Comics
Don’t Expect an Unrated Release of ‘Venom’
There was a lot of drama leading up to the release of Sony’s Venom, which ended up a moot point after making $850M at the global box office. Still, it’s hard to ignore the comments by Tom Hardy who all but threw the studio under the bus for changing the tone of the film late into production. Shit, even Columbia Pictures’ president Sanford Panitch made eyebrows raise back in 2017 when he also said that Venom will draw on the work of both Carpenter and Cronenberg. We expected an R-rated horror film all the way up until the surprising report that the studio would be editing the Ruben Fleischer-directed adaptation down to PG-13 in order to fit with their newly planned universe. As a fan, it’s annoying, but I get it from a business perspective. Still, with studios like Fox re-edited Deadpool for a different audience, why not do the same with Venom? It seems like a no-brainer, outside of the fact that it would be the filmmakers’ way of admitting it should have been rated R. Hence, we won’t be seeing any alternate cuts of the film:
“I’m proud of the movie we’ve put out, and I think that the additional material on the DVD adds a little bit of color to the film,” Fleischer told LRM.
“I don’t feel the need at this point to release an unrated version, I feel like fans seem to really like the movie that we put out.”
What he says is true at this point – many people are happy with the product, so why touch it? No matter, Hardy has since stated that he’d still like to see an R-rated Venom sequel – and with Carnage all but confirmed for the next film, maybe they push the envelope a bit further? At the end of the day, it is what it is and it’s time to put this all to bed. The odds of us seeing an R-rated Venom film are probably zero, especially after these comments by the producers. At least we now know to keep our expectations in check and, let’s be honest, even though Venom was a disaster it was also pretty damn fun.
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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