Comics
Review: “X” # 16
Has X met someone he ultimately can’t take down? Yep and it’s great to see the trouncing that occurs as a result. “X” #16 brings the beat down straight to the face of our masked sociopath in spectacular fashion once again this month. There’s acid, SWAT teams, kicks where men don’t like…this is one big dirty fight of an issue.
WRITTEN BY: Duane Swierczynski
ART BY: Eric Nguyen
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: 13 August 2014
Reviewed By Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
Writer Duane Swierczynski has set up his chessboard of ultra-violence quite nicely to conclude his”Better Off Dead” storyline. There are so many different gangs of mobsters, cops and other nefarious folk gathered here. It’s almost at the point where something has to give. They all want to run the filthy town of Arcadia and kill X at the same time. It seems to me that this is just about as far as this can be stretched without breaking.
I hope Swierczynski and artist Eric Nguyen stick to what they are good at in the future of this series. Criminal foes seem to be better suited for X than super villains. Nguyen seems to have some difficulty conveying the speed and power The Archon is meant to possess here. His characters look a little more stiff and distorted than other chapters. It’s almost sad to see him fight this unstoppable Archon. This underdog is not going to win this fight. It’s a gruesome fight to behold but I didn’t ever think X was going to win. Because of that, my interest waned during this issue.
Readers are made well aware of how human our masked man in this series is, especially in this issue. This Archon is more than a man and that is not a good thing at all for our would-be savior. Up until now, X has never faced anyone superhuman. Now we all know why. That is one fight our man simply should not attempt. I’m not sure if that was the point of this arc or not. It is clear to me that he should stick to gangsters and psychopaths. X isn’t made for this sort of confrontation at all.
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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