Comics
Review: ‘Billy The Kid’s Old Timey Oddities And The Orm Of Loch Ness’ #3
If you’ve been following Billy The Kid’s Oldtime Oddities, by now you should know what to expect in issue #3. It’s a wacky adventure that lacks any gravity whatsoever, but has a unique and entertaining take on pop mythology and horror conventions. The art is solid, the story is fun, and that’s about it. What makes issue #3 unique is the presence of – or the attempt at – gravity and loss. Ultimately this attempt falls flat, and it highlights some of the weaknesses of the book. SPOILERS AHEAD.
WRITTEN BY: Eric Powell with Tracy Marsh
ART BY: Kyle Hotz
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE DATE: December 12th, 2012
I’m not going to beat around the bush here; Sproule, Billy’s most mature, thoughtful companion, dies. He’s stabbed to death by Dracula’s brides/fish monsters. And when you read this, you probably won’t really care. That’s because “Billy The Kid” lacks the sense of meaning or seriousness necessary for you to care about any of the characters. The story itself is amusing, campy and fun to follow along to. Death in this series isn’t capable of conveying a sense of consequence so much as it is just a device to drive the plot forward, or to motivate characters who – frankly – don’t require much motivation.
Beyond that, this issue is standard fare. The pace is quick, the writing has a couple of funny quips, and the art is solid, moody and foreboding. But it’s beginning to get a little stale. I understand it’s not reasonable to expect more from this series than what it’s already offered, but that doesn’t mean it’s justifiable.
“Billy The Kid” works best when it’s just fun and games. When it tries to be something more than that, it exposes its flaws rather than addresses them. Coupled with the relative stagnancy of the series itself, there just seems to be less in this issue than in the others. This arc wraps up in the next issue, so maybe things will take a different turn soon enough.
2/5 Skulls
Reviewed by -GeorgeShunick
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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