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The Call of the Friend
University student Wonjun visits his friend Jingu’s basement apartment, only to find unsettling changes that are somehow tied to a K-pop star’s suicide. Jingu behaves coldly, a strange statue looms in the corner, and reality begins to fracture. Blurring the lines between hallucination and nightmare, this graphic novel by JaeHoon Choi explores guilt and despair through a Lovecraftian lens, creating a haunting tale of emotional and cosmic horror.
The Call of the Friend is part of the Lovecraft Reanimated project, where leading Korean speculative fiction writers reimagine the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft. While honoring his eerie, grotesque imagery and the blurred boundaries between reality and fantasy, they update his ideas for a global audience.
The Call of the Friend is part of the Lovecraft Reanimated project, where leading Korean speculative fiction writers reimagine the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft. While honoring his eerie, grotesque imagery and the blurred boundaries between reality and fantasy, they update his ideas for a global audience.
105 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
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99 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 20, 2025
Major thanks to Honfard Star for sending me an ARC of this in exchange for my honest thoughts:
Uzumaki-level horror that exists in the periphery. What’s in the dark? What is there to disturb? Quick, like a flash, a nightmare that happens too quickly to process, all to a dark dark end.
I love that Honfard Star took on a range of translations and selected this short graphic novel to showcase the incredible fiction that’s occurring in South Korea.
Uzumaki-level horror that exists in the periphery. What’s in the dark? What is there to disturb? Quick, like a flash, a nightmare that happens too quickly to process, all to a dark dark end.
I love that Honfard Star took on a range of translations and selected this short graphic novel to showcase the incredible fiction that’s occurring in South Korea.
October 8, 2025
Harmless, but not in the way you’d want a horror story to be - 3⭐️
November 1, 2025
Great lil piece of art that depicts guilt and how it can torment someone
September 21, 2025
The Call of the Friend is Janet Hong's translation of 친구의 부름 by 최재훈 (Choi Jaehoon), a graphic novella.
This is one of three beautifully produced novellas released by Honford Star as part of their Lovecraft Reanimated project - a translation of a selection of an original series of eight published in Korean in 2020 (see below).
Now I will say upfront I have zero familiarity with HP Lovecraft so any echoes of his work would have passed me by - I'd be interested to see what others pick up - and I read the books in the series as originals.
The story centres around Wonjun and his friend Jingu, who is absent from school (see below). Jingu's absence is in turn tied to the death of suicide of Lee Jaeyeon, a trainee pop-star, caught up in a scandal with the CEO of her talent agency, who also died of suicide. Jingu is - it seems unknown to his classmates - Jaeyeon's younger brother. When Wonjun visits Jingu, the latter greets him coldly - and a strange statue in the corner of the room acts as a portal of sorts to a dark world - and while Jingu is haunted by guilt that he could not persuade his sister to quit K-pop, the novel (and Jingu) hints at the fact that Wonjun may have used his friendship to spread rather than surpress rumors.
2 stars - as the graphic novel form really isn't for me.
From the Korean original
The English translation, by Hong, of the panels (all capitalised for some reason in the actual text):
"He won't pick up the T.A.'s calls either" - "Really?"
"isn't Wonjun good friends with him" - "Oh yeah Hey Wonjun, do you know what's going on?"
...
The UK publisher and the Lovecraft Reanimated project
Honford Star is committed to bridging literary worlds, celebrating the richness of East Asian literature. Our goal is to respect the authenticity and diversity of these narratives, bringing them to a global audience through collaborative partnerships with skilled translators, artists, and designers.
The Lovecraft Reanimated project features leading Korean speculative fiction writers reimagining the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft. While honoring his eerie, grotesque imagery and the blurred boundaries between reality and fantasy, they update his ideas for a global audience.
The original Korean series of 8 books (by 9 authors, one co-authored)
러브크래프트를 통해 2020년 오늘의 공포와 경이를 보다
눈이 멀듯한 불꽃의 신을 내게 강림시킬 수 있다면!
한국의 대표 SF 작가들이
오마주와 전복으로 다시 창조하는
H. P. 러브크래프트의 세계
In English translation:
1.『외계 신장』 이수현
2.『낮은 곳으로 임하소서』 이서영
3.『친구의 부름』(그래픽노블) 최재훈
Additional titles:
『악의와 공포의 용은 익히 아는 자여라』 홍지운
『별들의 노래』 김성일
『우모리 하늘신발』 송경아
『뿌리 없는 별들』 은림, 박성환
『역병의 바다』 김보영
This is one of three beautifully produced novellas released by Honford Star as part of their Lovecraft Reanimated project - a translation of a selection of an original series of eight published in Korean in 2020 (see below).
