventure sure to captivate science-fiction and procedural crime fiction fans, THE FUSE is a new ongoing, hard-bitten sci-fi crime series from ANTONY JOHNSTON (UMBRAL, Wasteland, Daredevil) and JUSTIN GREENWOOD (Wasteland, Resurrection). THE FUSE follows detectives Ristovych and Dietrich of Midway City’s Homicide division, whose jurisdiction is an orbiting power station 22,000 miles up.
Johnston describes THE FUSE #1 as a blend of different influences. “I’m a sucker for detective stories, down-at-heel cop shows, and the kind of ‘lived-in’ sci-fi where everything feels like it might fall apart at any moment,” he explains. “Combine those with a frontier attitude, where a half million people all think they can get away with murder, and you’ve got THE FUSE.”
The creators worked together as a team and fed off of each other’s creativity. “The thing I love best about cop stories and crime comics is that ultimately they’re about people, and that’s where I think Antony and I tell our best stories,” said Greenwood. “Combine this with Shari Chankhamma’s wonderful, atmospheric color sense and Ed Brisson’s great lettering and you get the kind of comic that I know, as a fan, I’d want to check out myself.”
For the full interview visit the Image Comics website at: imagecomics.com.
In “THE RUSSIA SHIFT,” Part One, we’re introduced to the permanently understaffed and overworked murder police on board “The Fuse,” assigned to working a new frontier where the law struggles to be heard, let alone obeyed.
THE FUSE #1 will be available in stores on February 12, 2014 for $3.50. Pre-orders can be placed using Diamond Code DEC130485.
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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