Comics
Review: 28 Days Later #5
As the 5th, and subsequently, final issue of the first act of BOOM’s ’28 DAYS LATER’ came to a close I found myself wondering: how dumb would you have to be to take a flight into zombie infested England with nothing but a camera and your shell-shocked buddy in tow? Alas, this is where we find ourselves as the arc draws to a close. 
Thus far the series from BOOM Studios has been pretty stellar, with the tie in to the first films characters the soul driving force behind my interest. But with this issue we are transplanted from the regular characters to the 2 journalists Clint and his buddy Derrek. Clint is trying to enjoy his vacation away from deadlines (oh yea, thought of that all on my own) and decidedly using the 2 weeks to drink himself into a comatose state. Sounds fair. Unfortunately the zombie apocalypse is ringing, and Clint decides to answer. (I’m on a roll here people) But first he has to stop by the bar and pay his alcoholic buddies tab, because after all what’s a journalist without his photographer buddy at his side? But it gets better. Derrek is not only an alcoholic (ordering 2 of everything he can get on the flight that has blood thinner in it.) But he also has post traumatic stress disorder from being a prisoner of terrorists who forced him to watch as his buddies were beheaded. Truthfully I can’t fault Derrek for drinking heavily. If my buddy pulled me out of the bar half drunk and told me we were hopping the next plane ride to Danny Boyle England then I’d be inclined to take a liquid wrecking ball to my liver too.
And this my friends is where we end up in issue 5. With two of the most inept leads I’ve ever read. I can understand coming out of a 2 week vacation for the biggest story ever, but to drop yourself in the middle of hell with an alcoholic as your sidekick? I don’t see an upside, especially when the military tells you you are almost guaranteed to die. Oh which reminds me, the military plays a pivotal role in this issue, too. It is revealed that they are pulling something even the guys at Guantanamo would frown upon using the virus, but not only that but they are using it on one of the men who decapitated Derrek’s buddies. This is an almost nonissue to the story as it is mentioned in one bubble and then forgotten. Almost as if it were just an attempt to draw a connection between the characters and the situation. Sadly it feels like a desperate one.
The entire issue kind of rolls to a dead stop in the end, as we are shown a glimpse of how these two and our regular characters will come together. The main issue I have with this story is that this was saved for the final issue of the arc. It almost feels as if issue #4 was the real ending, and that this is the start of the next arc. Had that been the case I’d have possibly enjoyed myself a bit more. But as it sits the issue did nothing more than make me laugh at the ridiculousness of the ‘heroes’ choices throughout. Giving us a back-story to Derrek was necessary, but I think it would have made more sense a few issues ago to do this.
To be fair the art is still great, with an amazing spread of a money shot from the streets of London that makes you stare at it for a good couple of minutes. I also appreciate the fact that we are finally seeing how other countries (IE-America) reacted to the infection for the first time, and I look forward to seeing that expanded on in the future. But as it sits this “origin” story just didn’t work for a ‘wrap-up’ to the first arc of an otherwise great series.
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Skulls
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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