There are two universal truths in today’s rapidly changing comics industry. The first is that Junji Ito is the defining artist of our era. The second is that more people are reading horror manga and Webtoons (aka vertical scroll comics) than ever before. Therefore, we at The Beat have chosen to embark on a new venture: Beat’s Bizarre Halloventure. Every week through October, three writers will recommend some of their favorite scary books and series from Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. This installment features such terrifying topics as a fairy tale battle royale, the horny dimension, and a utopia (?) ruled by a singing clockwork goddess.
Heroines Game
Writer/Artist: Iori Tabasa
Translation: Ewa Wachol
Platform: Comikey
Heroines Game is a thrilling three-volume manga that reimagines classic fairy tales as a dark and twisted battle royale. Beloved characters like Little Red Riding Hood and Alice of Hearts try to survive a deadly contest powered by revenge, jealousy and darkness of their souls.
The story follows Arisu, a young idol who suddenly finds herself lost in a forbidden forest. There she encounters disfigured fairy tale heroines locked in a brutal game where they must kill each other to change their tragic destinies. Each heroine’s tragic past and motivations come to light as they fight for their own version of “happily ever after.”
In Volume 2, alliances form between characters like Little Red and the Little Mermaid. But as the mysteries behind their tragedies unfold, the game becomes even more dangerous. What can you do when your fate is worse than your death? By Volume 3, the dark revelations surrounding Alice of Hearts take center stage, intensifying the emotional stakes.
What makes Heroines Game so captivating is its dark twist on familiar fairy tales. Oh, I love twists, especially the dark ones! References to Alice in Wonderland, like the tea parties after every survival game, makes it even better because, hello! We are all mad here. (I am a huge Alice fan.) The heroines are no longer pure, innocent figures but have transformed into tragic, disfigured versions of themselves—each carrying the weight of their unfortunate fates.
This manga presents age-old stories with a chilling new perspective, showing that not all fairy tales end happily. Instead, we witness characters driven by jealousy, despair, and survival instincts. The fluent storytelling with its hauntingly beautiful illustrations brings these disfigured heroines to life in a way that heightens the emotional weight of the story.
If you are a fan of dark Wonderland fantasies like me, you should definitely check out this manga. — Ilgın Side Soysal
Nortverse
Writer/Artist: Nortuet
Platform: https://nortverse.com
[Editor’s Note: More than usual, this comic is not safe for work! Reader discretion advised.]
It’s spooky season, which means we get to delve into a spooky yet spicy story! This time I offer up not a webtoon or a manga, but a webcomic that a good friend cannot stop recommending to me. Nortverse is an adult series that follows a sapphic couple, Tara and Beverly, along with their friends and family.
The artist Nortuet does a neat job creating season-themed chapters every year. This year is no exception; in the current story arc, Tara and Beverly are searching for their dog Steven. They run into a witch from another dimension—the horny dimension (don’t judge me!) She whisks our sapphic duo to said dimension to find out why the horny energy harvester (again, don’t judge me) is not working as intended. I wish I was making this up, but these scenarios are what one would expect from this webcomic series.
What did grab my attention aside from the cute character designs, scenarios, humor and lewdness is nortuet’s art style. The way that Nort colors and shades his characters implies so much depth and dimension despite the simple designs. I see many other artists attempt the same, only to get over-detailed with the shading, making the art look weird, or use little to no shading, flattening the characters. There is a level of skill on display in Nort’s art despite the simplicity which always amazes me, regardless if Nort’s characters are clothed, unclothed, or have simple yet distinct designs like Steven the dog.
The humor is very subtle and light-hearted. The way that the series transitions from standard story arcs to the more fantastical ones for the season is consistently amusing. It feels almost natural for the world in which this story takes place, which for the most part is grounded in reality (sort of). Once again, this is a comic which would not be possible if it wasn’t for the internet, allowing Nort to tell the story of Tara and Beverly however they want.
Despite being uncensored and adult-focused, Nortverse is a rather wholesome series from a creator who is just having fun telling this whacky, light-hearted girls’ love story. Happy Halloween! Beware the horny realm. — Justin Guerrero
The Music of Marie
Writer/Artist: Usamaru Furuya
Translation: Laura Egan
Lettering: Elena Pizzaro
Publisher: One Peace Books
Pipi and Kai are two teenagers living in a perfect clockwork world. Pipi is fond of Kai. But Kai loves Marie, the giant woman floating in the sky over their hometown. Only he can hear her music, and with that great privilege comes power—and an unimaginable curse.
The Music of Marie is drawn by Usamaru Furuya, an artist who contains multitudes. He drew the hilarious Short Cuts, an anarchic 1990s comedy series about trendy “ko-gals.” But he’s also responsible for nasty comics like Lychee Light Club and Suicide Club. Marie embodies Furuya’s full range. The surface is a work of idyllic fantasy as delightful and imaginative as a Miyazaki film. Beneath that surface, though, are hundreds of turning gears ready to grind the finger bones of the unsuspecting reader into blood and dust.
The series is loaded with stunning fantasy imagery. A massive, multi-legged “forest” that looms from the ocean like an army of spiders; the three sages, who unfold into fetishistic mechanical nightmares out of a Riichi Ueshiba comic; and Marie herself, who shifts from hyper-detailed clockwork goddess to an amorphous thundercloud of a deity depending on the mood of the scene.
The Music of Marie is built around an age-old science fictional question: is it worth giving up free will in order to live a painless life? By the end of the comic, you will know where Furuya stands. An afterword at the end of my edition further clarifies his feelings. As impressed as I am by Furuya’s technical skill as an artist, I can’t help but wish that his answer was a little more nuanced. Every time I reach the finale of this comic I think to myself, “that’s it?”
The true genius of The Music of Marie, though, is in the small details. Consider: Furuya’s whimsical landscapes and clockwork backgrounds. The epilogue, which is so amazingly spiteful that it rejects any reading of the comic as a simple fable. Not to mention the scene where Pipi walks in on Kai masturbating to his patron goddess. Despite its beautiful art and charming characters, The Music of Marie is just a little bit evil; perhaps even depraved. That’s what I love about it, though. — Adam Wescott
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