Comics
Review of Brian Azzarello’s ‘Joker’ Graphic Novel
After the amazing success of the Dark Knight movie, I was expecting the comic world to be flooded with stories about Heath Ledger-esque Jokers and a saturation of the market to make me cry. Luckily DC comics did not do this, but in October they did release one in a similar vein, Brian Azzarello’s Joker. Released solely as a graphic novel, I did not really notice this and took it at face value and DC trying to turn a quick buck. But friend of the Dead Pixels Podcast, SuperRadMike, told me otherwise and was great enough to write a review to shed some light. Mike’s review after the break…
Hola Creeps, a couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of reading Joker, the new graphic novel from DC Comics. Written by Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets & Lex Luthor: Man Of Steel) and art by Lee Bermejo (100 Bullets). The premise is focused on the Joker’s release from Arkham Asylum and is told in the perspective of new character, Jonny Frost. Jonny picks him up from Arkham and through the story becomes part of the Joker’s gang. In this novel you get a better insight on the Joker and watch his struggle to take back his throne as crime lord of Gotham City. You also get reacquainted with such villains as Killer Croc, Penguin, the Riddler, Harley Quinn and Two-Face. The story focuses more on Joker’s sadistic side, not as far as Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke would go, but still pretty sadistic. You also get to witness a little bit of a human side to him as well. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Batman story or looking for a graphic novel without the attachments. My rating: 8.5. Go buy it. Adios Creeps.
Joker is available at most Comic Book Shops for about $19.99, Hardcover, Color, 128pgs
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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