Comics
‘Close Your Eyes’ For This ‘The Darkness’ One-Shot
Image and Top Cow are releasing special one-shot issue, “The Darkness: Close Your Eyes”, that explores Jackie Estacado’s past. The issue is coming at your from Ales Kot and Maro Oleksicki and brings you a hundred years back in time to examine the Estacado’s ancestors, also plagued by The Darkness. Look for the one-shot in shops this June.
From the press release:
Ales Kot (ZERO, WILD CHILDREN) joins Maro Oleksicki (Judge Dredd, Predator, Books of Magick) to deliver THE DARKNESS: CLOSE YOUR EYES. Readers of THE DARKNESS, WITCHBLADE, and ARTIFACTS will enjoy this special glimpse into Estacado’s past, which will be released by Top Cow this June.
Los Angeles more than a hundred years ago: a different place, yet the sun still burns and the oilfields still flow.
“This is a story no-one told before,” said Kot. “This is a missing piece of the puzzle that is the Darkness.”
This is a story of another Estacado. This is a story of love. This is a story of death. Perfect for readers interested in jumping onto the long-running series or curious about the Top Cow Universe, THE DARKNESS: CLOSE YOUR EYES provides the perfect sampler.
THE DARKNESS: CLOSE YOUR EYES (ONE-SHOT), arrives in stores on 6/4, and will be available for $3.99.
THE DARKNESS: CLOSE YOUR EYES (ONE-SHOT) can be pre-ordered using Diamond Code APR140500.
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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