Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Squarriors” #1 Is Bloody Fun
Some weeks are better than others to take a chance on a new title, and from what I hear, this week’s a heavy one for a lot of people’s pulls. I don’t care. Leave something at the comic shop if you have to, trade in one of your subscriptions, sell your kidney. But this week, you’re going to sincerely regret it if you don’t pick up “Squarriors” #1.
WRITTEN BY: Ash Maczko
ART BY: Ashley Witter
PUBLISHER: Devil’s Due Entertainment
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASE: December 17, 2014
Reviewed By Katy Rex
This may be a series with adorable anthropomorphic creatures in it, but make no mistake, this is for grown-ups. It follows the lives of the Tin Kin, a localized clan, as they navigate the world. Their world is not rose-colored, and it’s not particularly kind to them. There’s a plague, they call it Winter Sickness, claiming the lives of many of their members. Their territory is no longer adequate to support them, and to survive they must interact with other clans, many of whom have vastly different values than the Tin Kin.
The world they live in is not quite our own– or if it is, it’s a vastly different interpretation. Humans– or as the Tin Kin call them, Creators– seem to have gone extinct. The Tin Kin is a clan by allegiance rather than relation, and is made of several species of woodland creatures. There are vague references to other strange functions of this world, like the feeding camps, which are implied to be a place that rodents go to wait to be cat food. This first issue does a lot to explore this new (post-human-apocalypse) world.
And the art… oh my god, the art. It is hyper-realistic, it is visceral, it is so goddamn beautiful. Ashley Witter, has a very distinct style that is perfect for this title. The bloody realism removes all possibility for this to be a cute story about some fuzzy animals. Every panel is perfectly detailed, and the panel layouts are well-considered and creative. The images are practically in motion.
Between these beautiful illustrations and the intriguing script, this comic is well worth the $4.99.
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Katy Rex writes comics analysis at endoftheuniversecomics.com, comicsbulletin.com, and bloody-disgusting.com. She also writes scholarly articles for various academic journals. She really likes butt jokes, dinosaurs, and killing psychos and midgets in Borderlands 2. She has a great sense of humor if you’re not an asshole.
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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