Comics
Jeff Lemire And Dean Ormston’s ‘Black Hammer’ Delayed
Dark Horse Comics announced this morning that Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s “Black Hammer” has been delayed indefinitely. There is no word on when production will pick back up and sadly the delay is caused by medical circumstances. The book has been met with a certain degree of anticipation, and this delay is undoubtably one of the biggest bummers in comics.
Due to an unforeseen health issue, Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s anticipated creator-owned series Black Hammer has been delayed until a future date.
“Black Hammer has been a labor of love for me. It’s a project that I’ve been working on in various forms for seven years,” series cocreator Jeff Lemire said. “And as excited as I am to share it, sometimes life gets in the way of comics.
“On March 26, my amazing collaborator Dean Ormston suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on the left side of his brain, which affected his whole right side,” he continued. “Dean is now at home and recovering. As a result, we have decided to postpone the launch of Black Hammer until Dean is able to work regularly again. I’d like to thank all the fans and retailers for their patience and understanding as Dean recovers and promise that Black Hammer will be worth the wait.”
“In essence, this is a dream project, and to top it all off, I get to have my art enhanced by colorist supremo Dave Stewart,” Ormston told Comic Book Resources. “Sadly, about a month ago, I had a bleed on the brain, so things have been put on hold until I recover and get back to drawing fully. I am tentatively getting back to drawing Black Hammer, albeit slowly, but the outlook is positive and I’m confident of a full recovery.”
Retailers will be notified of a new date for Black Hammer in a future communication.
“Dean’s made Black Hammer’s visuals his own, and none of us can imagine launching the book before he’s able to draw it uninterrupted,” said series editor Brendan Wright. “We’ll reschedule the launch as soon as we can, and Jeff and Dean’s work on the full issue is going to blow everyone away!”
Bloody-Disgusting wishes Dean Ormston a smooth and speedy recovery. Dark Horse encourages fans and retailers to keep their eyes peeled for further updates as to when Black Hammer will debut.
To get a better idea of what’s coming in Black Hammer #1, check out an exclusive preview and further comments from the team over at Comic Book Resources.
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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