Taejun Pak, the visionary behind global webtoon hits like Lookism and Viral Hit, has officially branched out into a new format. His latest series, Inked, launched on the Japanese platform Piccoma on August 16. Departing from his signature full-color, vertical-scrolling style, Pak has opted for a traditional black-and-white, horizontal-scrolling presentation, marking a significant milestone in his career as he fulfills a long-held ambition to create manga.
The narrative centers on Rok, a young slave who finds himself targeted by monstrous entities known as Tattoos. In a desperate bid for survival, Rok brands himself with the 'Mark'—the very essence of his enemies' power—transforming into a 'Marker.' Armed with these new abilities, he sets his sights on dismantling the oppressive Clof Empire and its ruler, Yujin.
This release follows a period of rapid expansion for Pak’s production house, The Grimm Entertainment. The studio, which manages heavy-hitting IPs that have already seen successful transitions into anime and live-action adaptations, recently entered a strategic partnership with Kakao Games. This deal aims to leverage the studio's extensive library of webtoons for future game development, signaling that Inked joins a growing portfolio of high-priority projects for the company.
