Comics
Review: ‘Crossed: Badlands’ #50
A suspenseful standout, “Crossed: Badlands” #50 aims for the reader’s jugular fast and brutally. Garth Ennis returns to the “Crossed” series, already defying reader’s expectations. The start of a new story arc, see if you have the stomach to take on the “Crossed” series.
WRITTEN BY: Garth Ennis
ART BY: Christian Zanier
PUBLISHER: Avatar Press
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: March 27, 2013
The psychotic plague known as “Crossed” has not even infected the rest of the world yet. The carriers haven’t gotten their name yet because the cross-like rash hasn’t appeared on their faces. We know the plague will eventually turn off people’s conscience though. The Crossed will succumb to their evil most desires and the infection will never stop spreading. The T.S. Eliot poem got it all wrong. The world doesn’t end with a whimper; it ends with a loud and deafening bang.
Writer Garth Ennis toys around with the flashback technique in the quick-paced opening pages. Something horrible is going to happen, which will cause a young man to lose his mind. Events will turn out so badly that the military, even the local police, has to get involved. Ennis is hinting at a multi-layered mystery that readers will have to put together. We are witnessing the early stages of how the Crossed universe succumbed to depravity.
Through heavy-driven dialogue, Ennis introduces a cast of supporting characters in this installment, rather than focusing on the shock value. Surprisingly, Ennis builds the brutal tension with heart-pounding suspense throughout the narrative. The provocative images are just there to tease readers of what’s to come. Ennis wants the readers to wait before he lays out all the gore and depravity the “Crossed” series is known for.
Artist Christian Zanier is able to show the two-sided nature of the main characters. The Prime Minister is introduced outside a church, surrounded by innocent and smiling children. But when the Prime Minister sits inside his limousine, we get to see how corrupt and manipulative he really is. Harry, the Prime Minister’s bodyguard, may seem like a thug and jokester at first. But beneath his punkish attitude lies a resourceful and calculating observer who deduces a traitor amongst the Prime Minister’s crew.
Zanier goes along for the ride with Ennis to tease the readers. We get a taste of sexuality and violence before Zanier heads for the extreme. Zanier illustrates a hard-hitting and fast action sequence midway through to the climax. The best part is that the scene has nothing to do with the Crossed plague. I can’t wait to see how Zanier lets loose the graphic violence and sexual imagery in later installments
“Crossed: Badlands” #50 takes its time to scar your mind. With “Crossed” in the right hands, Ennis and Zanier are going to deliver the gratuitous goods in unexpected ways.
4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by Jorge Solis
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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