Comics
Review: ‘B.P.R.D. 1948’ #1
Mike Mignola’s B.P.R.D. universe has really been pushing the “Hell on Earth” event leaving little else new to occupy the shelves. This week that changes with the first instalment of a 5-part mini series entitled B.P.R.D 1948, which takes off right where “1947” left us; this brings back some classic characters like Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Agent Anders, Agent Stegner and the 4 year old Hellboy. This book delves into testing atomic bombs for rocket propulsion in Utah desert and its relation to the appearance of a massive monster, just a day in the life for the average B.P.R.D. employee. The series is meant to evolve the history of B.P.R.D coming away from Europe and Nazis, but unfortunately, this issue offers little in the way of action and excitement.
WRITTEN BY: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
ART BY: Max Fiumara
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: 3.50
RELEASE: October 17th
This book starts off at slow pace and doesn’t budge from there, getting the reader re-familiarized with the different characters and the current post World War II situation. With a jump through time to 1983, we learn about the newest addition to the story; the beautiful and brilliant physicist Anne Rieu. The reason the Bureau is called has to do with the appearance of a massive monster that is potentially coinciding with low grade and high atmospherical atomic bomb testing to simulate rocket propulsion to the moon. As the story plays out, it appears there is more going on with Anne, the bomb, and the monster than what is on the surface of the story. This book sheds light onto the early B.P.R.D. world, acting as a bridge between present day and its past. While it is only issue #1 of a 5-issue arc, this book is slow burn that doesn’t live up to the current goings on in the “Hell on Earth” event.
The art of this book by Max Fiumara is what I’ve come to expect from this series, sketchy lines and pale colours give the book an eerie feeling. I wouldn’t have it any other way. This issue also features a young horned Hellboy, which since his death in later years is always a treat to come across. Well depicted and the use of vibrant colour spotting for such things as Hellboy and the eyes of the massive monster are subtle creative gestures that go a long way.
This book kick offs what may be the final in the pre-modern era B.P.R.D., taking a substantial twist from its 1946 and 1947 predecessors focusing more on North America as well as taking a science fiction style. If this is the last of the B.P.R.D. history, it lacks the punch it needs to become a classic within Mignola’s work. The story better seriously start to vamp up in coming issues.
2.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by- Greenbasterd
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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