Comics
‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Director Michael Chaves Writing Horror Fantasy Comic ‘Corpse Knight’
The Conjuring: Last Rights director Michael Chaves is writing a dark fantasy horror comic titled Corpse Knight.
The first issue in the six-part limited series will be published on April 22 from Skybound and Image Comics.
Chaves — who also helmed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II, and The Curse of La Llorona — teamed with artist Matthew Roberts (Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives) and colorist Rico Renzi (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) on the comic.
Set in war-torn France, the story follows a young girl named Foy whose quiet life shatters when tragedy strikes her family. Left alone in a brutal world, she’s granted what seems like a miracle — her father returns from the dead to protect her.
Together, they set out on a perilous journey across a countryside plagued by murderers, roaming armies, wild beasts, and dark magic. But as Foy begins to uncover the secrets behind her father’s resurrection, she’s forced to confront a terrifying possibility: has the man who returned to save her always been a monster?
Corpse Knight #1 will feature eight different variant covers:
- Cover A by Matthew Roberts & Rico Renzi
- Cover B by Jae Lee
- Cover C (1:10 Incentive) by Tonči Zonjić
- Cover D (1:25 Incentive) by Nimit Malavia
- Cover E (1:50 Incentive) by Andrea Milana
- Cover F (1:100 Foil Incentive) by Stephanie Hans
- Cover G (Die-Cut Helmet) by Matthew Roberts
- Cover H Blank Sketch
“Corpse Knight was born out of my love of dark fantasy, but it quickly became something more. It’s a story of parenthood and mortality, told through heroes, monsters, and all the shades in between,” said Chaves. “I’ve been a fan of Matthew Roberts since Manifest Destiny, and I truly believe this is some of his finest work. His art is beautiful, tactile, and, when it needs to be, amazingly gruesome. Alongside Rico Renzi’s awesome color work, it’s everything you want from this kind of book.”
“Corpse Knight is a blast,” added Roberts. “Michael’s script has allowed me to play in a way I’ve not in the past, taking big swings but always feeling grounded by the family bond at the center. That bond is where I find the light, and it makes all the gruesome stuff even more fun to play with. Having Rico on board is the icing on the cake. I can’t imagine anyone else making the choices he makes with colors. I can’t wait for everyone to see what this team is putting together.”
“I love Micheal’s story and Matthew’s art has struck the perfect balance between beautiful and disgusting,” commented Renzi. “Coloring this book is a delight!”
“Horror masters Michael Chaves and Matthew Roberts have delivered a beautifully tragic story about the lengths a parent will go to protect their child,” praised Skybound Editorial Director Alex Antone. “Fans of King Spawn and The Darkness will eat this right up.”
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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