Comics
Review: ‘Billy The Kid’s Old Timey Oddities And The Orm Of Loch Ness’ #1
Billy The Kid’s Old Timey Oddities continues with the first issue of “The Orm of Loch Ness”. It’s a new arc that sees Billy and company hot on the trail of their captured associate Callahan, who’s being taken to – you guessed it – Loch Ness. It’s a largely uneventful issue, but it manages to engage in some brief exposition, moves along at a brisk pace, and is enjoyable throughout. The end has a delightfully absurd twist that will ensure readers will be nothing if not curious to see where the story goes from here.
WRITTEN BY: Eric Powell
ART BY: Kyle Hotz
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE DATE: October 17th, 2012
I must confess that I have just begun this book, and so am unfamiliar with most of the characters and backstory. That said, while I don’t know how the characters got in the positions that they’re in, it was a fairly easy issue for a new reader to begin with. Callahan, a half-lizard half-man creature, has been captured by a villain who makes Two-Face look positively handsome by comparison, and has been take to Loch Ness for… well, who knows why. It’s not important. What is important is Billy the Kid and his motley crew are right on their trail. They get a history lesson on the origins of the Loch Ness monster, which they presume they will encounter, and this all pretty much sets up things for the arc.
Eric Powell’s script isn’t exactly a tour de force of character moments, or a particularly compelling narrative. But it is an enjoyable one. It doesn’t aspire to be anything beyond entertaining, and to that end it succeeds. The story moves along quickly, and the dialogue is effective, if not particularly memorable. The most important parts are exposition, regarding the history of the monster. As for the monster itself, I was a bit surprised by the end reveal, and it fits in with the absurd tone of the book.
Speaking of absurd, Kyle Hotz’ artwork is appropriately bizarre, demented, and a bit grotesque. That isn’t to say that it’s full of gore. Rather, his objects are distorted and his bodies are misshapen. You won’t find any Jim Lee-esque Hercules look-alikes with the posture of Marines here. His backgrounds are dark and his shadows are deep, fitting the horror elements of the story. Hotz is also capable of setting the mood and telling the story well; it’s impossible to misunderstand any of his scenes.
“Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities” #1 is a solid comic book that shows promise for a larger arc. While this issue is good and not great, it is a highly enjoyably twisted read with some talented moody artwork.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – George Shunick
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.