Comics
Eric Powell And Steve Niles Pit Freak Against Freak With ‘Criminal Macabre/The Goon’ Crossover!
The spotlight has official been placed on macabre maven Steve Niles (Interview) recently, as the writer continues to be on the rise in 2011. Not only does his “CRIMINAL MACABRE” story have a spot in the upcoming fourth issue of “DARK HORSE PRESENTS”, a 400+ page omnibus on the way, AND an all new one-shot hitting stores in September (See inside), but it is also making its way into the very twisted world of Eric Powell’s “THE GOON” with “WHEN FREAKS COLLIDE”! The year only continues to heat up for Cal McDonald and the rest of the cast of the book, and beyond the break you can not only check out the official press release for the one-shot with Eric Powell, but also the next solo project for the character called, “NO PEACE FOR DEAD MEN”. Read on for the skinny…
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE…
“MAY 9, MILWAUKIE, OR—Cal McDonald’s drug-fueled bravado has entertained fans of horror comics and novels alike. His antics have made for some of the most entertaining blood-soaked noir either medium has ever seen.
This year, he returns to comics in two exciting one-shots, each packed with vampires, werewolves, and every other kind of monster the world of supernatural fiction has to offer.
To start, he will come face to face with another of Dark Horse’s most well-known antiheroes, Eric Powell’s Goon. These bull-headed bruisers will share panels in an all-new story, When Freaks Collide, for a thirty-two-page dose of humor, violence, and fun! When Cal and Goon are hired for two sides of the same job, it becomes apparent that not only is neither of them getting a paycheck, but they also will have to fight their way through a common threat.
“I get to do a Jack Davis/Frazetta rip-off cover and then sit back and let great creators like Steve Niles and Chris Mitten do a crossover with my characters and the world of Cal McDonald? Yes, please,” said creator of The Goon Eric Powell.
“Eric and I have been buddies for a long time. We met on eBay, if anybody ever doubted what shut-in freaks we are,” Niles says. “Getting the chance to have our grouchy-ass (creator-owned!) characters duke it out and do some monster killin’ was just too good to pass up. I can honestly say this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
Next up, in No Peace for Dead Men, we find our “hero” at the forefront of an all-out war, with an army of the creatures of the night trailing his every step. However, this army of gals and ghouls is not only after Cal, but everyone he cares about as well. Things go from bad to worse when he realizes there is only one way to win this fight…
Criminal Macabre/The Goon: When Freaks Collide arrives on sale this July, with No Peace for Dead Mean on sale two months later, in September.”
“CRIMINAL MACABRE/THE GOON: WHEN FREAKS COLLIDE” Drops This July From Dark Horse Comics, And “CRIMINAL MACABRE: NO PEACE FOR DEAD MEN” Hits Stores In September!
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
You must be logged in to post a comment.