Comics
The Origin of “The Walking Dead’s” Negan is Revealed!
One of my favorite things in the comic book world are one-shots, or stories that run parallel to the main arc of a series.
“Preacher” had some of my favorites, giving us the origins of all of the comic’s characters. And while I’m a bit behind on reading Image’s “The Walking Dead” series, I’m pretty stoked to learn that Robert Kirkman is going to reveal the origin story of Negan, and his barbed-wired baseball bat Lucille.
THR shares the first ever page from “Here’s Negan,” which will be told in 48 pages — with four a month included in Image+. (The latter will also be part of Diamond Comic Distributors’ monthly Previews Catalog and available to buy separately for $1.99.)
What you see below is Negan creating his weapon of choice, which he calls “Lucille”. “The Walking Dead’s” Robert Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard collaborated on this new miniseries.
This past Sunday Jeffrey Dean Morgan made his first appearance as Negan on the AMC adaptation, which ended in extreme controversy.
While we wait to find out who Negan’s first victim is, Morgan said this week that he hopes Kirkman’s upcoming Negan backstory comic series will be weaved in onscreen.
“I talked to Robert Kirkman after we did Talking Dead, and he is doing the backstory of Negan right now. But whether or not — or when — we see that, and I hope we do, I can’t answer that. But hopefully we’ll find out more as we go,” he told THR during a conference call with reporters. “I approach [Negan] … like he used to be a used-car salesman. That’s what I know, and there’s not a lot beyond that. … He’s a car salesman who has survived as long as Rick and his gang, so what has he done to get there?”
The first issue of Image+ will hit stands April 27 and will feature other bonus creator-owned comics content.
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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