Comics
Review: City of Dust Series
Now available from Radical Publishing is Steve Nile’s City of Dust. Beyond the break you can read my review of the comic to see if it’s worth picking up. City of Dust takes place in a futuristic society where religion and fiction are illegal, because it is believed the nurturing of the imagination is dangerous. Check the break for the review…
City of Dust is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) with artwork by Zid, Brandon Chng and Garrie Gastonny and published by Radical Comics. City of Dust takes place in a futuristic society where religion and fiction are illegal, because it is believed the nurturing of the imagination is dangerous. The story centers around Philip Khrome, a police officer investigating a gruesome murder where the only piece evidence is a children’s book. This is all I’ll say about the story, because I don’t want to spoil anything for those of you planning on reading it, but I will try to peak your interest by mentioning that it involves robots, werewolves and vampires.
Niles has crafted an excellent story here. The story reads like a cyberpunk noir with bits of horror, action and gore mixed in. There is great character development and Niles does a good job of establishing the universe this story takes place in. Reading this story one has to wonder how a society with no imagination will combat creatures that were birthed from imagination?
Zid does the artwork and acts as colorist for the first issue and does a great job complimenting Niles’ dark and gritty story. Chng and Gastonny join the team in issue two. Both are excellent artists, but I would have preferred to see one artist do all the artwork for the entire series. The changing art styles become a little distracting, but thankfully the story is strong enough to keep your interest.
City of Dust is a worthwhile read and I would highly recommend it. It’s shame that City of Dust is only five issues. I feel the story has enough depth and potential to justify longer running series. Each issue will cost you about $3 a pop. Given the shortness of the series it won’t be too hard on your wallet. The final issue will be available next month. I’ll be picking up a thesaurus with the next issue so I can teach myself some new adjectives other than excellent, great and good for the next time I write a review.
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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