Comics
10 Comics To Feast On: April 4 2012
Come one, come all to your weekly dose of Comics To Feast On! Yet again, we’ve got another stellar week of horror comics heading your way, and the beginning of some new story arcs that you won’t want to miss. For the first week of April, Jeff Lemire continues his brilliant ANIMAL MAN, BOOM! Studios finally launches their FANBOYS VS ZOMBIES series, Jeff Parker’s Haunted Hulk storyline begins in the pages of HULK, and a whole bunch more.
With the ever-increasing number of books coming out between the tie-ins, the crossovers, and the new series, we’ve got to limit our lists for the week somehow. We present you with our ten most anticipated books of the week. So feast your eyes on these! Whether you’ve been into comics since you were a young’un, or you’re new to the game, we’re here to help you decide which books to pick up. If I’ve missed something you’re stoked about, list it in the comments. Read on for the skinny…
WRITTEN BY: Sam Humphries
ART BY: Jerry Gaylord
PUBLISHER: BOOM!
PRICE: $1.00
The Low Down: “One is a decrepit mob of gurgling, ravenous fiends…and the other is a zombie outbreak. When there is no more room in Hell, the undead shall take over Comic-Con! A crew of feuding best friends find themselves trapped inside America’s largest comic convention transformed into a seething cauldron of zombies. Is a horde of starving brain-eaters any match against reflexes battle-hardened by video games, nerves tested by horror flicks, and courage crystallized by comic books? Find out as an unlikely band of nerds use their genre savvy to survive in Fanboys vs. Zombies!”
The Feast: BOOM! Studios has been hyping this book up for a while now, and it’s finally about to land. Making every nerd’s dream a reality, find out what happens when the dead rise and humanities only hope are a bunch of video-game-playing, comic-reading, toy-collecting nardwards at a comic con. No doubt this one will be a blast from cover to cover.
WRITTEN BY: Various
ART BY: Various
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $4.99
The Low Down: “Uncle Creepy has unearthed another malicious mag’s worth of terror! Waiting in these pages are brand-new stories from Jeff Parker (Thunderbolts, Hulk), Colleen Coover (X-Men: First Class), Rick Geary (A Treasury of Victorian Murder), Doug Moench (Batman), and Kelly Jones (Criminal Macabre) all wrapped up in a cover from horror master Richard Corben (Hellboy, classic Creepy and Eerie)!”
The Feast: If you’re looking to reminisce and travel back to horror stories of old, Creepy Comics can feed that hunger. Combining wicked tales from the past and present, this anthology is gunning to be the best of it’s kind. With the volume of stories found in the pages of Creepy, there’s bound to be something for everyone. Plus it just won a Ghastly Award for Best Anthology!
WRITTEN BY: Steve Niles
ART BY: Christopher Mitten
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.50
The Low Down: “Monster hunters Cal and Mo’loch are hired by a giant stranger and his fetal sibling to make a final stand in the war between good and evil.”
The Feast: Steve Niles has become a household name among horror comic fans, and he shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Criminal Macabre is a testament of Niles’ dedication to the craft with punchy dialogue, excellent characters, and bizarre tales that will have you drooling for more. If you haven’t been following this series, this one-shot is a perfect place to jump on board and see what the fuss is all about. Criminal Macabre is perfect for fans of BPRD, Animal Man, and The Goon.
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Lemire
ART BY: Travel Foreman, Steve Pugh, and Jeff Huet
PUBLISHER: DC
PRICE: $2.99
The Low Down: “”Animal vs. Man” Part 2! Buddy takes a stand as the horde of Rot-infested animals continues to grow and close in on the Baker family. But the results are disastrous, setting up a chain of events that may lead Maxine right to the Hunters.”
The Feast: There are only so many times I can praise Jeff Lemire for his work at DC Comics. Anyone reading DC’s New 52 knows how good Lemire has been over the past few months, and for those who skipped out on DC’s new books because they thought it was dumb, you still have a chance to get on board. Animal Man is a mind blowing superhero story, but what makes it so fantastic is that it is equally a horror story. We cannot recommend this book enough.
