Comics
Zomblog – The Larger World Of Shared Universes
We all have those faint dreams of what we’d do in a zombie apocalypse. Just how things would go down if we were in a state of complete control. Everyone has their over-prepared checklist of things they’d do, places they’d go, and people they’d save. For Double Take’s universe – this is decidedly more difficult to imagine.
This comes from a “different” approach to telling zombie stories. Often we’re treated to one side of a story. The narratives always slide into familiar territory – a fixed perspective with a given protagonist and their set of goals. Well, with the Ultimate Night of the Living Dead things are a little different.
You know those big universes filled with superheroes from Marvel and DC. Well, imagine if those universes were just different books in the same zombie apocalypse. Yeah, it’s not about one perspective anymore – it’s about ten. The books in the Big Bang imitative are meant to share a unique world, but show the different kinds of people who inhabit this apocalypse.
It’s worth mentioning that these books are meant to function on their own, but read together will give you a fundamental understanding of a world in ruin. It’s hard to embody that bigger world in just one book. With my own book, “Race” I was briefed continually on the larger mechanics of the world. It was imperative that I understood just how the world works. I was given an “escalation schedule” that broke down, in detail the events of the first three nights, beginning with the titular Night of the Living Dead.
Here’s a taste:
Sunday – April 24, 1966
Midday
Murders start.
Murderers band together.
4:00pm
Local Posses begin to form.
LBJ deploys Z-Men.
Radio/TV signals start to fail.
5:00pm
Road blocks are set up within and around the affected area.
Like most crises, however, life for most goes on as usual.
7:00pm
Federal government learns of zombies. They decide to deploy “advisors.”
Advisors reflect those deployed in the early days of Vietnam and other late 20th Century conflicts. Helicopters fly overhead.
This should show you just exactly how detailed everything fits into the framework of a shared universe. My story had to fit within a specific timeline that adhered to what was laid out here.
Previous to this, my idea was just to throw my story into their world. Perhaps this was ignorant of me but writing a story in a shared universe isn’t that easy. You know, if DC kills off Bruce Wayne, and you want to feature him in “Superman” well that’s too bad. You’ve got to go with the pulse of the universe.
Now, I know it’s not that groan worthy. It’s more to the idea that you need to learn the rules and the how’s and whys of these “zombies.” Once I had the escalation schedule it provided an incredible backdrop to the world of my writing. I knew exactly what was happening 50 miles away with a certain degree of intimacy. And, the best part is, as the events of my book begin to unfold they are weaved into the larger canon of the universe.
Suffice to say – there has been nothing like this in the zombie genre – ever. It’s why we’re all so excited at Double Take, and it’s why you should be too.
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This Zomblog will run every Monday and Friday until I run out of things to say about zombies.
Until then check out Double Take’s blog – Double Take Universe to keep up to date on the incredible comics that will be coming your way in September. And their Kickstarter Just got FUNDED.
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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