ENHYPEN became the first K-pop group to appear at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), taking the stage as panelists on July 23 (local time) at the San Diego Convention Center. One of the two largest comics festivals in the United States, SDCC has traditionally revolved around comics, graphic novels and animation, and had never featured a K-pop act before.
‘Dark Moon’ Brings the Group to Comic-Con
The appearance was built around “Dark Moon,” an original story HYBE created together with ENHYPEN around a concept of vampire boys. The webtoon “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar” has surpassed 200 million cumulative views, and the universe has since expanded into an animation, a web novel and a sequel webtoon. Because the story grew directly out of the group’s own worldview and characters — each member has a corresponding character whose personality and even tastes are drawn from the real member — fans move fluidly between the music and the webtoon.
“So much of our personalities is reflected in the ‘Dark Moon’ story that we’ve even said the characters are more like us than we are,” ENHYPEN’s Jungwon said during the panel talk.
A ‘Twilight’ Reunion and a Vampire Through-Line
The panel leaned into the vampire theme that has helped the franchise resonate with global audiences. “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke joined the session alongside Peter Facinelli and Ashley Greene — who played Carlisle and Alice in the film series — to discuss the enduring appeal of vampire storytelling. ENHYPEN members said they grew up watching “Twilight” and credited it with opening mainstream audiences to vampire lore.
Member Sunghoon pointed to the built-in shorthand the concept provides: “In our music videos we suddenly turn into bats or throw knives, and because viewers already know we’re vampires, we don’t have to explain any of it — that’s a huge advantage.”
HYBE’s Growing Story-IP Play
HYBE has built story IP through collaborations with several of its groups, including BTS and LE SSERAFIM, but “Dark Moon” has drawn the most traction — helped, the company suggests, by the global familiarity of the vampire setting. Park Tae-ho, who heads HYBE’s Next Entertainment business division, admitted the first Comic-Con outing was “honestly very scary,” but said the preview night and panel talk convinced him it was the right move, citing stronger-than-expected interest in “Dark Moon” among attendees.
Source: Yonhap News. Video: official “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar” soundtrack music video (DARK MOON SAGA).
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