WRITTEN BY: Scott Snyder
ART BY: Yanick Paquette
PUBLISHER: DC
PRICE: $2.99
The Low Down: “Behold the terrifying true potential of the Swamp Thing a form so fearsome we couldn’t put it on the cover! The Green sought a warrior king, and now they have one, but will they regret unleashing a being this powerful? And can all that strength save Abigail Arcane from her destiny in the Rot’s clutches?”
The Feast: Much like Lemire’s Animal Man, Snyder has been delivering a powerful storyline with his re-birth of Swamp Thing. This book has gotten better with each issue, and I seriously don’t know how Snyder will be able to top last month’s installment. If you’re enjoying this, I advise you to seek out Alan Moore’s run from the 80s.
WRITTEN BY: Grant Morrison
ART BY: Frank Quietly
PUBLISHER: DC
PRICE: $22.99
The Low Down: “Once he was Hero of the Beach…and of the Doom Patrol. Now Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery, returns to investigate the sinister dealings of his former comrade, The Fact, and a mysterious rock star whose connection to Flex may hold the key to saving them both. Don’t miss this deluxe hardcover collecting the four-issue miniseries from the team behind ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, including a special sketch section and recolored art.”
The Feast: Morrison’s Flex Mentallo is somewhat of a mystery to the younger comic generations (like myself) as it is quite hard to get a hold of. Finally DC is re-releasing the story in a special hard cover edition. For anyone who has not had the pleasure of reading some of Morrision’s more expansive works, this is a great introduction to his comic book canon.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Luna
ART BY: Joshua Luna
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
The Low Down: “Sam has a wild imagination. However, as his supernatural ability allows him to see things the human eye cannot and should not see, the more reality will prove to be stranger-and more hellish-than he could ever imagine. JOSHUA LUNA of THE LUNA BROTHERS (ULTRA, GIRLS, THE SWORD) makes a solo debut with a dark, supernatural thriller that questions free will and explores the obsessions, addictions and urges we all have and may not have control of at all.”
The Feast: Following the story of a severe OCD dude in his mid-twenties who discovers he can dream walk, Josh Luna’s Whispers is as mysterious as it is engaging. There’s no telling where this dream-walking will take Sam, but it seems as though it’s going to much darker places. For anyone who has ever had a nightmare, anyone who has ever had their heart broken, or anyone that has anxiety issues (everyone), this one is sure to strike a nerve.
WRITTEN BY: Jim Zubkavich
ART BY: Chris Stevens & Various
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $34.99
The Low Down: “In Skullkickers, two hard-headed mercenaries kill monsters and cause havoc in their search for money, fame and adventure. Along the way, they’ll gore goblins, smash skeletons, punch plant people and whomp werewolves. This gorgeous oversized edition, loaded with extras and rarities, follows the SKULLKICKERS through the first 12 issues of their cult hit comic series.”
The Feast: Big, fun, fast, action-packed, and bloody, Skullkickers is a wild adventure that combines D&D, Boondock Saints and Army of Darkness. With Skullkickers, you get exactly what you ask for, an exciting pager-turner that isn’t afraid to go a little crazy sometimes. This Treasure Trove hardcover edition throws in some extra goodies to make it worth the $35 price tag. You can check out issue #1 for free here.
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Parker
ART BY: Carlo Pagulayan
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $3.99
The Low Down: “HAUNTED HULK PART 1 Which devilish dark figure dares to haunt the Hulk? With appearances from some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, will might be a match for malevolent magic?”
The Feast: It’s been a while since we’ve featured any Hulk books here on Graphic Content, but it’s back and more horrific than ever as this week kicks off the Haunted Hulk storyline. The big bad Red guy gets haunted by some hellish creature (sounds a bit like Hellboy to me), and he’s got to count on his size to match up against the supernatural. We’re excited to see Marvel bringing some horror into their pages.
WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ART BY: Lan Medina and Tony Moore
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $2.99
The Low Down: “After halting Hell itself from destroying Earth, Venom is welcomed into the ranks of the Secret Avengers? After his recent trials and tribulations however, how much of Flash Thompson’s humanity is left to fight alongside Earth’s heroes.”
The Feast: Venom is now a member of the Secret Avengers (also written by Remender), and while he is usually more of a one man wolf pack type, it’s going to be interesting to see how he gets along with a team of do-gooders. I know some people are still pissed that Eddie Brock is no longer Venom, but seriously, get over yourself and the 90s, because this book is one of the best out there today.
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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