Comics
Syfy Bringing “Five Ghosts” to Television
Syfy has announced the pulpy adventure comic “Five Ghosts” is in development as a TV series to be produced by Universal Cable Productions, Black Mask Studios, and BenderSpink.
“Five Ghosts” is an ongoing comic book series created by writer Frank J. Barbiere and illustrator Chris Mooneyham. The tale of a 1930s-era treasure hunter possessed by five literary ghosts (Merlin, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Musashi, and Dracula), the comic was launched as a successfully self-published Kickstarter in April 2012, picked up by Image Comics at New York Comic Con in October 2012, and debuted in comic shops in March 2013 where it sold through multiple printings of its initial 5-issue mini-series.
The pilot is being written by Evan Daugherty (Snow White And The Huntsman, Divergent, TMNT) based on the critically acclaimed comic series by Frank J. Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham, about a 1930s era treasure hunter possessed by five literary ghosts (Merlin, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Musashi, and Dracula) whose unique abilities he can draw on during his adventures.
The series will be executive produced by BenderSpink and Black Mask. Black Mask’s Matt Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz will co-executive produce with BenderSpink’s executive producers Chris Bender, Jake Weiner and producer Jake Wagner.
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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