Comics
No One Is As They Seem In Image’s New Cannibalistic FADE TO BLACK
I know it’s still very early on in the year, but with the announcements of so many new titles surfacing this past month, along with the news that AMC has green-lit a Frank Darabont directed “WALKING DEAD” pilot, I think it’s safe to say that this is the biggest year in horror comics in recent memory. And as if the news of said pilot wasn’t enough for literary gore-hounds everywhere, below you will find the preview of Image’s newest horror mini-series “FADE TO BLACK”. Read on for the skinny.
FADE TO BLACK, a new horror miniseries from Image Comics/Shadowline by ZOMBIE COP writer Jeff Mariotte and internationally acclaimed illustrator Danielle Serra, promises to take its readers on a winding, twisted trail in which first impressions are always wrong.
“The characters of FADE TO BLACK are actors, shooting a film on location. They’re young, wealthy, beautiful and spoiled, and everything they know about the wilderness comes from a script until they run into the Children of the Radiant Night, a cannibal cult using the desert for reasons of their own, and the script is out the window,” Mariotte said. “Danielle’s use of shape, line and light took the story down a darker and scarier path than I ever imagined when I wrote it. While there are moments of humor, when the suspense ratchets up, it’s really terrifying and it’s all thanks to Dani’s special vision.”
FADE TO BLACK is an object lesson in not accepting anything at face value. What at first appears to be five young people on a wilderness trek experience turns out to be something very different. On their own, with no specialized training or skills, our five heroes need to figure out how to survive… or not.
FADE TO BLACK #1, a 32-page full color comic with a cover price of $3.50, will be available for order in the January issue of Previews and goes on sale March 17th.
Not sure how to feel about this one yet. I’m not a huge fan of the “movie set massacre” type fad that has been going on lately. But Image has always delivered stellar stories in the past, so hopefully the very capable hands of Jeff Mariotte are enough to sway me. Thoughts?
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.