Comics
Review: ‘Brain Boy’ #3
Brain Boy? What’s that? I had no idea and I’m glad I found out. The latest and greatest recreation from the creators of uber-entertaining stories like Incredible Hercules and dynamic artwork from Superboy bring us “Brain Boy” #3. What’s the world’s most powerful telepath to do? Let’s find out, shall we?
WRITTEN BY: Fred Van Lente
ART BY: R.B. Silva
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 20, 2013
Brain Boy is Matt Price. He hates being called Brain Boy. He’s the dominant mind on this globe and he uses that to protect national security interests. He’s been tasked with protecting a foreign dignitary who is also psychically powered. That’s as recap as I can get as I’m also guilty of just catching up with this fun and energetic series.
This creative team really excels at pace and scale. Writer Fred Van Lente knows when to slow things down and when to blow things up. The UN mob jumping into the river for a murderous swim is a nice example. Artist R.B. Sillva with inker Rob Lean and superb coloring by Ego really make this book pop off the page. It almost looks cartoonish but it’s much cooler than that. Trust me, this is worth picking up and reading a few times. The details are right where they need to be. Silva doesn’t over-do it anywhere. He has a great sense of direction and controlling exactly where your eyeballs should be looking next.
The creativity seems to know now bounds in this series. Psychic-proof-suited femme fatales? A handler / mother figure who gets to be experimented on in super bizarre ways? Who do you trust? What happened to Brain Boy’s parents? It’s all in there. Plus, there’s green slime. What more could you ask for? Brain Boy jumped right into the action and hasn’t stopped since the first issue. Catch up if you can on this title and you won’t regret it. It will make your brain happy.
4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
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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