Comics
Review: ‘Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters’
A major delight this week is Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters. It comes with a witty brand of horror comedy. This issue will certainly give fans of the “Ghostbusters” and “Mars Attacks” franchises something sweet this week.
WRITTEN BY: Erik Burnham
ART BY: Jose Holder
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: January 16, 2013
Though every detail of their invasion was preplanned, The Martians went ahead of schedule and ended up crashing into a farm in Elmo’s Hill, New Jersey. The Martians were supposed to be deadly invaders but now, they are just angry spirits. Though the Ghostbusters do not comprehend alien spaceships and U.F.O.s, they know everything about the paranormal and spectral entities. Not even death can stop the Martians from completing their mission to conquer the world. Only the Ghostbusters can stop these phantom Martians and put them away forever in their electro-trap.
If you remember “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon from the late ’80s, then you are definitely in for a special treat. Writer Erik Burnham fondly remembers the TV show as he is in tune to the group dynamic and character dialogue. What I really like is Burnham’s interpretation of Slimer, who acts more like a playful child than a house pet. The verbal banter between Egon, Peter, Ray, and Winston is quite energetic while they work together as a team to defeat the ghostly Martians. The lively dialogue feels like something the voice actors, Arsenio Hall and Dave Coulier, would say on the show.
What’s great about Burnham’s script is how he drops extraterrestrials into the Ghostbuster’s paranormal world. The Martians aren’t even aware that they are actually dead. The Martians still think they crash-landed yesterday, but they have been living on earth for years. As the witty humor comes from the banter, the scary sequences are taken seriously. Though Egon is the brains of the group, he is completely caught off-guard when he tries to understand the advanced alien technology.
The artwork by Jose Holder is enjoyably nostalgic. Holder uses the Ghostbuster’s logo for the transitions, as if they were back from a commercial break. Holder captures the look of the cartoon series by using the smallest details; Ray is overweight and Egon is the tallest. It’s always fun to see the Ghostbusters use their proton packs in the midst of danger and firing the charged particle beams.
The highlight of the issue is when the Ghostbusters team jumps into action. Holder pays close attention to the poses, especially when Winston throws the electro-trap. When the four-man team is together in one panel, Holder concentrates equally to each character. While everyone is doing something, they each have a different posture in the same panel.
Definitely worth reading, “Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters” is tremendously entertaining. What’s great about this one-shot special is that Burnham and Holder provide enough interest for readers to pick up the “Ghostbusters” and “Mars Attacks” comics.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jorge Solis
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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