Comics
Review: ‘Spike: A Dark Place’ #4
With only one more issue ready for release next month, Victor Gischler delivers a fast-paced fourth installment that finally tells the readers where Spike: A Dark Place is headed; not only in terms of plot development leading towards the finale, but also regarding Spike’s character growth and place in the grand narrative of “Season 9”. It’s just a shame that it took 4 issues of a 5-issue miniseries to see this kind of progression.
WRITTEN BY: Victor Gischler
ART BY: Paul Lee
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 21st
Following the events of “A Dark Place” #3, Spike leaves the ruins of Sunnydale with Morgan, the Courtesan (sex) demon, who wants nothing more than to return to her home dimension. Unfortunately, due to the destruction of The Seed, leading to the loss of magic on earth, her efforts are hindered. Spike, playing the hero, offers to help look for the pieces of the destroyed Seed, or any remnants of leftover magic, in order to connect Morgan to her world. But as the issue progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that this enigmatic “damsel in distress” might not be as helpless as she appears.
Jenny Frison’s cover effectively, though somewhat ambiguously, portrays Spike’s uncertainty regarding which direction he wants to take with Morgan (romantic or otherwise), who continues to use her demon “influence” over him for her own selfish reasons. But while her intensions may or may not be honorable, she does play a significant role in helping Spike come to terms with his heartache over our favourite Slayer.
Because this mini is supposed to plug into the grand narrative of “Season 9”, I’m hoping that Gischler’s efforts to show Spike’s inner journey through an abundance of monologues, self-reflection, and now character development, finally leads our boy back where he belongs. Spike is an incredibly strong character and an obvious fan favourite, but after the progression of this series, it seems that he is best suited for driving the other BuffyVerse characters’ stories forward, rather than take the lead amongst an ensemble of unfamiliar faces.
Overall, issue #4 is a vast improvement on the previous 2 installments, especially with Lee on board to draw Spike and Morgan. Their facial expressions are expressive to a hilarious intent in certain panels, and it definitely helps Gischler’s script come to life. With Spike’s loyal bug minion, Frisky gearing up to take action against Morgan, here’s hoping the conclusion to the series will lead to something significant to the “Season 9” arc, and not something anticlimactic.
3/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – ShadowJayd
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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