Comics
Review: City of Dust Series
Now available from Radical Publishing is Steve Nile’s City of Dust. Beyond the break you can read my review of the comic to see if it’s worth picking up. City of Dust takes place in a futuristic society where religion and fiction are illegal, because it is believed the nurturing of the imagination is dangerous. Check the break for the review…
City of Dust is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) with artwork by Zid, Brandon Chng and Garrie Gastonny and published by Radical Comics. City of Dust takes place in a futuristic society where religion and fiction are illegal, because it is believed the nurturing of the imagination is dangerous. The story centers around Philip Khrome, a police officer investigating a gruesome murder where the only piece evidence is a children’s book. This is all I’ll say about the story, because I don’t want to spoil anything for those of you planning on reading it, but I will try to peak your interest by mentioning that it involves robots, werewolves and vampires.
Niles has crafted an excellent story here. The story reads like a cyberpunk noir with bits of horror, action and gore mixed in. There is great character development and Niles does a good job of establishing the universe this story takes place in. Reading this story one has to wonder how a society with no imagination will combat creatures that were birthed from imagination?
Zid does the artwork and acts as colorist for the first issue and does a great job complimenting Niles’ dark and gritty story. Chng and Gastonny join the team in issue two. Both are excellent artists, but I would have preferred to see one artist do all the artwork for the entire series. The changing art styles become a little distracting, but thankfully the story is strong enough to keep your interest.
City of Dust is a worthwhile read and I would highly recommend it. It’s shame that City of Dust is only five issues. I feel the story has enough depth and potential to justify longer running series. Each issue will cost you about $3 a pop. Given the shortness of the series it won’t be too hard on your wallet. The final issue will be available next month. I’ll be picking up a thesaurus with the next issue so I can teach myself some new adjectives other than excellent, great and good for the next time I write a review.
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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