Death of a Pop Star has had an impressive run on the creator-driven Webtoon platform. Violet Karim’s hilarious and engaging story of Sophie Lim’s brush with death has entangled her both with forces of the Underworld and nefarious people on the surface world, with elements of both bent on keeping her dead. It is disarmingly funny, yet surprisingly provocative in terms of a wholly innocent, privileged character humbled by her circumstances to make incredible friends, meet Underworld royalty, and even get a chance at romance. But as the series has been on a mild hiatus before the second half of Season 2, Death of a Pop Star is far from dormant, and it’s soon to debut its first print release with Volume 1 on September 2nd.
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While promoting Death of a Pop Star, Webtoon Unscrolled has teamed up with ComicBook to give you the details on a charming supernatural comedy for all ages. Violet Karim graciously sat down with us to discuss her favorite characters in the series, Sophie’s increasingly ruthless aunt Grace, and when fans can hope for the series to resume. With her series running alongside other in-demand Webtoon titles like The Mafia Nanny, it was exciting to dive into a wide range of subjects on Death of a Pop Star.
ComicBook: With hundreds of thousands subscribed, and readership in the tens of millions for your work, the fans are eagerly awaiting Volume 1’s September release. What is the most exciting part of the process of bringing a hit webtoon to print?
Violet Karim: There are lots of things that are really exciting! Some webtoons are really popular, and I just remember walking into Target and other stores and seeing the Webtoon Unscrolled books on the shelf, and being like, “That’s going to be me one day!”
Season 2 is well underway, and your social media has said as much in your latest updates. How are things looking for Episode 76 as we see if Eli can pick up his jaw off the floor at the sight of Sophie’s new ‘do?
Episode 76 is on its way! Things have been a little hectic here, lately, but some big things are happening in Episode 76, so it’s pretty exciting! We’re going to enter the second half of Season 2 with it.
Your handling of a familiar yet popular premise has had plenty of exposure in the anime and manga world, often drifting into drama or even horror in the cases of Oshi no Ko and Perfect Blue. Despite the literal Grim Reaper and Hell’s royalty being in Death of a Pop Star, how did you manage to create something so fresh and upbeat?
I think naturally I like to write more lighthearted stories, and definitely more character-driven. In terms of the things I like to watch and read, I like horror, although I don’t think I look like a horror-type creator. But I like to incorporate a little bit of that spooky into my stuff, like, one of the first webtoons I ever read was Refund High School, which was a really cute, upbeat, happy story where all the characters are dead. They’re trying to get a second chance at life! I love that comic, and how it was fun and you could love all the characters, but how it was deeper than that.
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Eli is a fan-favorite character, with readers getting major “Pookie” vibes from him. Is he your favorite to write for as well; if not, then who could it be? Or is that a trade secret?
I think, specifically for Season 2, my favorite character to write has been Ava. I made her a “biyotch” in the first season, so I felt like I needed a typical villain character. She came off as one-dimensional after that, so for Season 2, I made her a more involved part of the story, and not just a mean person, but someone with her own feelings and story. It’s been fun to include her and show a different side to her so far.
How is it, circling back to Hell’s royalty, that such nefarious, classic archetypes of evil are far more likable than Sophie’s aunt, Grace, who is the world’s most ruthless pageant mom on a warpath? Did you set out with that direction in mind? Or was that more of an Ava revision?
First off, I love thinking of her aunt as a pageant mom! In terms of the underworld characters, they’re not bad as much as they play an antagonistic role. Death is just something that happens, they’re just carrying on the natural process. Sophie, of course, doesn’t want it, but part of the story is finding out what she wants, and right now she thinks she wants what her aunt does. Instead, we’re seeing that Grace may not be the best for Sophie.
With developments going the way they are, and with more of the truth in the supernatural sense and the murder plot, Sophie’s journey is approaching a suitable climax. Is there still quite a bit to see knowing that there’s still another half to Season 2? Or, with the elements at play in Sophie’s life in terms of key underworld players, is the real story only just beginning?
For the rest of Season 2, I want to tie up all of Sophie’s backstory, that of her aunt, Eli, what’s going to happen to them, and close up the open doors right now. I do feel like there’s potential for more, covering the entire underworld and living world, and how that works in terms of worldbuilding. Since this is more about Sophie and the characters, and not so much about this undead royalty system, the series will probably end with Sophie’s story.
Given your previous work with Familiar Feelings, this isn’t an isolated case, either. What would you say goes into crafting each episode, namely its gags, and how much of it is just part of the flow as you put together your story?
I think my process is not “the right way” you’re supposed to write a webcomic. I don’t write a script; I just imagine it in my head and draw it out as I go. When I first started reading manhwa and other webcomics when I was in college, 2019-ish, I didn’t know what scroll comics were for a while. All webcomics I read were in page format, so the first scroll I read, the panels felt like screenshots from an anime, almost. Now, when I write my comics, I’m playing them in my head like an anime, and I’m just drawing the screenshot from it.
For any fans looking forward to Season 2, is there anything you can give, such as a teaser of what to expect?
You can expect hopefully some answers, a nice resolution to Sophie’s story, and maybe a kiss with Eli that isn’t with Julien. *laughs*
Did you have any comments for the fans?
Just a thank you to everyone who has been following all along, and I hope that everybody is looking forward to Season 2!
You can follow Violet Karim’s latest exploits either on her Instagram or directly through her Webtoon profile!
Death of a Pop Star Volume 1 will be available online and at your local retailers on September 2nd, 2025.
