Horror manga fans already know that Junji Ito is the king of the genre, but what if his art style featured the likes of King of the Hill’s Hank Hill, the king of all things propane and propane accessories? Well, first off, weird question, but if you happen to be a fan of these two disparate media, this illustrator put that question to bed with a slew of horrifically hilarious artworks on Twitter.
First reported by Screen Rant, Woodrow White, a visual development artist for the upcoming 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, posted a handful of stylized Photoshop edits of King of the Hill characters inside the world of Junji Ito’s works. And, folks, they’re spectacular.
White said he was inspired while rewatching King of the Hill and rereading Junji Ito’s manga around the same time. As one does.
“One day I started acting out scenes by myself in KotH characters’ voices while working from home. Just cracking myself up,” White said, elaborating on his creative process from his pinned tweet. “I started using filters on frames from the show, adding shading and speech bubbles, and it felt seamless. So, I expanded from there.”
While seeing Mike Judge’s American animated sitcom placed in the world of Ito should be jarring giving their diametrically opposed art styles, somehow the Texans’ distraught reactions to the monstrosity in White’s panels give off the same unnerved facial expressions of Ito’s characters. You’ve got Bill Dauterive and Dale Gribble becoming one with the spiral from Uzumaki, Luanne Platter’s likeness drawn by her loving husband, Elroy, a la Tomie, and Hank’s boss, Buck Strickland, dreaming the long mortal dream of propane. White told Kotaku it takes him about an hour and a half to concoct his KotH Ito blends before posting them to Twitter.
Back in April, White posted a tweet spoofing Junji Ito’s Gyo short story, The Enigma of Amigara Fault. In the tweet, cleverly titled “The Enigma of Arlen Fault,” Hank Hill tells his wife Peggy that “this hole was meant for me,” referencing the now memed to death manga panel. White would later retweet the post, saying it was the start to his placing of the animated sitcom’s characters into the world of Ito.
White also told Kotaku that his favorite edit so far is of Boomhauer entering his hole, adding that writing the motormouth’s dialogue was “very entertaining.”
If given the chance to speak with Ito, White said he would thank him for all the scares and inspiration he’s provided him, especially in his favorite work, Splatter Film. To the curious KotH fans who no doubt feel left out at this point in the article, White’s favorite episode is High Anxiety.
“I hope you find this as amusing as I do,” White said.
For those hoping White has laid out plans for making his own King of the Hill x Junji Ito manga series, don’t hold your breath because the artist responded to followers saying he has no larger project planned.
I, for one, am slightly perturbed because I’ve accidentally typed King of the Kill multiple times while drafting up this article. That’s free in case you change your mind, White.
Update 6/29/2022 12:30 p.m. ET: Junji Ito senpai seems to have noticed White’s mash-up manga panels, as evidenced by his official account liking a retweet of it.