Madame Choi and the Monsters: A True Story [Paperback]

A strangerthanfiction true story of kidnapping, creativity, survival, and escape.

InMadame Choi and the Monsters, writer Patrick Sp?t and illustrator Sheree Domingo bring to life the astonishing real events surrounding legendary South Korean actress Choi Eunhee and filmmaker Shin Sangoka former power couple whose fates were upended when they were abducted by North Korean agents under orders from the future dictator Kim Jongil.

In 1978, Choi is kidnapped and taken to North Korea, where Kimobsessed with cinema and determined to elevate his nations film industryholds her captive. Six months later, her exhusband Shin is abducted as well. For years, neither knows the other is alive until a surreal reunion orchestrated by Kim himself in 1983.

Forced into service as the countrys star directoractor duo, Choi and Shin are compelled to make films for the regime, including the notorious kaiju cult classicPulgasari(1985). All the while, Kim Jongil works to convince the outside world that the pair has defected willingly. Under constant surveillance and unimaginable pressure, the two slowly rekindle their bond as they secretly plot their freedom.

Their chance finally arrives at the 1986 Vienna Film Festival, where they make a daring break for the American embassylaunching into a highstakes escape worthy of the dramatic films they were coerced to create.

Told with gripping visual storytelling and meticulous historical detail, this graphic narrative lays bare one of modern historys wildest and least believable true tales, blending political thriller, human drama, romance, and dark absurdity. Critics have hailed it assmart, witty, shocking, compelling, romantic and& just a bit terrifyingandone of the wildest historical stories youre liable to hear.

A riveting chronicle of art under duress, propaganda, resilience, and defiance,Madame Choi and the Monstersis a mustread for fans l£”