Comics
Review: Pilot Season ‘Murderer’
MURDERER marks the beginning of Top Cows’ very interesting ‘Pilot Season’ campaign that allows readers to vote which of 4 titles will go from being a one shot to getting its own mini-series (Think ‘American Idol’ for comics). Luckily, the task of writing these stories has been left in the ever-capable hands of Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead”). (Spoilers Follow)
MURDERER follows Jason, a completely normal middleclass guy who leads a seemingly equally normal and boring life. Fortunately for the reader though, things aren’t as they seem for Jason. Jason hears voices, and not in the same way that Voorhees guy hears his mommy telling him to kill horny teens. Everywhere Jason goes he hears (and sees) people’s thoughts, their plans, their dirty little secrets, and the only way to quell the assault on his mind is to kill someone.
The entire idea seems a bit clichéd, and we have all seen things similar to it in almost all forms of media. What makes MURDERER stand out though is Kirkman’s unique spin on the power. Jason doesn’t enjoy what he does like Dexter Morgan. And he doesn’t use his power to get in good with the ladies like Mel Gibson in ‘What Women Want’. (What, to early?) instead he kills in order to set his mind at ease. Near the end of the story, in a very emotionally detached fashion that only Kirkman and Silvestri could give such weight, Jason tells the woman he has just saved from her abusive spouse that he only kills for the few hours of peace that murder gives him.
It is for this reason that Jason avoids being the same type of character that we have seen before. There is always a look of emotional distress on his face. A detachment from a man who is being forced into attachment to everyone around him. In 32 pages Kirkman is able to build an emotional connection between the audience to his tragic antihero.
That being said some much needed credit must be given to Marc Silvestri for his part in this story. Every scene is given a realistic and detailed touch and sympathetic tone. Through every line on every characters face you seem to be able to draw some conclusion on even the most miniscule characters back-story. It is obvious that this was done purposely, but when you can go from having absolutely no care for the life of a wife beating psychopath, to wanting Jason to let go of the mans throat as he chokes the life from him, then you know you are at the will of a gifted artist.
All in all Top Cow’s Pilot Season: MURDERER is a triumph in its own right. It will be very interesting to see what the rest of the series will bring to the table with the first issue setting the bar so high. If MURDERER never goes anywhere it would be a shame, because what the team has created is something equal parts intriguing, sympathetic, and tragic.
Rating: 4.5 Skulls out of 5
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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