Now I will say upfront I have zero familiarity with HP Lovecraft so any echoes of his work would have passed me by - I'd be interested to see what others pick up - and I read the books in the series as originals.
The story centres around Wonjun and his friend Jingu, who is absent from school (see below). Jingu's absence is in turn tied to the death of suicide of Lee Jaeyeon, a trainee pop-star, caught up in a scandal with the CEO of her talent agency, who also died of suicide. Jingu is - it seems unknown to his classmates - Jaeyeon's younger brother. When Wonjun visits Jingu, the latter greets him coldly - and a strange statue in the corner of the room acts as a portal of sorts to a dark world - and while Jingu is haunted by guilt that he could not persuade his sister to quit K-pop, the novel (and Jingu) hints at the fact that Wonjun may have used his friendship to spread rather than surpress rumors.
2 stars - as the graphic novel form really isn't for me.
From the Korean original
The English translation, by Hong, of the panels (all capitalised for some reason in the actual text):
"He won't pick up the T.A.'s calls either" - "Really?"
"isn't Wonjun good friends with him" - "Oh yeah Hey Wonjun, do you know what's going on?"
...
The UK publisher and the Lovecraft Reanimated project
Honford Star is committed to bridging literary worlds, celebrating the richness of East Asian literature. Our goal is to respect the authenticity and diversity of these narratives, bringing them to a global audience through collaborative partnerships with skilled translators, artists, and designers.
The Lovecraft Reanimated project features leading Korean speculative fiction writers reimagining the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft. While honoring his eerie, grotesque imagery and the blurred boundaries between reality and fantasy, they update his ideas for a global audience.
The original Korean series of 8 books (by 9 authors, one co-authored)
러브크래프트를 통해 2020년 오늘의 공포와 경이를 보다
눈이 멀듯한 불꽃의 신을 내게 강림시킬 수 있다면!
한국의 대표 SF 작가들이
오마주와 전복으로 다시 창조하는
H. P. 러브크래프트의 세계
In English translation:
1.『외계 신장』 이수현
2.『낮은 곳으로 임하소서』 이서영
3.『친구의 부름』(그래픽노블) 최재훈
Additional titles:
『악의와 공포의 용은 익히 아는 자여라』 홍지운
『별들의 노래』 김성일
『우모리 하늘신발』 송경아
『뿌리 없는 별들』 은림, 박성환
『역병의 바다』 김보영
October 12, 2025
For fans of Junji Ito, you might want to pick this up 👀
I would say, for someone who appreciates details in drawings, I very much LOVE the way the concept of guilt was portrayed in here. Not only that the author and illustrator knows how to play around with subtlety in the message of the story, its a portrayal of how, at the end of the day, the mirror to the cruelties of the everyday world comes from the essence of human nature.
The premise of the story is simple ; its about Wonjun who checks on his friend, Jingu, after a series of rumours befell his friend. And to be honest, the more you go into the story blind, the more you will find enjoying bits and pieces of details that the author puts out in the story.
Taking from the afterword from the translator, Janet Hong:
Whilst when we bring up horror as a context, a lot of us will associate the word with something paranormal, the unseen. But sometimes, the true horrors are in a form of a living being called human. And I feel, that is the scariest one of all.
Honford Star definitely nailed this one with this reanimated project. Whilst I haven't yet read any of Lovecraft's works, the essence of horror for me was nicely done.
If you need a quick pick-me-up for Horror Stories for October, this book might be just for you. Highly recommend for a light but impactful read.
Thank you Honford Star for the early copy!
I would say, for someone who appreciates details in drawings, I very much LOVE the way the concept of guilt was portrayed in here. Not only that the author and illustrator knows how to play around with subtlety in the message of the story, its a portrayal of how, at the end of the day, the mirror to the cruelties of the everyday world comes from the essence of human nature.
The premise of the story is simple ; its about Wonjun who checks on his friend, Jingu, after a series of rumours befell his friend. And to be honest, the more you go into the story blind, the more you will find enjoying bits and pieces of details that the author puts out in the story.
Taking from the afterword from the translator, Janet Hong:
"....fear is either a socially learned emotion or biologically ingrained response, but we become aware of it only when we experience fear unexpectedly. Of all the various fears that we encounter, which affects our daily live the most?"
Whilst when we bring up horror as a context, a lot of us will associate the word with something paranormal, the unseen. But sometimes, the true horrors are in a form of a living being called human. And I feel, that is the scariest one of all.
