Comics
Best-of-us for the Rest-Of-Us Top 10 Comics of 2014!
What an amazingly, unpredictably, utterly enthralling year in comics! From light to dark to horrific to stunning, comic book creators have truly embraced that nothing is off limits in their stories told. Also, I think diehard superhero fans can admit it: 2014 was the year the Big Two ran the Event Comics into the ground. Either with delays (Forever Evil) or with too many tie-ins and boring storytelling (Original Sin), there wasn’t much good coming out of either camp. Lucky for all of us, there is another out there who did it so well, they’ve become my new favorite shared universe. Here are some of my favorite stories from the last year that are absolutely worth reading over the holidays.
10. The Wake (Vertigo Comics) –
Scott Snyder’s horror / sci-fi / dystopian future ambitious is great scary fun. Sean Murphy’s art makes this story feel so fast paced that you can feel the tension hit and run throughout the series. It’s a ten issue mini-series so you can enjoy the whole thing in one collection.
9. Silver Surfer (Marvel Comics) –
Dan Slott and Mike Allred’s fantastic space voyage really pops off the page issue after issue. Slott’s love for BBC’s Doctor Who shines through in all the good ways but in the Marvel Universe. Allred makes each world and alien space travellers Norrin Radd and his companion Dawn Greenwood look utterly exceptional.
8. God Hates Astronauts (Image Comics) –
This book is completely bonkers in uproarious ways. Farmer astronauts, hybrid chicken people and cow-ghost headed heroes are only the tip of the ice burg. Creator Ryan Browne has an affinity animal headed heroes, guns, swearing and insane sound effects. This is one wonky ride worth getting on to.
7. The Life After (Oni Press) –
Purgatory, Ernest Hemingway and suicides. Sounds like a dreadful mix, doesn’t it? Thankfully, writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Gabo have mapped out an elaborate and compelling tale of transformation and hope for a brighter future even in a place where nothing is supposed to change.
6. Sinestro (DC Comics) –
Writer Cullen Bunn is doing his damn best to make readers pay attention to the corners of the DC Universe that don’t have a Bat or big “S” on them. One of the prime examples is his series on cosmic villain extraordinaire Thall Sinestro. With exceptionally creepy art by Dale Eaglesham, Rags Morales and Igor Lima (a great artist rotation to rely on), Bunn is showing readers how truly drastic and terrifying a man on a mission to save us from ourselves can truly be.
5. Starlight (Image Comics) –
Mark Millar may have gone Hollywood awhile back but he still knows how to tell a good comic book story too. With artist Goran Parlov making it feel like a classic science fiction tale, this story of one last grand adventure for an old timer is vast in its scale and fun all around. Read it first before it becomes the next summer blockbuster.
4. Grayson (DC Comics) –
Sidekicks stepped up big time in 2014 and this is a prime example of it done right. Spy-related series for both Marvel and DC showcased how fun sneaking around can be. Former superhero Dick Grayson shines in this great new book at espionage in the DC Universe goes on. Writers Tim Seeley, Tom King and artist Mikel Janin have made something special to behold here. (Honorable mention to Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier).
3. Sovereign (Image Comics) –
Merging three different genres into one big mythical and fantasy story is no small task. Writer Chris Roberson and artist Paul Maybury have crafted something truly distinctive in this book. This world-building tale takes you into this world from all different points but never makes you feel lost or overwhelmed. Things come together at a picture-perfect pace and keep you wanting more.
2. The Victories (Dark Horse Comics) –
Creator Michael Avon Oeming capped off his epic tale of flawed heroes saving a flawed world this year his way. This entire series is one more example of superhero stories done right for a modern, adult audience. Nobody is perfect here and saving the world doesn’t come without a high price to pay. Oeming makes readers see and feel every arduous step our saviours take to the point where you question if this world IS worth saving. Read the whole series and you won’t be disappointed. If you are, then you read it wrong so try again.
1. The Delinquents and everything else from Valiant (Valiant Entertainment) –
To me, Valiant comics have become the benchmark in superhero (and comedy) storytelling done right. I never got onto the Valiant train when it ran in the 1990s so I’ve come into these characters fresh. Every time I read a new book from Valiant, I just want more and more. You name it and this publisher has a book for you: Action, Sci-Fi, History, Comedy, Team Books, and Event Books. Here in beautiful South Korea, you’d say “Oh My Gas Range!” after reading every Valiant book. That’s how amazing these books are. Choose any title and you can’t go wrong. That is exactly what I did and I’m hooked and looking forward to what Valiant has planned for 2015.
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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