Comics
5 Reasons To Read ‘Misery City’
Vassillis Gogtzilas and K.I. Zachopoulos are spinning a wild horror/noir crossover tale in their indie book, Misery City. This is a crazy comic that melds together your favorite elements of classic hard-knocking, hardboiled fiction with elements of surreal horror for a book unlike anything else. Drinking booze, punching skeletons, scary clowns, and a femme fatale, what more could you ask for?
WRITTEN BY: Vassillis Gogtzilas and K.I. Zachopoulos
ART BY: Vassillis Gogtzilas
PUBLISHER: Markosia
PRICE: $0.99 (per issue)
RELEASE: Out now
1. It’s a comic about a hard boiled-detective with a right hook like Mike Tyson, a mouth like Tosh.0 and a thirst for the booze like the Hoffmeister.
Do you remember Eddy Valiant from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Imagine that type of character swigging straight from the bottle and tossing out lines like, “More shit ‘n decay than the Devil’s asshole.” Classy, and they just keep comin’.
2. He punches a skeleton in the FACE.
Like most private eyes, this guy, Max, carries a .357 Magnum. Unlike most private eyes, he decides to go for a few rounds of boxing with a skeleton instead of using it or calling the Ghost Busters. He also delivers his punch with a sweet one-liner for maximum effectiveness, “You’re too skinny, FUGLY, so I made you a knuckle sandwich!” BOOM and the eye goes flying.
3. He likes Latina derrière.
Seriously, what would a dick… Er, private eye, do without a damsel in distress? I’ll tell you what Max would do – absolutely nothing if the damsel was an anorexic white girl (except maybe punch her in the face, see reason #2), but for Pakita and her booty Max will do anything. Especially if it means ruthlessly beating the shit out of her scumbag boyfriend so he can then shack up with her. A true gentleman. And maybe a little bit of a scholar?
4. He is a bit of a scholar.
Out of nowhere Max starts dropping some Faustian knowledge on the reader and quoting Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ I wasn’t expecting this, but everyone loves a drunk who can rattle off a few good quotes, especially after defeating an evil scientist and horde of clown minions.
5. Clown minions (SPOILERS).
Yes, there is an evil scientist in this comic. Yes, he has a grudge against Max. Yes, he abducts Pakita with the creepiest evil clown minions imaginable. Yes, Max smashes the shit out of the clown minions and blows up the evil scientist’s lair. Somehow he survives and gets freaky with Pakita. Then he drops some more scholarly knowledge on us.
Max, you had a hell of a day. You deserve that drink, or 13. I’ll be looking out for you in your next adventure. (END SPOILERS)
Bonus reason to read ‘Misery City,’ is this awesome quote from right before he punches the skeleton in the face, “Whatever wants to get out to the world above can’t be stopped, not even with a skyscraper for a tombstone.” Because apparently in “Misery City” skeletons pop out of the ground in front of you all the time.
You can purchase it all on Comixology.
3.5/5 skulls
Reviewed by – theSandman
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.
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