Honford Star definitely nailed this one with this reanimated project. Whilst I haven't yet read any of Lovecraft's works, the essence of horror for me was nicely done.
If you need a quick pick-me-up for Horror Stories for October, this book might be just for you. Highly recommend for a light but impactful read.
Thank you Honford Star for the early copy!
October 24, 2025
3.7, i loved the illustration in this sooo sooo much and just wish the story could’ve dived in a tiny bit deeper
December 12, 2025
This is a graphic novel which begins with university students concerned about the non-attendance of friend Jingu, who hasn't been present for two weeks and isn't answering his phone. His best friend, Wonjun, goes to his apartment to see what's up. He finds Jingu upset about the suicide of his sister Jaeyon, who was training to become a K-Pop star.
Digging more deeply, Wonjun finds that her death is part of a scandal, with her agent, whom she was rumoured to be having an affair with, also committing suicide.
The drawings are in black and white, the bleakness conveying the ever presence of sin and guilt. The story also draws inspiration from Maupassant’s The Horla, and is one of a series called Lovecraft Reanimated by publisher Honford Star. It uses Lovecraft's atmosphere of cosmic indifference, mental breakdown, and incomprehensible threats, updating them to contemporary Korean settings like cramped spaces and social pressures.
Digging more deeply, Wonjun finds that her death is part of a scandal, with her agent, whom she was rumoured to be having an affair with, also committing suicide.
The drawings are in black and white, the bleakness conveying the ever presence of sin and guilt. The story also draws inspiration from Maupassant’s The Horla, and is one of a series called Lovecraft Reanimated by publisher Honford Star. It uses Lovecraft's atmosphere of cosmic indifference, mental breakdown, and incomprehensible threats, updating them to contemporary Korean settings like cramped spaces and social pressures.
March 8, 2026
Not bad. Not anything special. I enjoyed the imagery and pacing of the ending. It seems horror/lovecraftian hoopla does nothing to me.
October 19, 2025
I was extremely excited for this project when I first read about it; this is the first book I've read in the upcoming Lovecraft Reanimated series, in which Korean spec fic authors adapt the works of HP Lovecraft for the present day, using his ideas and imagery to craft new stories which intend to update the oeuvre of the long-controversial horror author. I still intend to read the other two titles, but The Call of The Friend was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
As an artifact, concept and work of art, I have no issues. The story itself does not quite live up to the hype. It may be a translation issue; the dialogue is disjointed and hard to parse, and the world beyond the two central characters feels almost nonexistent. Even then, the plot is thin and the short page count stunts its potential for development. Previously rated a 4 star because the horror illustrations are great, but I really wanted more and the story really lets this book down. Still eager to read the other two titles.
As an artifact, concept and work of art, I have no issues. The story itself does not quite live up to the hype. It may be a translation issue; the dialogue is disjointed and hard to parse, and the world beyond the two central characters feels almost nonexistent. Even then, the plot is thin and the short page count stunts its potential for development. Previously rated a 4 star because the horror illustrations are great, but I really wanted more and the story really lets this book down. Still eager to read the other two titles.
November 23, 2025
Watch my review on YouTube her - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGsb...
December 26, 2025
I got around to reading "The Call of the Friend" today. If you can call the experience "reading."
It's a short graphic novel. There is little text, and little explained. The point very much seems to be the illustrations.
The illustrations are good. But, listen: traditionally speaking, any illustrations in a literary work were understood to be complementary to the text, or simply decorative. Something on the cover to catch the eye. Illustrations or such should not the main thrust of a literary work itself (maybe not even in the "comic book" genre). In this graphic novel, the illustrations are the center; the text often feels like mere filler.
"The Call of the Friend" is the third book in the Lovecraft Reanimated series (along with "Alien Gods"; "Come Down to a Lower Place"; and a fourth, "A Plagued Sea by Bo-young Kim, to be released in August 2026). None of the others in the series (originally eight in Korean) are graphic novels.
I am not sure I really understood the plot or what was going on, except:
(1.) a K-pop singer-in-training has committed suicide,
(2.) her brother, in high school, is depressed about the suicide and has stopped going to school, and
(3.) a Cthulhu monster statue is lurking eerily in the depressed boy's room.
The illustrations in "The Call of the Friend" are great, as I say, but I don't know if we should call this a literary work at all, on the lines of the other short novels in the series.
