Ki hi hi! Welcome, my grublings, to Beat’s Bizarre Halloventure. Every week this October, three evil writers will recommend their favorite spooky books and series from Japan, Korea and elsewhere. This week we have ghouls, ghosts and, of course, demons.
Tokyo Ghoul
Writer/Artist: Sui Ishida
Translation: Joe Yamazaki
Touch-up Art and Lettering: Vanessa Satone
Design: Fawn Lau
Editor: Joel Enos
Publisher: VIZ
I wrote about Choujin X a long time ago on Beat’s Bizarre Adventure. But before there was Tokio Kurohara, a loser who ends up becoming a superhero, there was Ken Kaneki, whose life was derailed all because he wanted to go on a date. That’s why you focus on your studies in school, kids, or you’ll end up with unspeakable trauma and a messed up psyche.
Ken Kaneki is a quiet and unassuming university student. He goes out on a date with Rize Kamishiro after learning that she is a fellow fan of novelist Sen Takatsuki. Unfortunately Rize is a ghoul masquerading as a human. She mauls him, but is then crushed herself by falling construction girders. When Kaneki wakes up from surgery, he discovers that Rize’s organs were transferred into his body. Now a half-ghoul, he must walk the line between human and ghoul worlds, neither of which wholly accepts him.
Tokyo Ghoul was one of the first horror manga I read. While it isn’t what you might expect from the genre, I was disturbed by the psychological and physical horror Kaneki endures. As you learn more about how Kaneki’s past shapes his ideologies, and see his mental state deteriorate, you start wondering, “when is he going to die? How much more can he endure?” The torture scene in the seventh volume lives rent-free in my mind and is why I hate math.
Admittedly, the artwork is messy and hard to follow. Rereading the series, though, I appreciate the messiness of Sui Ishida’s early art. It’s eerie, captivating, and fits the atmosphere of Tokyo Ghoul perfectly. — Hilary Leung
Horang’s Nightmare
Writer/Artist: Horang
Platform: WEBTOON
Tell me if you remember: one late night, a lone woman with a backpack walks home from an exhausting day of studying for college exams. Dimly lit apartment buildings dot the horizon as the streets are illuminated by a faint orange glow.
This is the beginning of the infamous webtoon “The Ghost of Bongcheon-Dong.” It is a standalone comic that utilizes audio and flash animation to bring the horror to life. The ghastly and grotesque Ghost of Bongcheon-Dong draws closer with each slow scroll. Just when you think that you can sneakily scroll past the jump scare, the artist Horang snatches control away before you can prepare.
You can feel how much thought went into the creation of this chapter alone, and how much Horang understands the psychology of their audience. The art is fine by itself, but it’s the whole package together with music and animation that captures the imagination. It’s no wonder why this comic burned itself into the memories of millions of readers since its 2011 debut.
“The Ghost of Bongcheon-Dong,” though, is just one part of the webtoon Horang’s Nightmares. Not every story in the series is as good as Bongcheon-Dong, though some of them are. But “Bongcheon-Dong” is the most iconic by far. Gotta save the best for last.
If you wish to experience these terrifying tales, I recommend the Mobile/IOS version of WEBTOON. That will provide the audio and flash animation support necessary to experience it as Horang intended. Otherwise, I will not spoil these stories, as they are best experienced rather than told. Are you willing to take the plunge and discover what awaits you there? Hehe. Happy spoopy month, my adorable birb nerds! May you have wonderful treats and yummy drinks. — Justin Guerrero
MADK
Writer/Artist: Ryo Suzuri
Translation: Adrienne Beck
Touch-Up Art and Lettering: Deborah Fischer
Cover and Graphic Design: Yukiko Whitley
Editor: Jennifer LeBlanc
Publisher: SuBLime
“I know no one wants this life of mine. No one’s going to save me. So if I’m able to use it to get something I desire, then it’s an easy choice.”
They say a heart wants what it wants, but what happens when it wants to eat flesh? Makoto knows better than anyone that his desires do not align with others. He makes do with roadkill, but fears his unsatisfied appetite will drive him to do the unthinkable one day. So, knowing how futile and ridiculous the attempt is, he tries to summon a demon–and succeeds. The demon J says that in exchange for his life, he’ll grant any wish Makoto has. Makoto doesn’t miss a beat—he wants his fill of J’s meat, in both senses of the word.
The demons that inhabit the upper echelon of Hell wield their wits and tongues against each other like daggers. It’s all so they can get what they want and use others however they want. A kind of hell where uttering the name of a more powerful demon shatters your body and soul. Where every word, every expression and tone, has utmost importance. Hence, demons refer to the upper echelon using just their initials.
MADK is a three-volume story by Ryo Suzuri about how Makoto takes over J and becomes the Archduke M. Suzuri is the creator behind Centaurs, and worked as the creature designer for anime series Golden Kamuy and bâan. She also has another BL short story collection, Our Torsos Align: Human x Monster Love, available from Seven Seas. She’s a monster-lover, through and through! MADK is therefore full of demons and creatures that are a marvel to look at. I adore her compelling hell-building that enriches the themes she wants to explore.
What does it mean to love someone, in its truest sense? How would it feel to satisfy every desire you have, no matter how impossible it might seem to fulfill? What shape do love and desire take in a realm where everything balances on a thin, unsteady tightrope? MADK is an eroguro BL chock full of gut-eating, monster sex, flesh-fucking and whatnot. It should be the last manga on earth I would enjoy. Yet, Suzuri has unmatched talent in balancing light-hearted fun, heart-wrenching storytelling, and conveying the horrid beauty in the flesh we hold beneath our skin. — Merve Giray
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