The past year has seen the K-pop industry expanding into everything from ETFs to Broadway, and today, March 15, marks its leap into the comic and graphic novel world: Top group NCT 127 has teamed up with Z2 Comics alongside Universal Music Group and its Korean label SM Entertainment for “NCT 127: Limitless,” an original graphic novel from the act to mark the first officially licensed K-pop print comic.
With its title taken from the group’s 2017 single of the same, “Limitless” is both a hardcover and deluxe hardcover manhwa (a general term from South Korea for comic books and graphic novels with a distinct, detailed artistic style) to share a multiverse-hopping, reality-blurring tale of NCT 127 rehearsing for a sold-out stadium show in New York City.
“The night before the concert, however, the group encounters mysterious dreams, thrusting Mark, Johnny, Taeyong, Jungwoo, and Doyoung in otherworldly scenarios,” 2Z Comics shares in a press statement. “This ultimately creates a reality-crossing mystery that the five members, alongside Taeil, Yuta, Jaehyun, and Haechan will unite to solve. As NCT 127 grapples with this enigma, they must overcome their fears in both the real world and this new, surreal dreamscape.”
NCT 127 most recently wrapped multiple arena dates in the States, Latin and South America as part of their “Neo City – The Link” world tour, including dates at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This week, the group returns to the Billboard charts as their “Ay-Yo: The 4th Album Repackage” LP bows at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on World Albums.
