Author of 'Dooley' animation publishes new black humor comic book

A new comic book with the roughly translated title of “Game of Death” in English, by Kim Soo-jung, author of “Dooly, the Little Dinosaur.” Courtesy of Doolynara

By Park Ji-won

The cover of the new comic book, “Game of Death,” by Kim Soo-jung / Courtesy of Doolynara

Kim Soo-jung, author of the animation, “Dooly, the Little Dinosaur,” has published a new comic book under a title roughly translated as, “Game of Death,” in English. This new comic book is the first Kim has released in about 20 years.

The book consists of four black humor stories and answers the questions, “How to live” and “How to die,” according to a press release.

One of Korea's leading animation authors in the 1980s and 1990s, with the animated series, “Dooly,” Kim drew the book in an old-fashioned way, without using an animation tablet, and added finishing touches using pencil, pen and watercolor paint. Kim defined the style of the book as seeking what he called, “B-list” sensibility, or kitsch subculture, as he says he feels “outdated” in terms of style. He hasn't released a new comic work for decades. In 2019, Kim released a novel with the roughly translated title of, “Where did Everyone Go?” in English.

“The comic book was born due to my regret,” Kim said in the press release. “I tried to highlight the facial expressions of each character in this book more than in any of my other works. I hope that this book can be used as a sample for those who want to become a comic book writer in the future,” Kim told the Hankook Ilbo, the sister newspaper of The Korea Times.