I am not sure there is much of a plot. The whole thing, I believe, was more an excuse for a talented illustrator to make a bunch of drawings integrating his visualization of the Lovecraft style and early-21st-century Korea; and a few hints of things that are frightening, or depressing, in early-21st-century Korea. Social pressures; youth pessimism; suicides; the tyranny of K-pop? To reach a little, and to coin a phrase: the Kpop-ization of life. But all of these things are only touched on the surface, really.
___________
RATING: 2 / 5.
A rating of a book on GR, or anywhere else, is bound to mean different things to different people. I don't really see this short graphic novel as a complete literary work. I'd feel quite justified giving it one star.
But, then, the author is not a novelist. He is an illustrator. He succeeded on the area he's interested in, and that merits a +1 rating (from a potential "1" to a "2"). He should've collaborated with a writer to produce a more-coherent story here.
___________
NOTE: This book came to my attention thanks to my participation in the Lovecraft Reanimated book-launch event, which I attended with many other members of our active, in-person Korean Literature Club (see GR group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... )!
See also my event report for that Lovecraft Reanimated book-launch event in December 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... . The author/illustrator Jaehoon Choi's comments during that event (as reported or summarized in that document) were more interesting for me than this graphic novel.
It's a short graphic novel. There is little text, and little explained. The point very much seems to be the illustrations.
The illustrations are good. But, listen: traditionally speaking, any illustrations in a literary work were understood to be complementary to the text, or simply decorative. Something on the cover to catch the eye. Illustrations or such should not the main thrust of a literary work itself (maybe not even in the "comic book" genre). In this graphic novel, the illustrations are the center; the text often feels like mere filler.
"The Call of the Friend" is the third book in the Lovecraft Reanimated series (along with "Alien Gods"; "Come Down to a Lower Place"; and a fourth, "A Plagued Sea by Bo-young Kim, to be released in August 2026). None of the others in the series (originally eight in Korean) are graphic novels.
I am not sure I really understood the plot or what was going on, except:
(1.) a K-pop singer-in-training has committed suicide,
(2.) her brother, in high school, is depressed about the suicide and has stopped going to school, and
(3.) a Cthulhu monster statue is lurking eerily in the depressed boy's room.
The illustrations in "The Call of the Friend" are great, as I say, but I don't know if we should call this a literary work at all, on the lines of the other short novels in the series.
I am not sure there is much of a plot. The whole thing, I believe, was more an excuse for a talented illustrator to make a bunch of drawings integrating his visualization of the Lovecraft style and early-21st-century Korea; and a few hints of things that are frightening, or depressing, in early-21st-century Korea. Social pressures; youth pessimism; suicides; the tyranny of K-pop? To reach a little, and to coin a phrase: the Kpop-ization of life. But all of these things are only touched on the surface, really.
___________
RATING: 2 / 5.
A rating of a book on GR, or anywhere else, is bound to mean different things to different people. I don't really see this short graphic novel as a complete literary work. I'd feel quite justified giving it one star.
But, then, the author is not a novelist. He is an illustrator. He succeeded on the area he's interested in, and that merits a +1 rating (from a potential "1" to a "2"). He should've collaborated with a writer to produce a more-coherent story here.
___________
NOTE: This book came to my attention thanks to my participation in the Lovecraft Reanimated book-launch event, which I attended with many other members of our active, in-person Korean Literature Club (see GR group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... )!
See also my event report for that Lovecraft Reanimated book-launch event in December 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... . The author/illustrator Jaehoon Choi's comments during that event (as reported or summarized in that document) were more interesting for me than this graphic novel.
April 22, 2026
This felt like a first draft. A good, promising first draft with an excellent ending but with some gaps in the center of the story that could have been filled out.
I really enjoyed it, but wanted more story--even if that would have come from more of the beautiful illustrations, rather than text (which was a smooth translation).
I really enjoyed it, but wanted more story--even if that would have come from more of the beautiful illustrations, rather than text (which was a smooth translation).
October 26, 2025
Jaehoon Choi’s The Call of the Friend reanimates Lovecraftian horror with a psychological focus on guilt and its ensuing, inexplicable fear. A work at once minimal, shadowed, and deeply resonant.
December 14, 2025
Might be one of my favourites of the year, I absolutely love books like this and the art was amazing. Was beautifully written, not crowding each page with too much writing.
February 7, 2026
he had it coming
February 16, 2026
Beautifully haunting artwork, and I enjoyed the abstract exploration of guilt and grief but felt the concept could have been explored further.
April 2, 2026
striking, almost eerie visuals paired with an abstract take on guilt and grief. tapi pacingnya cepet bgt gilak gw mulai baca pas lg regist mau vaksin trs beres pas giliran gw dipanggil???? 😭
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews