Comics
REVIEW: ‘Let Me In’ Issue #4
Movie tie-ins always have that unfortunate aspect of having to adhere to the fundamentals of their source while attempting to recreate the experience through an entirely different medium. Let Me In: Crossroads is a four-part prequel to the vampire horror movie of last year which, itself, is an American remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In. Being a prequel, this last issue of the miniseries is destined not to have quite the climax the movie does, but it provides some decent thrills and a classic horror ending. Read on for the full review…
“What I liked so much about the original Swedish film was that it took the vampire genre and completely flipped it on its head, turning it more into a slow-artsy film than a jumpy horror movie. It also really made me reconsider the vampire genre as a whole after Stephanie Meyers and so many others soiled its name. Somewhere between jumping over the Atlantic, being remade into an American movie and then passing into comic book form, the subtlety of the Swedish film does not make it into Crossroads. There are a few too many panels with Abby, our prepubescent vampire protagonist, growling and leaping into the air as if she’s some type of canine. While seeing a young girl climb on ceilings and rip out the jugulars of grown men is entertaining, one cannot help but think of the how the original film included very little of these types of horrific moments making the action that much more jarring and disturbing.
Of course, as this is a different medium and a different story, the reader should approach the comic as such and try not to compare it to its counterpart (even though I just did). Seeing it in this light, Crossroads # 4, while not being wholly ground-breaking, is a decent ending to the horror miniseries. The art, penciled by Patric Reynolds is again pretty good but nothing astounding and is overshadowed by the coloring of Dave Stewart which includes a very appropriate palette of dark blues and grays accented by many layers of orangish-yellow lighting.
What I was happy to find in this issue is the feeling of uncertainty carried over from the films. It forces the reader to ask questions about murder, even if the victim is a bad person, and sustenance/survival of the fittest without providing any answers. The uneasiness of these lingering questions has the same effect on the audience that the original film did. These enduring feelings are heightened at the comic’s brief, but proper, classic horror ending.”
“LET ME IN” Issue #4 Is Available NOW From Dark Horse Comics! (MSRP-$3.99)
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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